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sumsunalli's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 rounding up
It was very lyrical and beautiful but it wasn’t really my type of read. I found it hard to stay connected.
It was very lyrical and beautiful but it wasn’t really my type of read. I found it hard to stay connected.
mansimudgal's review against another edition
5.0
Latitudes of Longing is a book that is beautiful and lyrical, something that is read and savoured slowly to fully immerse oneself in this journey; a journey that spans a few decades or thousands of years? We must find out ourselves.
The story follows the life of Girija Prasad, a man and a scientist in Andaman Islands in the newly independent India. It talks of the inhabitants in this place and the surrounding environment. Nature or to be more specific “Earth” is the binding as well as connecting link in this book; we go from Islands to Fault-lines that is Burma(Myanmar) with Its Civil war and military regime, we follow the freedom and imprisonment of one Plato, his mother..... we go to the mountains and then to the glaciers, a place where the most primitive of tribes show wisdom surpassing the brightest of minds....
I am having a hard time writing about what I think of the book and it’s essence. Know this: it’s wonderful and I would love for everyone looks it up and read it!
The story follows the life of Girija Prasad, a man and a scientist in Andaman Islands in the newly independent India. It talks of the inhabitants in this place and the surrounding environment. Nature or to be more specific “Earth” is the binding as well as connecting link in this book; we go from Islands to Fault-lines that is Burma(Myanmar) with Its Civil war and military regime, we follow the freedom and imprisonment of one Plato, his mother..... we go to the mountains and then to the glaciers, a place where the most primitive of tribes show wisdom surpassing the brightest of minds....
I am having a hard time writing about what I think of the book and it’s essence. Know this: it’s wonderful and I would love for everyone looks it up and read it!
kissmyaisling's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
'latitudes of longing' certainly isn't a bad book (could any book with as beautiful of a title be bad?) but i just really couldn't get into it. such a broad scope of themes and historical realities and geographic events are all put into 300 pages of four short stories, and despite all being connected all the stories were equally so disjointed and the jumps of perspective felt really jarring to me.
i think the first story was the most poignant to me, and with each following story my disinterest kept growing which is why it took me like two weeks to read. forcing myself through the last 70 pages, which weren't 'bad' i just didn't really connect anymore, i think the scope of this book is too large for what it actually is?
there is certainly some beautiful prose written by swarup and i really connected to the characters and ideas in the first story, i just found my interest waning. i also though there'd be more turtle :(
'latitudes of longing' certainly isn't a bad book (could any book with as beautiful of a title be bad?) but i just really couldn't get into it. such a broad scope of themes and historical realities and geographic events are all put into 300 pages of four short stories, and despite all being connected all the stories were equally so disjointed and the jumps of perspective felt really jarring to me.
i think the first story was the most poignant to me, and with each following story my disinterest kept growing which is why it took me like two weeks to read. forcing myself through the last 70 pages, which weren't 'bad' i just didn't really connect anymore, i think the scope of this book is too large for what it actually is?
there is certainly some beautiful prose written by swarup and i really connected to the characters and ideas in the first story, i just found my interest waning. i also though there'd be more turtle :(
synchcat's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I found it difficult to finish , after the first set of characters the pace became too slow and distracting. The Magic realism started seeming unnecessary which the author couldn’t keep up with in the second part of the book
reags03's review against another edition
3.5
A very beautifully written book, with many important life lessons scattered throughout. I did find it a bit difficult to get through after the first section; the pacing was quite slow and there wasn't much in terms of plot.
aimeesue's review against another edition
4.0
Shubhangi Swarup's debut novel Latitudes of Longing is a gorgeously written set of four loosely interlinked novellas, all concerned with the ways in which we humans connect to our planet. Starting with Islands, and moving on to Faultline, Valley, and Snow Desert, each section focuses on a character or couple and explores their relationships with each other and with the terrain. We spend time with couple in the first section, Gijira Prasad and Chanda Devi in the Islands, and then the story moves to the Faultline via their maid, Mary, who travels to Burma to find her son who is a political prisoner. In Burma we then meet the son's best friend, Thapa. Thapa's story is told in. Valley, and then his smuggling career leads us to a distant village in Snow Desert, where we hear a tale of love in old age.
While I enjoyed the relaying of the tales - and LOVED the lush writing about the natural world, the themes and story line didn't carry all the way through, and the ending fell a little flat for me. Latitudes of Longing is, however, one of my favorite reads this year, and I still laugh at the thought of a ghost billy goat. Worth a read for the descriptions of the islands alone.
While I enjoyed the relaying of the tales - and LOVED the lush writing about the natural world, the themes and story line didn't carry all the way through, and the ending fell a little flat for me. Latitudes of Longing is, however, one of my favorite reads this year, and I still laugh at the thought of a ghost billy goat. Worth a read for the descriptions of the islands alone.
lifeonmarz's review against another edition
had to return it to the library. would pick up again!