amoghsinha's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
katiebell1515's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
annawiththebooks's review against another edition
4.5
Ah, I need E.M Forster at least once a year (preferably in summer)
A Passage To India, the last of his six novels, explores the tensions in British-India as the Empire draws to its end and asks the question: Can the British and the Indians ever be friends? It’s really satisfying that the book ends with really the only true answer one can give. (No spoilers!)
Dr.Aziz, a charming Indian doctor, befriends the English teacher Mr.Fielding, Mrs Moore and Adela Quested (who has come to India in order to marry Ronny Heaslop, the City’s Magistrate and son of Mrs Moore) Aziz and Fielding especially get along so well, because neither of them “wants to take sides”. But when Aziz gets accused of having assaulted Miss Quested in the Marabar Caves, scandal invades the City and everyone is more or less forced to make up his mind about this incident. Mr Fielding is, to his own bad, the only Englishman that defends Aziz but their friendship still seems for ever damaged as Aziz begins to hate the English.
There were quite a lot of characters, some more fleshed out than others and Mr Fielding is by far one of Forster’s most interesting characters imo. I loved every conversation that included him.
I sometimes wished I knew more about India before reading this as I was sometimes overwhelmed with everything going on (esp near the end of the book), but I definitely learned quite a bit throughout the novel.
Really interesting also that he took a look at the tensions that were existing between the Indians already (esp religious separations between Muslims and Hindus) and how they prevented Indians from uniting into a strong nation.
As with every Forster novel, he really takes you on a journey (a rather slow-paced one!), this time quite literally!
And also - not unexpected - the writing is gorgeous. The amount of ways Forster finds to express the most banal normalities and also the most reflective little philosophies astonishes me every time. Here are some of my favourite lines:
- “It matters so little to the majority of living beings what the minority, that calls itself human, desires or decides.”
- “Most of life is so dull that there is nothing to be said about it, and the books and talk that would describe it as interesting are obliged to exaggerate, in the hope of justifying their own existence.”
- “It’s only one’s own dead who matter. If for a moment the sense of communion in sorrow came to them, it passed. How indeed is it possible for one human being to be sorry for all the sadness that meets him on the face of the earth, for the pain that is endured not only by men, but by animals and plants, and perhaps by the stones? The soul is tired in a moment, and in fear of losing the little she does understand she retreats to the permanent lines which habit or chance have dictated, and suffers there.”
The novel ranks second for me in the three Forster books I’ve read (followed by Howard’s End with my all-time favourite being A Room With A View). I suppose the reason for this being that A Passage To India offers a refreshing new setting compared to his novels set in England.
For me, Forster is so profoundly British and yet he is “a man of the world” with curious appreciation for the Indian way of life. He writes:
“Fielding, who had dressed up in a native costume, learned from his excessive awkwardness in it that all his motions were makeshifts, whereas when the Nawab Bahadur stretched out his hand for food, or Nurredin applauded a song, something beautiful had been accomplished which needed no development. This restfulness of gesture - it is the peace that passeth Understanding, after all, it is the social equivalent of Yoga. When the whirling of action ceases, it becomes visible, and reveals a civilisation which the West can disturb but will never acquire.”
It’s 4 and a half stars because A Room With A View will forever be my little gem and also (like with all of Forster’s books): sometimes there are so big gatherings where everyone’s talking and you don’t know who’s saying what and who’s talking to whom and so on haha.
But apart from that, it really is brilliant and timeless. Not (only) because it’s anti-Colonialism, that would only leave us today saying: Well, yeah, he’s right. But there is so much more dimension in this, it is, in Forster’a words, “about the universe as embodied in the Indian earth and the Indian sky.”, and can thus be discussed till Eternity.
A Passage To India, the last of his six novels, explores the tensions in British-India as the Empire draws to its end and asks the question: Can the British and the Indians ever be friends? It’s really satisfying that the book ends with really the only true answer one can give. (No spoilers!)
Dr.Aziz, a charming Indian doctor, befriends the English teacher Mr.Fielding, Mrs Moore and Adela Quested (who has come to India in order to marry Ronny Heaslop, the City’s Magistrate and son of Mrs Moore) Aziz and Fielding especially get along so well, because neither of them “wants to take sides”. But when Aziz gets accused of having assaulted Miss Quested in the Marabar Caves, scandal invades the City and everyone is more or less forced to make up his mind about this incident. Mr Fielding is, to his own bad, the only Englishman that defends Aziz but their friendship still seems for ever damaged as Aziz begins to hate the English.
There were quite a lot of characters, some more fleshed out than others and Mr Fielding is by far one of Forster’s most interesting characters imo. I loved every conversation that included him.
I sometimes wished I knew more about India before reading this as I was sometimes overwhelmed with everything going on (esp near the end of the book), but I definitely learned quite a bit throughout the novel.
Really interesting also that he took a look at the tensions that were existing between the Indians already (esp religious separations between Muslims and Hindus) and how they prevented Indians from uniting into a strong nation.
As with every Forster novel, he really takes you on a journey (a rather slow-paced one!), this time quite literally!
And also - not unexpected - the writing is gorgeous. The amount of ways Forster finds to express the most banal normalities and also the most reflective little philosophies astonishes me every time. Here are some of my favourite lines:
- “It matters so little to the majority of living beings what the minority, that calls itself human, desires or decides.”
- “Most of life is so dull that there is nothing to be said about it, and the books and talk that would describe it as interesting are obliged to exaggerate, in the hope of justifying their own existence.”
- “It’s only one’s own dead who matter. If for a moment the sense of communion in sorrow came to them, it passed. How indeed is it possible for one human being to be sorry for all the sadness that meets him on the face of the earth, for the pain that is endured not only by men, but by animals and plants, and perhaps by the stones? The soul is tired in a moment, and in fear of losing the little she does understand she retreats to the permanent lines which habit or chance have dictated, and suffers there.”
The novel ranks second for me in the three Forster books I’ve read (followed by Howard’s End with my all-time favourite being A Room With A View). I suppose the reason for this being that A Passage To India offers a refreshing new setting compared to his novels set in England.
For me, Forster is so profoundly British and yet he is “a man of the world” with curious appreciation for the Indian way of life. He writes:
“Fielding, who had dressed up in a native costume, learned from his excessive awkwardness in it that all his motions were makeshifts, whereas when the Nawab Bahadur stretched out his hand for food, or Nurredin applauded a song, something beautiful had been accomplished which needed no development. This restfulness of gesture - it is the peace that passeth Understanding, after all, it is the social equivalent of Yoga. When the whirling of action ceases, it becomes visible, and reveals a civilisation which the West can disturb but will never acquire.”
It’s 4 and a half stars because A Room With A View will forever be my little gem and also (like with all of Forster’s books): sometimes there are so big gatherings where everyone’s talking and you don’t know who’s saying what and who’s talking to whom and so on haha.
But apart from that, it really is brilliant and timeless. Not (only) because it’s anti-Colonialism, that would only leave us today saying: Well, yeah, he’s right. But there is so much more dimension in this, it is, in Forster’a words, “about the universe as embodied in the Indian earth and the Indian sky.”, and can thus be discussed till Eternity.
roses_readingspace's review against another edition
3.0
Set in British India in the 1920s, the story examines the clash of races and cultures. When a young English lady, Miss Quested, accuses an Indian man Dr. Aziz of having assaulted her in the Marabar caves, the city finds itself divided between the Indians and the British. Aziz maintains his innocence and Adela is so traumatized by the incident that she’s not very clear about what happened in the dark caves.
.
“We may hate one another, but we hate you most...yes, we shall drive every blasted Englishman into the sea.”
When I read these lines at the back of the book I thought it would have more about the fight and rebellion of Indians against the British but alas it was just a fictional story about the differences between them.
Thus I was disappointed after reading the book but anyone with an interest in history or a study of cultures will find it a good read because it's a well written book.
.
Set at a time when the end of British rule in India was looking imminent, A Passage to India deals with the difficulties of friendship between the ruling class and the subjugated. It also examines the difficulty that outsiders face in understanding India and her people. Also India by itself is divided along lines of religions and caste.
.
The author examines the concept of friendship – between Indians, between men and women, between Indians and Britishers. And asks if friendship is possible between ruler and the subjugated.
At the end, we realise that Indians regardless of their differences with each other can be friends but cannot be friends with the British till they continue to rule India.
.
“We may hate one another, but we hate you most...yes, we shall drive every blasted Englishman into the sea.”
When I read these lines at the back of the book I thought it would have more about the fight and rebellion of Indians against the British but alas it was just a fictional story about the differences between them.
Thus I was disappointed after reading the book but anyone with an interest in history or a study of cultures will find it a good read because it's a well written book.
.
Set at a time when the end of British rule in India was looking imminent, A Passage to India deals with the difficulties of friendship between the ruling class and the subjugated. It also examines the difficulty that outsiders face in understanding India and her people. Also India by itself is divided along lines of religions and caste.
.
The author examines the concept of friendship – between Indians, between men and women, between Indians and Britishers. And asks if friendship is possible between ruler and the subjugated.
At the end, we realise that Indians regardless of their differences with each other can be friends but cannot be friends with the British till they continue to rule India.
jeansbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
saralynnburnett's review
4.0
Forster always does a fabulous job at showing tensions (think: rich and poor in Howard's End) and A Passage to India was no different. I enjoyed this book from the beginning, but some of the characters were not as fleshed out as I wanted them to be, and a lot of the minor characters felt like half portraits - either drop them or commit to them. I LOVED the end of this book (when things actually happen) and all the time while reading I couldn't help but think about how it parallels so perfectly with the whole America v. the Middle East racial issues we are dealing with today. The best thing about this book is that there is no 'bad guy' and no 'good guy' - people make mistakes, judge others, forgive others (or not) and the world moves on. Too bad we still haven't figured out how to put skin color and cultural differences aside, and how to stamp out imperialism.
crepuscule's review
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sgenheden's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
_marigrd_'s review against another edition
4.0
Forster prova a dipingere il traballante equilibrio dell’impero britannico dopo la prima guerra mondiale. I personaggi che ha creato sono caratterizzati in maniera decisa e inequivocabile, tanto che si può capire chi conduce il discorso senza che l’autore lo specifichi. Si parla di difficili relazioni tra non solo gli oppressi e gli oppressori di questa parte di impero, ma tra i diversi gruppi delle fazioni: i militari inglesi, i funzionari, i maestri britannici che però difendono gli alunni indiani. Forster ci delinea come “indiano” sia un termine quasi esclusivo degli inglesi, perché non c’è lemma che in generale indichi la vasta e colorita popolazione di Chandrapore. Indù, islamici, i paria e le vacche per strada, ma anche i vapori speziati e i monsoni sono coinquilini della penisola.
Aziz penso non lo dimenticherò mai e mi ha fatto scoprire un modo della poesia diverso da come lo intendiamo noi.
Se cercate i luoghi che l’autore descrive rimarrete delusi dal sapere che non potrete visitarli mai perché inventati, ma le grotte Marabar senza dubbio hanno lasciato la loro eco nella mia testa. E la sento ancora…
Aziz penso non lo dimenticherò mai e mi ha fatto scoprire un modo della poesia diverso da come lo intendiamo noi.
Se cercate i luoghi che l’autore descrive rimarrete delusi dal sapere che non potrete visitarli mai perché inventati, ma le grotte Marabar senza dubbio hanno lasciato la loro eco nella mia testa. E la sento ancora…