Scan barcode
bunnie225's review against another edition
4.0
The fact that I finished this book within a week shows that Paul Scott is a brilliant, gripping writer if you're willing to wade through loads of context first. I just can't put it down. Raj fiction CAN be interesting and inspiring! In this novel, his eye for characterisation came into full form. I imagine this would be a wonderful series to examine the interpersonal relations between the British and the Indians - rubbing shoulders as comrades and colleagues, friends and lovers. In addition to that, it can be counted as some of the finest war fiction.
dujyt's review against another edition
5.0
The second book in this series has proven to be just as layered as the first book, [bc:The Raj Quartet (1): The Jewel in the Crown|711772|The Raj Quartet (1) The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion|Paul Scott|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320423071s/711772.jpg|698034] The Jewel in the Crown. The characters are so well developed and involving and I found myself "living" the novel in my head throughout reading it, a sure sign (to me) of a great book.
About a quarter of this book is told through the interrogation of Hari Kumar, a character from the first book, and I thought it was a masterful example of using the perspectives of at least 3 different characters to play out the unknowns we were left with at the end of the first book. Much of the book feels like you're following a mystery, but you get to follow the lines of logic and conclusions from various characters' understandings, not from just one point of view.
I'm so glad I was introduced to this series through the History Book Club on Goodreads. The author has created a portrait of India as it struggles to become independent; a fictional picture but so authentic and personal that I feel engaged in knowing and *caring* about India as a culture and a country today.
About a quarter of this book is told through the interrogation of Hari Kumar, a character from the first book, and I thought it was a masterful example of using the perspectives of at least 3 different characters to play out the unknowns we were left with at the end of the first book. Much of the book feels like you're following a mystery, but you get to follow the lines of logic and conclusions from various characters' understandings, not from just one point of view.
I'm so glad I was introduced to this series through the History Book Club on Goodreads. The author has created a portrait of India as it struggles to become independent; a fictional picture but so authentic and personal that I feel engaged in knowing and *caring* about India as a culture and a country today.
jackieeh's review against another edition
5.0
Gaaah! Just as good as the first book, if not better. I can't wait to get my hands on the next two.
margsnell's review against another edition
4.0
Quite possibly one of the saddest books I've ever read.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
5.0
The whole section about Hari. That is good writing. Seriously. Wonderful second book. Treats women as people and not just tits.
sophronisba's review against another edition
4.0
I don't think this is as strong as The Jewel in the Crown, but there is still some fine writing and characterization here. Eager to read the next book -- eager to reread the whole series at some point.
kathleenitpdx's review against another edition
4.0
This wonderful historical fiction is the second book in Scott's Raj Quartet. It is set in India during WWII. Again Scott presents interesting characters including Britons who are in the third generation in India who are beginning to see the end of British domination and don't understand where they belong, and Indians involved in various factions of the liberation movement, radicals and conservatives, Hindu and Moslem. Scott skillfully weaves in information from the first book so that you do not have to read it, [b:The Jewel in the Crown|146746|The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1)|Paul Scott|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328872722s/146746.jpg|2103139] to understand this book but I wouldn't miss it.
Fascinating pieces of history from this book that I did not know. Indian soldiers and officers in the British army who fought the Japanese in Burma and Malaya and became prisoners of war were turned by Japanese propaganda and formed the Indian National Army with the intention of liberating India from the British. And there were small autonomous kingdoms within India that the British allowed to exist at this point in history.
Fascinating pieces of history from this book that I did not know. Indian soldiers and officers in the British army who fought the Japanese in Burma and Malaya and became prisoners of war were turned by Japanese propaganda and formed the Indian National Army with the intention of liberating India from the British. And there were small autonomous kingdoms within India that the British allowed to exist at this point in history.
lnatal's review against another edition
5.0
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Episode 1 of 3
Sarah Layton's engagement is announced.
Her fiancé, Teddy Bingham, is stationed with his regiment in Mirat and is sharing his quarters with Captain Ronald Merrick.
Episode 2 of 3
Lady Manners hears Hari Kumar's account of his interrogation at the hands of Ronald Merrick. In Mirat.
Susan and Teddie get married, and back in Pankot, Barbie Batchelor has trouble with her wedding gift.
Episode 3 of 3
Sarah travels to Calcutta to visit Ronald Merrick in hospital and to hear at first hand of Teddie Bingham's tragic encounter with Indian National Army troops.
The last days of the British Raj in India as the Second World War leads inevitably towards independence.
Paul Scott's classic series of novels dramatised by John Harvey.
Sarah Layton - Lia Williams
Mildred Layton - Geraldine James
Susan Layton - Alex Tregear
Teddie Bingham - Nicholas Boulton
Ronald Merrick - Mark Bazeley
Lady Manners - Irene Sutcliffe
Count Bronowski - Gary Waldhorn
Fenny Grace - Selina Griffiths
Pandit Baba - Nadim Sawalha
Ahmed Kasim - Shiv Grewal
Nigel Rowan - Benedict Cumberbatch
Hari Kumar - Prasanna Puwanarajah
Gopal - Bhasker Patel
With Stuart McLoughlin and Robert Hastie.
Music by Raiomond Mirza.
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09v9wsb
Episode 1 of 3
Sarah Layton's engagement is announced.
Her fiancé, Teddy Bingham, is stationed with his regiment in Mirat and is sharing his quarters with Captain Ronald Merrick.
Episode 2 of 3
Lady Manners hears Hari Kumar's account of his interrogation at the hands of Ronald Merrick. In Mirat.
Susan and Teddie get married, and back in Pankot, Barbie Batchelor has trouble with her wedding gift.
Episode 3 of 3
Sarah travels to Calcutta to visit Ronald Merrick in hospital and to hear at first hand of Teddie Bingham's tragic encounter with Indian National Army troops.
The last days of the British Raj in India as the Second World War leads inevitably towards independence.
Paul Scott's classic series of novels dramatised by John Harvey.
Sarah Layton - Lia Williams
Mildred Layton - Geraldine James
Susan Layton - Alex Tregear
Teddie Bingham - Nicholas Boulton
Ronald Merrick - Mark Bazeley
Lady Manners - Irene Sutcliffe
Count Bronowski - Gary Waldhorn
Fenny Grace - Selina Griffiths
Pandit Baba - Nadim Sawalha
Ahmed Kasim - Shiv Grewal
Nigel Rowan - Benedict Cumberbatch
Hari Kumar - Prasanna Puwanarajah
Gopal - Bhasker Patel
With Stuart McLoughlin and Robert Hastie.
Music by Raiomond Mirza.
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09v9wsb
sookieskipper's review against another edition
The Day of the Scorpion expands from Jewel in the crown and we hear about what happened to the main characters in the first book. The country is in war with its colonizer and the colonizer is in war with its neighbors. Scott juxtaposes the multifaceted war and the myopic sympathetic wave that wasn't universal in its target. There is a biting anger harbored underneath the pages against the blatant atrocities, mismanagement and disingenuous regard for human life.
Jewel in the crown is better written but the day of the scorpion is impactful with its diverse characters. We see a different layer of Indian war which improves nuance of this epic.
Jewel in the crown is better written but the day of the scorpion is impactful with its diverse characters. We see a different layer of Indian war which improves nuance of this epic.
More...