onesime's review
4.0
Whatever else this book is, it's intense. It contains not only the story of the Ghoshes, a middle class family in Calcutta, but also shows the reader in minute detail the operations of a communist movement, the Naxalites. These two narratives are initially kept separate, the chapters of the Ghosh family being printed in a different font than the chapters dealing with rural agitation tactics. Part of the pleasure of reading this book derived from how Mukherjee sets up two distinct styles - colorful, melodramatic prose reminiscent (to this Swiss reader) of a Bollywood dramedy for the chapters set in the Ghosh household, and a mixture of kitchen sink (or rice field?) realism and sentimentality for the Naxalite story - only to tear down the boundaries between the two.
The oscillation between petty family quarrels and grueling violence turns this book into a roller-coaster ride, and it's not necessarily one that ends by coming to a smooth halt. In fact, the last 20 pages had me cringing and groaning on my bed - I finished reading it, but only in massive discomfort. Especially because what he describes here is quite plausibly happening to people the world over, as I sit here typing and as you sit there later, reading it. Although The Lives of Others - this family novel overflowing with emotional and environmental detail - isn't the type of book I would have expected to be a call to action, its description of people ruthlessly trying to secure relative advantages over others makes a really strong case for working towards a different and better world for everyone.
Beyond the fact that the book makes this bleeding heart bleed even more, it's fantastically well written and a pleasure to read (if your teeth are strong enough to remain gritted for large swathes of it). At some point we get this sentence: "Priyo als held that if you did not love what you did, love it so much that it took up permanent residence in a protected corner of your mind so that you were never without its company, if that kind of love was not there, then you would never be any good at it" (289). Reading The Lives of Others, it becomes clear that the English language has taken up permanent residence in a protected corner of Neel Mukherjee's mind, and it's extremely fortunate that he chooses to share what he loves with the world in the form of his novels.
The oscillation between petty family quarrels and grueling violence turns this book into a roller-coaster ride, and it's not necessarily one that ends by coming to a smooth halt. In fact, the last 20 pages had me cringing and groaning on my bed - I finished reading it, but only in massive discomfort. Especially because what he describes here is quite plausibly happening to people the world over, as I sit here typing and as you sit there later, reading it. Although The Lives of Others - this family novel overflowing with emotional and environmental detail - isn't the type of book I would have expected to be a call to action, its description of people ruthlessly trying to secure relative advantages over others makes a really strong case for working towards a different and better world for everyone.
Beyond the fact that the book makes this bleeding heart bleed even more, it's fantastically well written and a pleasure to read (if your teeth are strong enough to remain gritted for large swathes of it). At some point we get this sentence: "Priyo als held that if you did not love what you did, love it so much that it took up permanent residence in a protected corner of your mind so that you were never without its company, if that kind of love was not there, then you would never be any good at it" (289). Reading The Lives of Others, it becomes clear that the English language has taken up permanent residence in a protected corner of Neel Mukherjee's mind, and it's extremely fortunate that he chooses to share what he loves with the world in the form of his novels.
borumi's review
4.0
요즘 한 단어로 자기자신을 표현하는 게 유행인 듯하다.
만약 이 책에 대한 인상을 그렇게 단어로 축약한다면 떠오르는 단어는
overwhelming (-> 책이 독자에게 주는 영향)
그리고 overwrought (-> 책 자체의 성격)
일 것이다.
Overwhelming.
압도적인 불가항력..
이 책은 너무 처절하고 끔찍한 prologue부터가 독자를 사로잡는데
이후에도 눈을 뗄 수 없게 만든다.
죽음보다 못한 삶이어서 결국 죽음을 택한 한 농가에서 시작하고
독자는 마치 홀린 듯이 다음 페이지를 성급히 넘긴다.
다음에는 비교적 부유하고 상류층은 아니지만 상류층인 척하는 (원래 어중간한 사람들이 요런걸 더 따진다고 한다)
집안으로 이야기가 전환되나 이 집안도 결국 그들이 경멸하는 '급이 다른 것들'과 마찬가지로
저질적 언어와 속된 욕망, 시기와 경멸로 점철된 갈등, 온갖 비리들로 시궁창같이 썩어가는 콩가루집안이다.
게다가 바깥세상의 불공평한 계급사회처럼
4층으로 이루어진 이 집은 같은 가족 안에서도 철저한 계급에 따라 사는 곳이 구분되어 있고
그 중 최하층의 가족은 노예나 바퀴벌레와 다름없는 삶을 살아간다.
이 petty bourgeois 집안에서 나와 자기의 신념을 실행하고자 시골로 나가 Naxalite guerilla war에 뛰어든 집안의 장남의 장남인 Supratik.
이 protagonist가 bloodsucker같은 landowner와 썩은 정치가들과 경찰에 대한 분노,
그리고 약탈당하고 핍박받는 농민들에 대한 연민을 담은 편지가 이런 그의 dysfunctional한 가정사와 교차되며 이야기는 진행된다.
사회 문제와 함께 가족사를 함께 다루는 소설들은 많았지만
이 소설의 특징은 바로 그 제목처럼
가족 안에서도 계급이나 처지, 심리 즉 삶이 다른 others가 존재하고
사회에서도 그 others의 삶에 들어가고 이해하려는 노력들..
전지적 작가의 시점에서 작가는 계속 인물들이 자신의 입장에서 생각하는 모습과 남들의 눈을 통해 자신을 보는 모습을 대조시킨다.
그리고 Supratik이나 Madan처럼 이미 그 다른 삶들 간의 경계가 흐려져서 어디에도 돌아가지 못하는 사람도 있고
Sona처럼 그 천대받는 others의 삶이 항상 그렇게 남아있어야하지도 않고
서서히 망해가는 Ghosh 집안도 우위에 있는 자들 또한 항상 굳은 foundation위에 서서 군림하지 않을 거라는 메시지를 준다.
이런 방대한 이야기와 너무나도 실감나서 심장에 못을 박는 것 같은 이 이야기는 말그대로 overwhelming하다..
하지만 또 한면에는 이 이야기가 overwrought하기도 하였다.
overwrought에는 두가지 의미가 있는데 한가지는 과도하게 긴장한, 또 하나는 과하게 장식적인 이란 뜻이 있다.
갈수록 사람들의 attention span이 짧아져서 400 페이지만 넘어가도 너무 길다고 하는 사람들도 많지만
길이 자체는 그다지 길지 않다. 그리고 boring할 틈도 없다고 볼 정도로 다양한 이야기가 펼쳐진다.
(물론 중간 중간에 나오는 인도 현대사나 경제, 정치, 수학이론 등에 대한 이야기를 재미없다고 생각할 사람이 있을지 모르겠지만
그것조차도 나에게는 재미있는 이야기였으니 이는 사람 취향이라고 본다. 그리고 솔직히 역사, 경제, 정치, 사상이 빠져있는 이야기만 읽고 싶으면 장르소설과 YA 연애소설밖에 읽을 게 없어진다. Wake up and smell the newspaper ink!)
하지만 이 이야기를 완전히 소화하기 위해 일단 family tree를 보고 또 그 이름 뿐 아니라 가족 간의 호칭도 배워야하고
기타 호칭, 구어적표현, 인도 식물, 음식, 도구, 문화 등 여러가지 단어를 따로 제공된 glossary등에서 배워야하고 심지어 인도 지도까지 있다.
고등학교때 인도현대사를 배워서 인도 지역이나 satyagraha, swadeshi, gherao 정도는 알고 있는 나로서도 처음엔 한참 연구했어야 했다.
뭐, 그만큼 작가가 현장감을 더 부여하고 싶었을 거고 우리가 미국과 유럽 위주의 문화에만 익숙해져서 그런 걸 수도 있다.
덕분에 배운 것이 많았지만 책 자체가 overwhelming해서 지레 겁먹고 도중에 포기하는 독자들이 많을 것 같은 게 아쉽다.
게다가 어떤 부분에서는 너무 detail에 집착하거나 prose 자체가 너무 overwrought된 느낌을 지울 수가 없었다. 이게 인도 언어의 특징일 지도 모르겠지만... 일부분은 좀 과하지 않았나 싶었다.
Prose style과 내용 자체도 overwrought했지만
감정도 overwrought, 즉 과한 긴장감을 거의 쉴 새 없이 끊임없이 주기 때문에
다 읽고 나면 감정소모가 엄청 심해서 기진맥진한 기분이 든다.
하지만.. 정말 Naxalite guerrila war와 인도 사회문제에 대해 이렇게 강렬하게 파고든 소설이 있었을까 싶다.
Jhumpa Lahiri의 Lowlands와도 많이 비교하지만..
Lowlands와는 또 다른 매력과 깊이로 다가오는 것 같다. (그렇다고 어느쪽이 더 좋다는 것은 아니다.)
이 책은 이제 가족관계와 여러 reference에 대해 더 익숙해진 지금
재독을 하면 또다른 감동을 줄 것 같긴 하다.
하지만 지금으로서는 정신적으로도 감정적으로도 소진된 느낌이 들어서
솔직히 뭔가 더 가벼운 이야기의 YA 연애소설을 집어들고 싶은 마음도 있는 것 같다.
만약 이 책에 대한 인상을 그렇게 단어로 축약한다면 떠오르는 단어는
overwhelming (-> 책이 독자에게 주는 영향)
그리고 overwrought (-> 책 자체의 성격)
일 것이다.
Overwhelming.
압도적인 불가항력..
이 책은 너무 처절하고 끔찍한 prologue부터가 독자를 사로잡는데
이후에도 눈을 뗄 수 없게 만든다.
죽음보다 못한 삶이어서 결국 죽음을 택한 한 농가에서 시작하고
독자는 마치 홀린 듯이 다음 페이지를 성급히 넘긴다.
다음에는 비교적 부유하고 상류층은 아니지만 상류층인 척하는 (원래 어중간한 사람들이 요런걸 더 따진다고 한다)
집안으로 이야기가 전환되나 이 집안도 결국 그들이 경멸하는 '급이 다른 것들'과 마찬가지로
저질적 언어와 속된 욕망, 시기와 경멸로 점철된 갈등, 온갖 비리들로 시궁창같이 썩어가는 콩가루집안이다.
게다가 바깥세상의 불공평한 계급사회처럼
4층으로 이루어진 이 집은 같은 가족 안에서도 철저한 계급에 따라 사는 곳이 구분되어 있고
그 중 최하층의 가족은 노예나 바퀴벌레와 다름없는 삶을 살아간다.
이 petty bourgeois 집안에서 나와 자기의 신념을 실행하고자 시골로 나가 Naxalite guerilla war에 뛰어든 집안의 장남의 장남인 Supratik.
이 protagonist가 bloodsucker같은 landowner와 썩은 정치가들과 경찰에 대한 분노,
그리고 약탈당하고 핍박받는 농민들에 대한 연민을 담은 편지가 이런 그의 dysfunctional한 가정사와 교차되며 이야기는 진행된다.
사회 문제와 함께 가족사를 함께 다루는 소설들은 많았지만
이 소설의 특징은 바로 그 제목처럼
가족 안에서도 계급이나 처지, 심리 즉 삶이 다른 others가 존재하고
사회에서도 그 others의 삶에 들어가고 이해하려는 노력들..
전지적 작가의 시점에서 작가는 계속 인물들이 자신의 입장에서 생각하는 모습과 남들의 눈을 통해 자신을 보는 모습을 대조시킨다.
그리고 Supratik이나 Madan처럼 이미 그 다른 삶들 간의 경계가 흐려져서 어디에도 돌아가지 못하는 사람도 있고
Sona처럼 그 천대받는 others의 삶이 항상 그렇게 남아있어야하지도 않고
서서히 망해가는 Ghosh 집안도 우위에 있는 자들 또한 항상 굳은 foundation위에 서서 군림하지 않을 거라는 메시지를 준다.
이런 방대한 이야기와 너무나도 실감나서 심장에 못을 박는 것 같은 이 이야기는 말그대로 overwhelming하다..
하지만 또 한면에는 이 이야기가 overwrought하기도 하였다.
overwrought에는 두가지 의미가 있는데 한가지는 과도하게 긴장한, 또 하나는 과하게 장식적인 이란 뜻이 있다.
갈수록 사람들의 attention span이 짧아져서 400 페이지만 넘어가도 너무 길다고 하는 사람들도 많지만
길이 자체는 그다지 길지 않다. 그리고 boring할 틈도 없다고 볼 정도로 다양한 이야기가 펼쳐진다.
(물론 중간 중간에 나오는 인도 현대사나 경제, 정치, 수학이론 등에 대한 이야기를 재미없다고 생각할 사람이 있을지 모르겠지만
그것조차도 나에게는 재미있는 이야기였으니 이는 사람 취향이라고 본다. 그리고 솔직히 역사, 경제, 정치, 사상이 빠져있는 이야기만 읽고 싶으면 장르소설과 YA 연애소설밖에 읽을 게 없어진다. Wake up and smell the newspaper ink!)
하지만 이 이야기를 완전히 소화하기 위해 일단 family tree를 보고 또 그 이름 뿐 아니라 가족 간의 호칭도 배워야하고
기타 호칭, 구어적표현, 인도 식물, 음식, 도구, 문화 등 여러가지 단어를 따로 제공된 glossary등에서 배워야하고 심지어 인도 지도까지 있다.
고등학교때 인도현대사를 배워서 인도 지역이나 satyagraha, swadeshi, gherao 정도는 알고 있는 나로서도 처음엔 한참 연구했어야 했다.
뭐, 그만큼 작가가 현장감을 더 부여하고 싶었을 거고 우리가 미국과 유럽 위주의 문화에만 익숙해져서 그런 걸 수도 있다.
덕분에 배운 것이 많았지만 책 자체가 overwhelming해서 지레 겁먹고 도중에 포기하는 독자들이 많을 것 같은 게 아쉽다.
게다가 어떤 부분에서는 너무 detail에 집착하거나 prose 자체가 너무 overwrought된 느낌을 지울 수가 없었다. 이게 인도 언어의 특징일 지도 모르겠지만... 일부분은 좀 과하지 않았나 싶었다.
Prose style과 내용 자체도 overwrought했지만
감정도 overwrought, 즉 과한 긴장감을 거의 쉴 새 없이 끊임없이 주기 때문에
다 읽고 나면 감정소모가 엄청 심해서 기진맥진한 기분이 든다.
하지만.. 정말 Naxalite guerrila war와 인도 사회문제에 대해 이렇게 강렬하게 파고든 소설이 있었을까 싶다.
Jhumpa Lahiri의 Lowlands와도 많이 비교하지만..
Lowlands와는 또 다른 매력과 깊이로 다가오는 것 같다. (그렇다고 어느쪽이 더 좋다는 것은 아니다.)
이 책은 이제 가족관계와 여러 reference에 대해 더 익숙해진 지금
재독을 하면 또다른 감동을 줄 것 같긴 하다.
하지만 지금으로서는 정신적으로도 감정적으로도 소진된 느낌이 들어서
솔직히 뭔가 더 가벼운 이야기의 YA 연애소설을 집어들고 싶은 마음도 있는 것 같다.
n9mr9t9's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
kdhanda's review against another edition
1.0
Book starts off on a promising note: three generations living in one house and the interdependencies therein. After about a 100 pages, the book just failed to interest me.
lightwinged's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
juliwi's review against another edition
5.0
I requested this novel on Netgalley after reading its synopsis and thinking to myself that it sounded like a sweeping historical novel. India's history is fascinating, especially in the last century in which it seems to have developed exponentially. I was right on one front, this novel is definitely sweeping and it is one of the most engrossing I have read in a very long time.
This novel is immense, encompassing generations and nation. Although Mukherjee hasn't written a historical fiction novel in the sense that the plot doesn't revolve around a historical event such as the Indian Independence in 1947 or the subsequent Partition between India, Pakistan and then Bangladesh, The Lives of Others still picks up on how all of these changes affected a family. I would, therefore, very much class it as a family saga in the way that Tolstoy's War and Peace is, for example. We have three different generations, we have social codes, we have change, uprisings etc. which makes for an incredibly interesting read. Although initially it is hard to get to know all the characters and care about them equally, Mukherjee manages to, throughout the novel, continually give the reader slips of information regarding everyone and how they stand in relation to each other. This means that at the end of the novel you feel like you might finally understand all of them and then the it ends. Of course you can't care about all characters equally, but there is such a variety of emotions and events in the Gosh family that there is bound to be something for everyone.
The two major storylines are those of the family house and the people there, contrasted with Supratik's Communists efforts to improve the lives of the poor. This immediately juxtaposes two different sides, that of the conservative, older members of the family, and that of the young Supratik and thereby shows the age-old battle between renovation and those holding onto their traditions with all they have. In a culture that is still very dictated by social laws regarding seniority and hierarchy, the idea of communism that levels all social difference is like a fox in a chicken coop. Although at times the political talk may seem extraneous, a similar thing happens with a different character's mathematical interest, it informs the characters and is therefore necessary.
Mukherjee's writing style is a marvel. Not only is he incredibly loquacious, but also very eloquent. He makes subtle changes in his style when narrating each character's thoughts and actions which means that each character takes shape in his or her own way as well. He uses words I have never heard of, yet each makes sense in its setting. He also introduces a lot of Indian words, mixing them into speech quite easily. Thankfully there's a dictionary in the back, alongside an explanation of how relational hierarchy works in India. Writing in English, Mukherjee masterfully manages to bring India to the reader. His descriptions of landscape and the city are beautiful, ranging from the disgustingly detailed, in the best way, to the ultra-romantically sweeping. Similarly his dialogue seems very true, allowing him to portray realistic family relationships. Just because they're family, doesn't mean you understand them or get along with them.
At his best, Mukherjee reminds me of Salman Rushdie. Although it seems easy to compare these two authors based on the fact they're Indian, their novels and styles actually share certain qualities. Looking at the 1983 novel Shame, Rushdie shows himself excelling at creating family patterns and showing traditions in an endearing and alienating light at the same time. He also writes without holding back, going to the extremes in his descriptions and characters and sometimes maybe even to far. Mukherjee does the same in The Lives of Others, although he replaces magical realism with a stronger sense of realism. Questionable behaviour is universal, not only in the Gosh family but in everyone, and Mukherjee doesn't shy back from alienating his characters from his readers, may it be temporarily. His world is, at times, ugly and because of that incredibly honest. Spreading across 528 pages, Mukherjee bravely describes the downfall of a family in a world that doesn't stop changing around them.
Although I usually save this high rating for already established classics, I feel like it is only a matter of time till this novel will be ranked among them as well. Novels such as these don't simply come into existence, they are a labour of love and a result of a lot of social change. As such, The Lives of Others is a mark of its time and, as such, highly educative while sucking the reader in until the last page of the epilogue. I'd recommend this novel to people who aren't afraid to commit to a novel and want to be challenged by what they read. The experience you'll get is worth all the trouble the first few chapters might give you.
This novel is immense, encompassing generations and nation. Although Mukherjee hasn't written a historical fiction novel in the sense that the plot doesn't revolve around a historical event such as the Indian Independence in 1947 or the subsequent Partition between India, Pakistan and then Bangladesh, The Lives of Others still picks up on how all of these changes affected a family. I would, therefore, very much class it as a family saga in the way that Tolstoy's War and Peace is, for example. We have three different generations, we have social codes, we have change, uprisings etc. which makes for an incredibly interesting read. Although initially it is hard to get to know all the characters and care about them equally, Mukherjee manages to, throughout the novel, continually give the reader slips of information regarding everyone and how they stand in relation to each other. This means that at the end of the novel you feel like you might finally understand all of them and then the it ends. Of course you can't care about all characters equally, but there is such a variety of emotions and events in the Gosh family that there is bound to be something for everyone.
The two major storylines are those of the family house and the people there, contrasted with Supratik's Communists efforts to improve the lives of the poor. This immediately juxtaposes two different sides, that of the conservative, older members of the family, and that of the young Supratik and thereby shows the age-old battle between renovation and those holding onto their traditions with all they have. In a culture that is still very dictated by social laws regarding seniority and hierarchy, the idea of communism that levels all social difference is like a fox in a chicken coop. Although at times the political talk may seem extraneous, a similar thing happens with a different character's mathematical interest, it informs the characters and is therefore necessary.
Mukherjee's writing style is a marvel. Not only is he incredibly loquacious, but also very eloquent. He makes subtle changes in his style when narrating each character's thoughts and actions which means that each character takes shape in his or her own way as well. He uses words I have never heard of, yet each makes sense in its setting. He also introduces a lot of Indian words, mixing them into speech quite easily. Thankfully there's a dictionary in the back, alongside an explanation of how relational hierarchy works in India. Writing in English, Mukherjee masterfully manages to bring India to the reader. His descriptions of landscape and the city are beautiful, ranging from the disgustingly detailed, in the best way, to the ultra-romantically sweeping. Similarly his dialogue seems very true, allowing him to portray realistic family relationships. Just because they're family, doesn't mean you understand them or get along with them.
At his best, Mukherjee reminds me of Salman Rushdie. Although it seems easy to compare these two authors based on the fact they're Indian, their novels and styles actually share certain qualities. Looking at the 1983 novel Shame, Rushdie shows himself excelling at creating family patterns and showing traditions in an endearing and alienating light at the same time. He also writes without holding back, going to the extremes in his descriptions and characters and sometimes maybe even to far. Mukherjee does the same in The Lives of Others, although he replaces magical realism with a stronger sense of realism. Questionable behaviour is universal, not only in the Gosh family but in everyone, and Mukherjee doesn't shy back from alienating his characters from his readers, may it be temporarily. His world is, at times, ugly and because of that incredibly honest. Spreading across 528 pages, Mukherjee bravely describes the downfall of a family in a world that doesn't stop changing around them.
Although I usually save this high rating for already established classics, I feel like it is only a matter of time till this novel will be ranked among them as well. Novels such as these don't simply come into existence, they are a labour of love and a result of a lot of social change. As such, The Lives of Others is a mark of its time and, as such, highly educative while sucking the reader in until the last page of the epilogue. I'd recommend this novel to people who aren't afraid to commit to a novel and want to be challenged by what they read. The experience you'll get is worth all the trouble the first few chapters might give you.
fictionfan's review against another edition
Sometimes life really is too short...
This is the story of a large, extended family all living under one roof in Calcutta, and of one of the children of the family who becomes a Marxist agitator following the Naxalbari incident. I abandoned it at the halfway point – sometimes life really is too short. Fellow Amazon reviewer 'Mister Hobgoblin' has described it as 'Like The Lowland, but twice as long and half as good' and I think that's a perfect description. And I thought [b:The Lowland|17262100|The Lowland|Jhumpa Lahiri|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366930267s/17262100.jpg|23858897] was pretty underwhelming...
There are about twenty characters in the family and the book jumps about between them in a fairly random fashion. The timeline also varies and it's often not made clear what period we're in, though the main storyline seems to be the one set in the '60s. Combine this confusion with the fact that the author (probably realistically) uses three or more different variations of name for each character and frankly the book becomes extremely hard to follow. There is a family tree at the beginning, but I really expect authors to be skilled enough to keep me informed without me constantly having to break off to go consult charts, or look up the glossary of endless Indian words that are included in this book which is supposedly written in English (by an Indian born/English resident author).
But I would have been willing to make the effort to plough through the book if the story were interesting, the writing beautiful or the characters enjoyable to spend time with. Unfortunately that's not the case. The story is simply an observation of this unpleasant family that goes on and on in endless detail but never actually heads anywhere. The exception to this is the strand about the budding terrorist. Cut in at the end of chapters, this strand is told as a series of extracts from letters he sends to an unnamed person, possibly a lover – at the point I abandoned it we still don't know. Here we learn all about the lives of the rural poor, but from a distance – we never actually get to know any of the poor, just this angst-ridden middle-class Marxist's interpretation of them, liberally sprinkled with a regurgitation of Marxist theory – at great length.
The quality of the writing is fine – neither particularly bad nor good. Occasional passages are well written and there's no doubt he gives a very, very, very detailed picture of everything he describes (including lots and lots of abstruse mathematical theories – well, he obviously knew them, so why not put them in?). In my review of [b:The Goldfinch|17333223|The Goldfinch|Donna Tartt|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1378710146s/17333223.jpg|24065147], I quipped that Donna Tartt had obviously bought a couple of enormous economy sized bags of words and used them all – Mukherjee has obviously been to the same shop. I saw him being interviewed about the book on the BBC News channel and when asked about the length of the book he replied that he wanted the book to be 'densely rendered' (Good news! It is!) and that if people were paying £17 for the hardback he felt they should get their money's worth. Personally, I'd prefer to pay for quality rather than quantity. He also said that he thought even Indian people would find it hard to really understand the 'Bengali-ness' that he is apparently trying to portray – I guess therefore it's understandable that this Scot struggled to feel engaged.
The real flaw in the book though is that, out of this huge cast of characters, there isn't a single one who is likeable, engaging or even particularly interesting. The family on the whole dislike each other and that I did find understandable, since I disliked them all. We have bullying of children, animal cruelty, incest (or as good as), and sexual perversion of the most ridiculous kind about which it has been my misfortune to read. We have some members of the family being treated as second-class citizens within the home, sibling rivalry taken to extremes, obnoxious wives battling for domestic supremacy, servants being treated as badly as servants usually are, and beggars being turned away at the door to starve. Two weeks in this family and I'd have become a Marxist terrorist myself, I think.
I said it when I was reviewing Rohinton Mistry's [b:A Fine Balance|5211|A Fine Balance|Rohinton Mistry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386925449s/5211.jpg|865827] and I'll say it again – I do not believe that India is this unrelievedly awful. The problem with unmitigated misery is that it becomes numbing after a while – there has to be something to contrast it with if it's going to have an emotional impact. Or alternatively it has to be written so beautifully that the words themselves become the point. All of these people are so deeply unpleasant that this reader couldn't care less what happened to them. In fact, I was rather hoping for an alien invasion to brighten things up.
In truth, this probably deserves about three stars for the writing and descriptions but, since I found it such a dismal, tedious and ultimately pointless read that I couldn't bring myself to finish it, I feel I have no option but to put it in the 1-star slot. It's been shortlisted for the Booker, of course...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House Vintage.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
This is the story of a large, extended family all living under one roof in Calcutta, and of one of the children of the family who becomes a Marxist agitator following the Naxalbari incident. I abandoned it at the halfway point – sometimes life really is too short. Fellow Amazon reviewer 'Mister Hobgoblin' has described it as 'Like The Lowland, but twice as long and half as good' and I think that's a perfect description. And I thought [b:The Lowland|17262100|The Lowland|Jhumpa Lahiri|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366930267s/17262100.jpg|23858897] was pretty underwhelming...
There are about twenty characters in the family and the book jumps about between them in a fairly random fashion. The timeline also varies and it's often not made clear what period we're in, though the main storyline seems to be the one set in the '60s. Combine this confusion with the fact that the author (probably realistically) uses three or more different variations of name for each character and frankly the book becomes extremely hard to follow. There is a family tree at the beginning, but I really expect authors to be skilled enough to keep me informed without me constantly having to break off to go consult charts, or look up the glossary of endless Indian words that are included in this book which is supposedly written in English (by an Indian born/English resident author).
But I would have been willing to make the effort to plough through the book if the story were interesting, the writing beautiful or the characters enjoyable to spend time with. Unfortunately that's not the case. The story is simply an observation of this unpleasant family that goes on and on in endless detail but never actually heads anywhere. The exception to this is the strand about the budding terrorist. Cut in at the end of chapters, this strand is told as a series of extracts from letters he sends to an unnamed person, possibly a lover – at the point I abandoned it we still don't know. Here we learn all about the lives of the rural poor, but from a distance – we never actually get to know any of the poor, just this angst-ridden middle-class Marxist's interpretation of them, liberally sprinkled with a regurgitation of Marxist theory – at great length.
The quality of the writing is fine – neither particularly bad nor good. Occasional passages are well written and there's no doubt he gives a very, very, very detailed picture of everything he describes (including lots and lots of abstruse mathematical theories – well, he obviously knew them, so why not put them in?). In my review of [b:The Goldfinch|17333223|The Goldfinch|Donna Tartt|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1378710146s/17333223.jpg|24065147], I quipped that Donna Tartt had obviously bought a couple of enormous economy sized bags of words and used them all – Mukherjee has obviously been to the same shop. I saw him being interviewed about the book on the BBC News channel and when asked about the length of the book he replied that he wanted the book to be 'densely rendered' (Good news! It is!) and that if people were paying £17 for the hardback he felt they should get their money's worth. Personally, I'd prefer to pay for quality rather than quantity. He also said that he thought even Indian people would find it hard to really understand the 'Bengali-ness' that he is apparently trying to portray – I guess therefore it's understandable that this Scot struggled to feel engaged.
The real flaw in the book though is that, out of this huge cast of characters, there isn't a single one who is likeable, engaging or even particularly interesting. The family on the whole dislike each other and that I did find understandable, since I disliked them all. We have bullying of children, animal cruelty, incest (or as good as), and sexual perversion of the most ridiculous kind about which it has been my misfortune to read. We have some members of the family being treated as second-class citizens within the home, sibling rivalry taken to extremes, obnoxious wives battling for domestic supremacy, servants being treated as badly as servants usually are, and beggars being turned away at the door to starve. Two weeks in this family and I'd have become a Marxist terrorist myself, I think.
I said it when I was reviewing Rohinton Mistry's [b:A Fine Balance|5211|A Fine Balance|Rohinton Mistry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386925449s/5211.jpg|865827] and I'll say it again – I do not believe that India is this unrelievedly awful. The problem with unmitigated misery is that it becomes numbing after a while – there has to be something to contrast it with if it's going to have an emotional impact. Or alternatively it has to be written so beautifully that the words themselves become the point. All of these people are so deeply unpleasant that this reader couldn't care less what happened to them. In fact, I was rather hoping for an alien invasion to brighten things up.
In truth, this probably deserves about three stars for the writing and descriptions but, since I found it such a dismal, tedious and ultimately pointless read that I couldn't bring myself to finish it, I feel I have no option but to put it in the 1-star slot. It's been shortlisted for the Booker, of course...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House Vintage.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com