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soshivaniofher's review against another edition
4.0
considered the manifesto of indian writing in english, i feel it is important for every indian reader to read this work of fiction, once in their lives. the novel incorporates indian tradition of storytelling, sthalapuarana, and intermingles it with the western ideal of writing a novel. raja rao's writing is exquisite and heavily influenced by indian philosophy and culture. (as is seen almost at every turning page in the novel).
2000s's review against another edition
2.0
Some interesting concepts explored about oral storytelling, age, caste, and revolution and so on, but I feel like the writing style was too rambly for me and the stakes of the plot didn't feel as high as they actually were.
singh_reads_kanwar2's review against another edition
3.0
Review: The story is set in pre-independence era and people talks about caste system, separate religious places for down trodden people, and story about village from whom government want there land for designing a beautiful town for Englishman families, and take out people from the village in order to fulfill there dreams, but people stand tall they lost the battle fighting with Gandhi ji ideology of non-violence and fight till very end and what we see that whole village stand as United for struggle to save the land and that was biggest achievement of them . As they stand without the difference of caste , creed , religion, and from there struggle for freedom starts.
Writer have impact of Mahatma Gandhi and his teaching , it can be used as stalhapurana question...
Main character changes the mindset of the village by himself as he studied in country side where he came in contact with Gandhi and his followers and thus advocate unity .
Writer have impact of Mahatma Gandhi and his teaching , it can be used as stalhapurana question...
Main character changes the mindset of the village by himself as he studied in country side where he came in contact with Gandhi and his followers and thus advocate unity .
meowlvika's review against another edition
3.0
2.5ish/5
I don't know what to feel about this book actually.
Did I enjoy it? In bits and pieces, yes.
Was it the plot? Nope.
The language? Nope.
The characters? Nope.
But I still enjoyed it. Is it because its Raja Rao, a big name in Indian English literature? Perhaps it's because I have a 1966 copy stolen from a grandaunt, belonging to a lady who is apparently not my grandaunt.
But yes. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly I enjoyed about the book.
The language did not really bother me (as it did to other readers). It's probably because I have developed an immunity to ponderous language after pondering over books on indian eng lit in school. (And developed the talent of boring people too, apparently). Or maybe because I have grown up around that kind of language being spoken everyday, from 7 to 9.
The language is very much an oral folktelling on paper. It reminds me of the way grandmothers make you sit with chai and biscuits, and start recounting tales. My own grandmother would call random people randomly to tell them about the son of the daughter of an aunt of my father's cousin, who would be spoken of today and forgotten tomorrow. It is this exact thing you notice with the protagonist in the story. And you can tell from the outset that she is old and possibly a widow. Quite an overused stereotype.
As for the plot, it is typical of stories written during the freedom struggle. I enjoyed the way Rao painted the movement taking place on the village level, because minus the basic history, individual accounts are hadd to come by. So yes. A story written by a man who lived during the freedom movement gives you a glimpse of the society, the people, their retaliations, and more importantly, how they might have been persuaded to join the struggle.
Characters. Not satisfactory. I feel like, I barely know anyone except Moorthappa. However, when I link the randomness with which the names are dropped with the narrative style (+the stereotype of the old grandmas), they make complete sense.
Yes. Yes. Moorthappa. Of course. I know Moorthappa. And Ramappa, yes yes. I know her. And yes yes. I've heard about (rather read about) the spitting woman (whatever her name was).
The characters are exactly like what I suggested 2 paragraphs before. They are spoken of today, forgotten tomorrow. You read one page, you forget them in the next. You only remember them if they are spoken of incessantly. There's also this quaint rural Indianess I find in Rao's characters (especially in the way they interact with each other)
Moorthappa's character, while not the best, is very characteristic of a city-educated Indian during freedom struggle. His shift from Gandhism to Nehruvism is I believe symbolic of Gandhi yielding the charge to Nehru (as he himself said, I think after Civil Disobedience? Not sure. You might want to check that.) The popularity of Nehru, his take on socialism, and the ease with which he inspired youths also add to the reason for Moorthy's shift, and as such, despite its abruptness, doesn't come as a surprise. His behaviour, at various stages, are also very much in tune with the way congressmen behaved in the early days of freedom struggle.
Anyway, its an okayish book. You don't lose anything if you don't read it. However, if you do read it, I'd suggest jotting down the names of the characters while you read. It'd help you form connections easily. They can be quite confusing. Especially if you leave the book midway (like I did.)
I don't know what to feel about this book actually.
Did I enjoy it? In bits and pieces, yes.
Was it the plot? Nope.
The language? Nope.
The characters? Nope.
But I still enjoyed it. Is it because its Raja Rao, a big name in Indian English literature? Perhaps it's because I have a 1966 copy stolen from a grandaunt, belonging to a lady who is apparently not my grandaunt.
But yes. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly I enjoyed about the book.
The language did not really bother me (as it did to other readers). It's probably because I have developed an immunity to ponderous language after pondering over books on indian eng lit in school. (And developed the talent of boring people too, apparently). Or maybe because I have grown up around that kind of language being spoken everyday, from 7 to 9.
The language is very much an oral folktelling on paper. It reminds me of the way grandmothers make you sit with chai and biscuits, and start recounting tales. My own grandmother would call random people randomly to tell them about the son of the daughter of an aunt of my father's cousin, who would be spoken of today and forgotten tomorrow. It is this exact thing you notice with the protagonist in the story. And you can tell from the outset that she is old and possibly a widow. Quite an overused stereotype.
As for the plot, it is typical of stories written during the freedom struggle. I enjoyed the way Rao painted the movement taking place on the village level, because minus the basic history, individual accounts are hadd to come by. So yes. A story written by a man who lived during the freedom movement gives you a glimpse of the society, the people, their retaliations, and more importantly, how they might have been persuaded to join the struggle.
Characters. Not satisfactory. I feel like, I barely know anyone except Moorthappa. However, when I link the randomness with which the names are dropped with the narrative style (+the stereotype of the old grandmas), they make complete sense.
Yes. Yes. Moorthappa. Of course. I know Moorthappa. And Ramappa, yes yes. I know her. And yes yes. I've heard about (rather read about) the spitting woman (whatever her name was).
The characters are exactly like what I suggested 2 paragraphs before. They are spoken of today, forgotten tomorrow. You read one page, you forget them in the next. You only remember them if they are spoken of incessantly. There's also this quaint rural Indianess I find in Rao's characters (especially in the way they interact with each other)
Moorthappa's character, while not the best, is very characteristic of a city-educated Indian during freedom struggle. His shift from Gandhism to Nehruvism is I believe symbolic of Gandhi yielding the charge to Nehru (as he himself said, I think after Civil Disobedience? Not sure. You might want to check that.) The popularity of Nehru, his take on socialism, and the ease with which he inspired youths also add to the reason for Moorthy's shift, and as such, despite its abruptness, doesn't come as a surprise. His behaviour, at various stages, are also very much in tune with the way congressmen behaved in the early days of freedom struggle.
Anyway, its an okayish book. You don't lose anything if you don't read it. However, if you do read it, I'd suggest jotting down the names of the characters while you read. It'd help you form connections easily. They can be quite confusing. Especially if you leave the book midway (like I did.)
penguinpuffin's review against another edition
1.0
I enjoyed learning about the anti-colonial movement and the Gandhian movement, but I could not warm up to Rao's writing style. I know that writing in English is a protest in and of itself and that combining the language of the colonizers with the style of oral storytelling... but it just wasn't enjoyable for me.
themockingbard's review against another edition
3.0
A difficult read, but I appreciate why it was difficult.
jelliestars's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ariannam's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
This was really hard to read from a stylistic point of view, and narrated in a way that made it almost impossible for me to care about what was happening. I don't think this was bad per se, but it definitely wasn't for me.