Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Enchantress of Florence read

We met at Kate B's to talk about Rushdie's new effort, which seems to be in the vein of historical fiction, taking place in Fatehpur Sikri and Florence, and uses as its characters kings and rulers of the period. Kate P., Anne and Kate B were under the impression that Rushdie was following the style of E.L. Doctorow, that is, in creating opportunities for unlikely people to meet up, however Narayan reminded us of his research on Manucci, which he explained was the basis for the Mogor character. Narayan did not care to finish the book, pointing out that every Indian school child learns the Mughals and therefore he does not feel that he is the intended audience. Kate and Kate were generally underwhelmed by the novel, but perhaps didn't expect too much, not being huge Rushdie fans to begin with (ditto for Narayan). Kate P. felt that it did not read like a typical Rushdie in that the Hobson-Jobson wordplay was seriously toned down. The book's biggest booster was Anne, who says that she really likes royal historical fiction as a rule, always has, and relished the scenery and settings of the story as well. Still yet Anne felt that the middle section was boggy, and was tempted to skip to the end. Sorry Mr. Rushdie. (By the way, isn't this cover pretty? Must be the British edition).

Wednesday, October 8, 2008


I was wondering if anyone else was interested in the references to Chagatai lineage/familial connections that his character Akbar mentions in the new Rushdie. Chagatai Khan was evidently one of two sons of Genghis Khan, and there are several slightly confusing articles on the Wikipedia pages, but I kind of like this one on Chugtai culture, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chughtai ...

(this is supposed to be a painting of his brother Ögedei, but I am hoping they looked similar- apparently Ögedei was a bigger badass..in this case not necessarily meant as a compliment..)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

White Tiger discussed


The group seemed fairly evenly split between supporters and detractors. The detractors maintained mostly that there was an unrealism or perhaps unlikeliness to the way that the character describes his own motives, and there was an undercurrent of questioning about intended audiences. This group felt that the book was clearly written for a western audience. The supporters alternately felt that the book might have a cartoonish element, but perhaps as in a political cartoon, that is, with an agenda of critique (dare we say agit prop?). The supporters also felt that the book was a useful glimpse at corruption at many levels of Indian public life today. Everyone agreed that the book lacked the sincerity of A Fine Balance, for example, but some saw this as a deliberate, perhaps post modern stylistic choice and others found it simply weaker by comparison, in part perhaps because one cannot fully empathize with the protagonist at the end of the novel. On the other hand, in every Mistry book the victims remain victims to the end, and in this one the reader can have the perverse satisfaction of seeing the underdog have his day. Everyone agreed that they were entertained by the book and found it fast and enjoyable to read ( Actually, not sure about Narayan and Mary Jane on this) and it seems there were few regrets.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

White Tiger

Narayan wished to post the following about a character in White Tiger: (more to follow I am sure)

The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga

Note 1 ;

I was intrigued on p.29 by this : “The photo was of a plump man with spiky white hair and chubby cheeks, wearing thick earrings of gold; the face glowed with intelligence and kindness.” I figured it out by p.40; here he is, “The Great Socialist” …

http://www.kamat.com/database/biographies/ram_manohar_lohia.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Manohar_Lohia

Adiga must have mistaken his plump earlobes for gold earrings.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008


Brief comments on what we have read so far, from memory (-please add your 2cents, disputes, etc as you like):


Inheritance of loss, Kirin Desai

Everyone seemed to like the style of this book, but had some issues with the local details. Someone help me here, I can't remember much..

Unaccustomed earth, Jhumpa Lahiri

OK at the beginning both Amardeep and Samian really liked this, also Kate B. but Kate P. felt it (as with other Lahiris) was ultimately cold. After much discussion Kate P. realized that she feels Lahiri's writing style has more in common with some of the WASP New Yorker magazine authors, the people in the stories are generally disconnected emotionally. This was the essence of why it is uninteresting to her- a lack of epiphany and a lack of feeling connected. Perhaps this influenced the group a little. As a proviso, Kate P. also mentioned the interesting task that JL has in regards to representing the upper middle class American desi- sort of a burden, ala Bill Cosby. Samian's mom and dad generally liked the book. Samian and Amardeep pointed to several pungent moments in the stories.

A golden age Tahmima Anam

So this book was much admired in most cases, a full group attending. The book seemed to be very simply written but with a strong plot. Many people felt it was a good introduction to the history of the creation of Bangladesh. Samian had a particular problem with authenticity in the way a lamb was cooked whole. There was some debate about whether the mother's character was fully fleshed out, or whether she was mostly just a cipher for her children's lives, and whether that was OK or not. Many people enjoyed the writing about the relationship between the mother and the general.

I dream of microwaves, Imad Rahman

This one was very controversial. It sparked a lot of debate. Narayan in particular disliked this one. Kate P thought it hilarious and worthwhile. There was a lot of laughter among group members in the midst of discussion, and everyone admitted that they were not bored at any rate. The group was unclear about whether it was short stories as it masqueraded itself. or rather sequential vignettes, as Kate P. insisted. The taste issue here might be paramount- if the reader likes post-modern ironic sorts of works, she or he might think this one wonderful. Kate P. also really liked the many references to identity issues and ethnicity, and the post 9-11 world for diaspora Muslim men in particular, and as a sideline, the stuff about actors and theater as well. I cannot remember all of the objections to the story exactly, I am sorry.

Chemmeen, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai

This was a Malayali title suggested by Sanjay, from the 1950's. This came about because we were looking around for some Indian authors in translation. (ditto for Samskara). Of the small group that attended, several did not completely finish the story, perhaps because it was a bit dense in parts. Much admired was the emphasis on the immutability of caste and marriage, and the picture of a fishing village in its day. One really fun thing was that we watched snippets of the famous Malayali film on Youtube while all together. The music and scenery were luscious.

The Hamilton case, Michelle de Kretser

Strangely enough, this was a short discussion. Sanjay was the only one I think that really did not care for the book, feeling that he got burned out by the self-conscious stylization of the author. Mary Jane and others agreed that the point of the book was not the mystery of the Hamilton murder, and Amardeep mentioned that the real detective story consists of what will the lead character do, will we get to know him and will he evolve. I hope I got that right. Sanjay said that his favorite part was what happens to the character's mother in the jungle, which both Narayan and Kate P. mentioned was very reminiscent somehow of Michael Ondaatje's autobiographical story of his family, also in Sri Lanka. Jamie was back with her new little baby, which was a huge treat for everyone, and made me kind of forget the smart things that she said.

Age of Shiva, Manil Suri

The discussion here broke down mostly along gender lines. The men in the group generally accepted the veracity of the author's voice as a man writing from a women's point of view. The women were pretty indignant about the idea that a woman would have such incestuous feelings about her own son, and be basically an empty shell otherwise. Although the story is not badly written, both Jamie, Kate, Kate, Mary Jane, and Samian felt that the story was rather one dimensional and did not go anywhere really. Sanjay felt that in his psychology field, he has seen weirdness as weird as this before. Amardeep was inclined to give the author a break, and liked some of the historical references to communal violence (I think?). Many had trouble with the authors specific use of the first person narrative, in which the lead character talks to her son the whole time, giving a feeling of separation from the story, or interrupting the suspension of disbelief, although I think Amardeep disagreed. Kate P. felt that the book was on a much lower level than the author's first effort, the Death of Vishnu, which dealt more with duty and class issues, and was rather transcendent. So we were all left wondering what to expect with the third of the trilogy.

Samskara, U. R. Anantha Murthy

I am sorry to say that I can't remember a whole lot about the discussion of this one, I seem to recall it being a bit hard to get in to, even though a classic, and look forward to someone adding comments to this.

The reluctant fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid

Here was a more effective use of the first person narrative (as compared with The Age of Shiva). In this story we are mystified as to whom is the bad guy, setting up a sense of the unreliable narrator. It was generally very well liked, although the segments taking place in the US seemed a bit weaker to people. Kate P. had a reservation about the use of the word "fundamentalist" in the title- was it for sales/senstational effect? Because the character never does become religious in the story, let alone extreme. Amardeep and Kate P. both attended a talk by this author at the Free Library and K. asked him during Q & A why he named the character Changiz, perhaps a reference to Changiz Khan (Ghengis Khan) ? He said yes, and that it was meant with irony, that is, the one whom is completely powerless is portrayed as having teutonic power. Which led our group to a small discussion of the idea of- if there is no way to make a super power listen, to stop bombing ones' country, what remains except random acts of individual violence?

Evening is the whole day, Preeta Samarasan
A small group met at Mary Jane's place, Amardeep, Kate P., Narayan, Sanjay. Narayan particularly admired this book, both for the writing and the content. He and Kate and MJ all enjoyed very much a snapshot of Malaysia in the 1960's. Amardeep and Sanjay had some reservations- maybe the stage for the book was too small- restricted to the confines of the family's dysfunctional mansion. This led to a discussion of why people read books written by people from other cultures. MJ and K. are inspired to read to learn about cultural realities. what makes families work, how people do things. Narayan and Amardeep feel that history and other factual things are best learned by reading non-fiction as a back ground to fiction. K and MJ noted that you can learn a lot by reading fiction as well. We got to talking about how Updike and Oates are just as ethnic as any writer from another part of the world, and probably a great place to learn about class and the culture of WASPS for example...Amardeep's other reservation is structural-he felt that the book was done somewhere in the middle- and that after-stories were tacked on, and unnecessary at least.


Here is a primary list of what we have read, add comments in the sections below

Read since beginning of book group
Inheritance of loss, Kirin Desai
Unaccustomed earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
A golden age Tahmima Anam
I dream of microwaves, Imad Rahman
Chemmeen, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
The Hamilton case, Michelle de Kretser
Age of Shiva, Manil Suri
Samskara, U. R. Anantha Murthy
The Reluctant fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid
Evening is the whole day, Preeta Samarasan
English, August, Upamanyu Chatterjee