G.V. Desani
1948
Around 315 pages
Around 315 pages
It always makes me nervous when a novel is praised by authors I don't really vibe with. Both Salman Rushdie and Anthony Burgess (who wrote the preface) celebrate this novel, which is a red flag for me and my delicate tastes. And while I don't think Desani was being intentionally confusing, like some of my other arch-nemeses choose to be, the language was so esoteric that I have a very difficult time with the prose.
H. Hatterr was raised in missionary schools in Calcutta. He visits seven sages in seven Oriental cities, which sounds like a video game I would definitely play. Many of the phrases used could be found in the Hobson-Jobson, a glossary of Anglo-Indian terms that most readers would have been familiar with. Any novel that heavily uses slang loses its accessibility as time passes. That doesn't mean it can't be a rewarding read, but it takes work.
It is nice to get a perspective of India from someone other than a white man. But I think I needed one of those No Fear Shakespeare guides to get through it. Still easier to follow than Joyce.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
One of The Telegraph's 2014 list of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels.
UP NEXT: Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
No comments:
Post a Comment