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Get Ready for Battle
The tangled family affairs of a New Delhi businessman, whose cause-hungry wife urges her son to "get ready for battle" and do something with his life.
160 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1989
48 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
58 books187 followersRuth Prawer Jhabvala was a British and American novelist and screenwriter. She is best known for her collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, made up of film director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant.
In 1951, she married Indian architect Cyrus Jhabvala and moved to New Delhi. She began then to elaborate her experiences in India and wrote novels and tales on Indian subjects. She wrote a dozen novels, 23 screenplays, and eight collections of short stories and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas List of the 1998 New Years Honours and granted a joint fellowship by BAFTA in 2002 with Ivory and Merchant. She is the only person to have won both a Booker Prize and an Oscar.
In 1951, she married Indian architect Cyrus Jhabvala and moved to New Delhi. She began then to elaborate her experiences in India and wrote novels and tales on Indian subjects. She wrote a dozen novels, 23 screenplays, and eight collections of short stories and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas List of the 1998 New Years Honours and granted a joint fellowship by BAFTA in 2002 with Ivory and Merchant. She is the only person to have won both a Booker Prize and an Oscar.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 30, 2025
Written in 1962 the author captures a changing India. Vishnu the son living in the shadow of his father and trying to be modern. Kusum the mistress manipulating her lover to divorce his wife. The wife trying to do the right thing with poor people and up against caste and greed.
The story is poignant as well as very funny in parts using irony to capture India’s person and social problems. The story of a middle class family with their emotional entanglements is both perceptive and humorous. The characters are also described well with their problems of fitting in, helping the poor while also making money.
The story is poignant as well as very funny in parts using irony to capture India’s person and social problems. The story of a middle class family with their emotional entanglements is both perceptive and humorous. The characters are also described well with their problems of fitting in, helping the poor while also making money.
June 5, 2020
This little gem is proof that character triumphs over plot. The characters are phenomenal: nuanced, complex, sharp, and interesting. The plot is... these characters moving around in their world. The world itself is fascinating, post Partition urban India, so it’s no chore to read this book, but it’s a slice of life piece, so don’t expect a “happily ever after”.
November 2, 2008
Terrific writing. A mistress decides its time to marry and all the contortions she puts everyone through to make it happen. Also good characterisation of the lack luster son in the family.
May 25, 2019
Delightfully written tale of domestic love and troubles - of flawed characters who manage to grab joy out of life and also pile up strife for themselves too. Characters you want to shout at, shake and sometimes hug.
July 6, 2015
A fine read. I woman born of Polish parents in Germany. Came to England when she was 12. Writes about India. Poverty versus progress versus spirituality. Characters all lived in worlds that did not really connect. Written and published before I was born. Mine is an Australian response.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews