Oxford Bookworms 5. Heat and Dust

by Clare West, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (Original Author)

Heat and dust - these simple, terrible words describe the Indian summer. Year after year, endlessly, it is the same. And everyone who experiences this heat and dust is changed for ever. We often say, in these modern times, that sexual relationships have changed, for better or for worse. But in this book we see that things have not changed. Whether we look back sixty years, or a hundred and sixty, we see that it is not things that change, but people. And, in the heat and dust of an Indian summer, even people are not very different after all.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Clare West has over twenty years' TEFL classroom experience in the UK and overseas, and has led workshops for teachers in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Greece, and Argentina. For most of her teaching career she was involved with long-stay students on Cambridge examination courses, and engaged in the development of strategies to improve students' reading and writing skills.

She is now a freelance author, with a special interest in the literary and cultural aspects of language learning. Current writing projects include contributing to the Oxford Bookworms Library and Dominoes series, writing supplementary materials such as grammar workbooks, as well as being the Series Editor for the Oxford Bookworms Playscripts series.

Reviews

[cora ⁎⁺˳✧༚ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this book aims to teach English or promote racism.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This very well put-together novel paints a romantic picture of colonial India during the Raj, even as it moves deftly between two Indias: 1923 and 1975. But I wouldn't call this novel 'superb' maybe because we've had so many wonderful examples of romances from the Raj since then, and better ones. While reading this I did feel a powerful nostalgia for Graham Greene - something in the book's tone and portrayal of the female protagonist Olivia who seems rather a flipperty-gibbet to me: backboneless, drab and not even aptly portrayed as a bored, pretentious, shallow housewife who's pretending to be smart and intellectually superior to the rest of the women in society in the provincial district town where her husband is a junior administrator. She reminds me of a bored American housewife from the 50s. Still, I consumed this book in 2 days, so its a convenient, short read, if that's what you're after.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the book began in a very interesting way describing the time in colonial England well. The modern storyline was rather ordinary and unnecessary. The book's ending was disappointing,because the writing wasn't as dramatic as the events required.

[Francisco Duarte · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10

[Nouran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was mind-blowing! LITERALLY! The author has taken "history repeats itself" too literally. But it was beautiful,nonetheless.

[KevokevoMC · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book sucks in the way that there are so little words and it talks about only 2 main people in india over a 42 year period in time