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Indian Tango
«Elle s'est tournée pour partir sans même me voir, rentrée en elle-même, inatteignable. Elle a resserré le pan de son sari sur ses épaules. Sous la finesse du tissu, l'échancrure de la blouse laisse entrevoir une poitrine abondante. Peut-être n'est-elle même pas consciente de son attrait? Peut-être n'y-a-t-il eu personne pour le lui apprendre et réveiller en elle quelque orgueil endormi, quelque secrète vanité? J'ai perçu en elle la promesse d'une musique qui n'avait pas encore été jouée et qui, même désaccordée, contiendrait sa secrète harmonie. Suffirait-il de jouer en virtuose de l'instrument pour l'allumer de lumières et de couleurs nouvelles et franchir ses ténèbres?»
Avril 2004, New Delhi. L'Inde est en pleine campagne électorale. Sonia Gandhi – l'Italienne, l'étrangère – deviendra-t-elle le prochain Premier ministre?… Mais pour Subhadra, cinquante-deux ans, grande, plutôt ronde, une femme ordinaire, la préoccupation est autre : ira-t-elle à ce pèlerinage de renoncement des femmes ménopausées que lui propose sa belle-mère pour marquer la fin de sa féminité? Ou cédera-t-elle au contraire à la mystérieuse séduction de l'autre qui la suit depuis un mois dans les rues de Delhi? Un étrange pas de deux, chassé-croisé amoureux qui lui offre une chose que personne ne lui a jamais offerte : son propre corps...
Avril 2004, New Delhi. L'Inde est en pleine campagne électorale. Sonia Gandhi – l'Italienne, l'étrangère – deviendra-t-elle le prochain Premier ministre?… Mais pour Subhadra, cinquante-deux ans, grande, plutôt ronde, une femme ordinaire, la préoccupation est autre : ira-t-elle à ce pèlerinage de renoncement des femmes ménopausées que lui propose sa belle-mère pour marquer la fin de sa féminité? Ou cédera-t-elle au contraire à la mystérieuse séduction de l'autre qui la suit depuis un mois dans les rues de Delhi? Un étrange pas de deux, chassé-croisé amoureux qui lui offre une chose que personne ne lui a jamais offerte : son propre corps...
196 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 2007
12 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
About the author
Ananda Devi
50 books105 followersAnanda Devi is a Mauritian writer. Her novel, Eve de ses décombres, won the Prix des cinq continents de la Francophonie in 2006, as well as several other prizes. It was adapted for the cinema by Sharvan Anenden and Harrikrisna Anenden. In 2007, Devi received the Certificat d'Honneur Maurice Cagnon du Conseil International d'Études Francophones.[1] She has since won other literary prizes, including the Prix du Rayonnement de la langue et de la littérature française of the Académie française. During 2010 she was bestowed with Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 22, 2022
Istnieją dwa typy osób czytających - zachwycone książkami Anandy Devi i te, które nigdy ich nie czytały. Mam zamiar dzisiaj przekonać Was, że warto sięgnąć po jej dzieła, a tym, co już czytali, że "Indian Tango" już jest i czeka na wasz czas wolny!
Przed nami - przynajmniej mam taką nadzieję - kilka dni, podczas których świat choć odrobinę zwolni. Gdy już obdarujemy się prezentami, wypijemy kompot o posmaku kurzu, ewentualnie będziemy kontestować “święta” próbując obejrzeć zaległe odcinki polecanych przez przyjaciół seriali, może ktoś z Państwa znajdzie czas na lekturę powieści jednej z najwybitniejszych, choć wciąż mało znanych pisarek współczesnych. Poznajcie Anandę Devi, a - jestem o tym przekonany - zakochacie się w jej twórczości.
Urodzona na Mauritiusie, wyspie na Oceanie Indyjskim, wychowywała się w wieloetnicznym, mówiącym wieloma językami, społeczeństwie. Od strony matki jest Hinduską, od strony ojca - Kreolką. Mówi po francusku, ale też telugu, kreolsku, angielsku i - słabiej - w bhojpur oraz hindi. Przez lata pracowała jako tłumaczka dla ONZ, godząc ją z pisaniem literatury. W końcu zadebiutowała na Mauritiusie w wieku 19 lat, a jak sama opowiadała w wywiadach - będąc nastolatką napisała kilkadziesiąt opowiadań i kilka powieści młodzieżowych. Dziś mieszka we Francji i ma na swoim koncie już kilkadziesiąt książek.
Jej "Zielone sari" było dla mnie jak objawienie. Opowieść o umierającym lekarzu, który tuż przed śmiercią podejmuje ostatniej próby podtrzymania swojej władzy nad rodziną, w porywający sposób analizowała patriarchalną przemoc i obnażała mechanizmy domowego terroru. Powieść, napisana w 2009 roku, w Polsce ukazała się niemal dziesięć lat później w przekładzie Krzysztofa Jarosza. Pisałem o tej książce dla jednego z magazynów:
„Zielone sari” to monolog wymierającego gatunku, mężczyzny-oprawcy, który nie musi się liczyć z nikim, bo jego wpisana w kulturę przemoc jest bezkarna. Ale jego świat jest skazany na zniknięcie – poza czytelnikami nie znajduje posłuchu, po jego domu chodzą mrówki.
Książkę, jakkolwiek nie podejrzanie brzmi to sformułowanie, pokochali (nie aż tak liczni) czytelnicy, a wydawnictwo "poszło za ciosem" i w ciągu czterech lat wydało dwie powieści i zbiór opowiadań pochodzącej z Mauritiusu pisarki. I wszystkie okazały się wybitne.
Całość tutaj; https://www.empik.com/pasje/ksiazka-t...
Przed nami - przynajmniej mam taką nadzieję - kilka dni, podczas których świat choć odrobinę zwolni. Gdy już obdarujemy się prezentami, wypijemy kompot o posmaku kurzu, ewentualnie będziemy kontestować “święta” próbując obejrzeć zaległe odcinki polecanych przez przyjaciół seriali, może ktoś z Państwa znajdzie czas na lekturę powieści jednej z najwybitniejszych, choć wciąż mało znanych pisarek współczesnych. Poznajcie Anandę Devi, a - jestem o tym przekonany - zakochacie się w jej twórczości.
Urodzona na Mauritiusie, wyspie na Oceanie Indyjskim, wychowywała się w wieloetnicznym, mówiącym wieloma językami, społeczeństwie. Od strony matki jest Hinduską, od strony ojca - Kreolką. Mówi po francusku, ale też telugu, kreolsku, angielsku i - słabiej - w bhojpur oraz hindi. Przez lata pracowała jako tłumaczka dla ONZ, godząc ją z pisaniem literatury. W końcu zadebiutowała na Mauritiusie w wieku 19 lat, a jak sama opowiadała w wywiadach - będąc nastolatką napisała kilkadziesiąt opowiadań i kilka powieści młodzieżowych. Dziś mieszka we Francji i ma na swoim koncie już kilkadziesiąt książek.
Jej "Zielone sari" było dla mnie jak objawienie. Opowieść o umierającym lekarzu, który tuż przed śmiercią podejmuje ostatniej próby podtrzymania swojej władzy nad rodziną, w porywający sposób analizowała patriarchalną przemoc i obnażała mechanizmy domowego terroru. Powieść, napisana w 2009 roku, w Polsce ukazała się niemal dziesięć lat później w przekładzie Krzysztofa Jarosza. Pisałem o tej książce dla jednego z magazynów:
„Zielone sari” to monolog wymierającego gatunku, mężczyzny-oprawcy, który nie musi się liczyć z nikim, bo jego wpisana w kulturę przemoc jest bezkarna. Ale jego świat jest skazany na zniknięcie – poza czytelnikami nie znajduje posłuchu, po jego domu chodzą mrówki.
Książkę, jakkolwiek nie podejrzanie brzmi to sformułowanie, pokochali (nie aż tak liczni) czytelnicy, a wydawnictwo "poszło za ciosem" i w ciągu czterech lat wydało dwie powieści i zbiór opowiadań pochodzącej z Mauritiusu pisarki. I wszystkie okazały się wybitne.
Całość tutaj; https://www.empik.com/pasje/ksiazka-t...
January 22, 2025
Spoko koncepcja, trzymająca w napięciu fabuła, bardzo ciekawy wydźwięk całości. Ale trochę zbyt przegadana i zbyt poetycka jak dla mnie.
January 7, 2023
To jest powieść o pożądaniu - przelotnym i niemożliwym spotkaniu pisarki i napisanej przez nią bohaterki, mieszkających w dwóch sąsiednich czasach. Wszystko wydarza się w języku zgęstniałym od poetyckiej rozkoszy, w spojrzeniach i pojedynczych gestach, w dusznej atmosferze zatraconego w sobie miasta. Ananda Devi jest wybitną autorką. W Indian Tango poddaje namysłowi granice własnej twórczości, warsztatu i natchnienia, próbując je przekroczyć. I udaje jej się.
August 24, 2023
to jest jedna z tych książek, które chciałabym przeczytać ponownie po zapoznaniu się z innymi książkami Devi. Polskie tłumaczenie (jak to napisał tłumacz) jest lesbijkie pełną gębą i kocham to
June 12, 2023
This book deals very well with the concepts of sexualism, social structure, willpower, failures and loss. While most books either go all-inclusive with stories from all income levels or are stingy by including the extremes- the rich and the poor, this includes the very poor and the middle class. And in such ways that the shift of story from one to the other was hardly noticeable. They were connected to each other in many ways unimaginable. Not just monetarily- like most of us imagine but even emotionally.
The way Ananda captured the essence of India- its ugliness and its beauty, the intensities with which people feel, and the subtle ways in which they hide their passions. The status of women in the country- their power, courage, oppression, failures, beauty, expressions, tolerance, and most of all their flight couldn't have been captured in any better way. What we as Indian women can relate to the most would be the fear with which we walk on unconventional paths and the freedom it gives us when we get the courage to not hold our uniqueness heavy on our conscience.
The story is very flowy, very artistic. Very much like Woolf's works. Always inward. I loved it so far but one major barrier between the writer and the reader is the translation. I can tell that it would have been very dreamy in French but when translated to English it has taken a very rigid form- just because no language can really capture the full essence of any other language. The narration feels out of place- it's majestic and awkward at the same time. Read it in French, maybe?
Ananda is very clever with her storyline and her thoughts. They were clean and intense. I felt her because I love Virginia Woolf and have read a couple of her books. Had I never read Woolf, I would have no idea what she was trying to get to. It was confusing. The story and her thoughts had great potential but something went horribly amiss. Ananda can surely be counted as one of the best thoughtful person I have read.
The writing style has a lot of breaks making it really hard to follow the storyline. The sudden change in perspective made it difficult and at times hard to continue to stay interested. I understand there are two characters in the story that are meant to be one and the same yet I believe there could be a different and more efficient way to capture their similarity. There have been multiple instances where I noticed the narration swinging between first-person to third-person.
It wasn't my best read when it comes to the writing style but definitely a good read to enhance my thought structures. Counting to finding more books like this- Thanks to Crossword for their wonderful sale in Pune. Will definitely want to pick another of Ananda's books.
The way Ananda captured the essence of India- its ugliness and its beauty, the intensities with which people feel, and the subtle ways in which they hide their passions. The status of women in the country- their power, courage, oppression, failures, beauty, expressions, tolerance, and most of all their flight couldn't have been captured in any better way. What we as Indian women can relate to the most would be the fear with which we walk on unconventional paths and the freedom it gives us when we get the courage to not hold our uniqueness heavy on our conscience.
The story is very flowy, very artistic. Very much like Woolf's works. Always inward. I loved it so far but one major barrier between the writer and the reader is the translation. I can tell that it would have been very dreamy in French but when translated to English it has taken a very rigid form- just because no language can really capture the full essence of any other language. The narration feels out of place- it's majestic and awkward at the same time. Read it in French, maybe?
Ananda is very clever with her storyline and her thoughts. They were clean and intense. I felt her because I love Virginia Woolf and have read a couple of her books. Had I never read Woolf, I would have no idea what she was trying to get to. It was confusing. The story and her thoughts had great potential but something went horribly amiss. Ananda can surely be counted as one of the best thoughtful person I have read.
The writing style has a lot of breaks making it really hard to follow the storyline. The sudden change in perspective made it difficult and at times hard to continue to stay interested. I understand there are two characters in the story that are meant to be one and the same yet I believe there could be a different and more efficient way to capture their similarity. There have been multiple instances where I noticed the narration swinging between first-person to third-person.
It wasn't my best read when it comes to the writing style but definitely a good read to enhance my thought structures. Counting to finding more books like this- Thanks to Crossword for their wonderful sale in Pune. Will definitely want to pick another of Ananda's books.
May 31, 2020
It’s not very often that you develop a love-hate relationship with a book or find yourself at a crossroad and can’t decide on a final review.
Indian Tango is one of those book I believe , which will not resonate with each and everyone.
Translated from the French by Jean Anderson. INDIAN TANGO, was first published in French in 2007, is set in Delhi.
The book is about a visiting author who has come to Delhi and is mesmerised by a middle age woman Subhadra. “The author, infatuated by a quiet lady on the street, begins to seek the untamed and undiscovered country that lies below her sari, the delicate throbbing hidden beneath her silence”.
The book has a lot of things going on at once. There are times when the story is going on from the characters point of view and then suddenly the plot changes and authors starts writing her own thoughts as one pen downs their own muses. In between there are few references to the lives of some locals living around the author also which again does not make much sense.
Although there are many beautiful comparisons and references about a woman’s body and sexuality to patriarchy and customs which i liked. But as i said earlier, i am on a crossroad and I can’t decide whether i liked this book or not.
Indian Tango is one of those book I believe , which will not resonate with each and everyone.
Translated from the French by Jean Anderson. INDIAN TANGO, was first published in French in 2007, is set in Delhi.
The book is about a visiting author who has come to Delhi and is mesmerised by a middle age woman Subhadra. “The author, infatuated by a quiet lady on the street, begins to seek the untamed and undiscovered country that lies below her sari, the delicate throbbing hidden beneath her silence”.
The book has a lot of things going on at once. There are times when the story is going on from the characters point of view and then suddenly the plot changes and authors starts writing her own thoughts as one pen downs their own muses. In between there are few references to the lives of some locals living around the author also which again does not make much sense.
Although there are many beautiful comparisons and references about a woman’s body and sexuality to patriarchy and customs which i liked. But as i said earlier, i am on a crossroad and I can’t decide whether i liked this book or not.
February 23, 2024
This story of sexual awakening among two women rewrites Satyajit Ray's classic interpretation of Tagore's Ghare-Baire. A writer from a foreign country has landed in Delhi in the summer of 2004. She finds herself unable to write in this intoxicating city. Everywhere she finds sadness and destitution. A typical way to gaze at Indian cities from a western lens. While we follow the writer's struggles in finding peace with the new place, in alternating chapter, from third person narration, there is a 52-year old woman who is coming to terms with the stillness of her own life. Menopause is here. Her children have grown up and are away from her. Her husband seems sexually uninterested in her body at night. Her mother-in-law reminds her of her ageing self by pestering her to join the entourage to Kashi for a pilgrimage. Both the writer and Subha know that there is something beyond the deprivation of being a wife, mother, daughter-in-law etc. That being a woman is more than getting slotted into godforsaken roles. It's on one of the walks and by a music store that sells sitar, the two women encounter each other. I came across this Mauritian author who writes in French last month. Reading the description of this book, I knew I had to read it despite having lower expectations. I am not very keen on books that talks about India when a foreigner steps foot in it. Given the publication of the book in early 2000s, I assumed it'd be the same-old Lapierre-esque poverty porn, the outsider anger, disgust and the Orientalist reading of the 'other'. It was so for a large part. And that certainly rankled me and made me whizz through sections. But the beauty of Devi's writing in Anderson's translation rests in the details of the women's understanding of body, intimacy, and lust. Subha and the writer's observation of their lives in constant relation of those surrounding them almost suffocatingly. I loved the parts when they began drawing closer to each other. While the chapters on the writers worked perfectly at the level of desire, the one of Subha had more going on. I understand why this book is underrated and not visible when we talk of queer books often but my god, I think we better begin talking more about it. Rarely do we get read sex scenes between a 52 year old Indian woman in a sari and another slightly younger. And that t0o so well written at the sentence level. A necessary recommendation for all those looking for queer books written and translated by women, on women, on queer sexual awakening in India.
October 31, 2024
Just as Devi's previous novel Ève de ses décombres was based on the poetry of Rimbaud, Indian Tango is based on the films of one of my favorite directors, Satyagit Ray; not only are their many allusions to his films, but the entire atmosphere of the novel resembles a Ray film. The novel is set in Delhi/New Delhi, in March, April and May of 2004. There are a few allusions to the election campaign of Sonia Gandhi, but this does not play as central a role in the book as the blurb and some reviews would suggest.
There are two major characters. Subhadra, usually called Subha, the traditional, conservative middle-class wife of Jugdish and mother of the college student Kamal, is fifty-two years old and dealing with issues of menopause and a very disagreeable elderly mother-in-law, Mataji. The other major character is never named, but is described as an unsuccessful writer from Europe who has come to India to "start over" and is pursuing Subha. The book begins with Subha in April 2004, who has just had an experience which is only explained later, then returns to the pursuer in March, who has just seen Subha for the first time in front of a musical instruments store where they both look at the same sitar in the window. For most of the novel, the chapters alternate between third person indirect discourse chapters from the viewpoint of Subha in April, in a relatively realist style (for Devi), showing the consequences of their meeting, and first person chapters of the pursuer in March leading up to it, but also meditating on writing (at times it is unclear in the pursuer's mind as to whether Subha is real or a character in the pursuer's unwritten novel). At the end, in May, after the meeting is described, the two styles tend to merge with some of Subha's being in the first person, including a surrealist sequence. The book ends with Subha making a decision, followed by a short and to me rather incomprehensible epilogue by the pursuer.
The themes of the novel are the position of women in India, and more generally the nature of conservative Indian society, and the relationship of literature to reality. The novel was very interesting and well-written, although the chapters from the pursuer's viewpoint sometimes were rather obscure and I was unsatisfied by the ending.
There are two major characters. Subhadra, usually called Subha, the traditional, conservative middle-class wife of Jugdish and mother of the college student Kamal, is fifty-two years old and dealing with issues of menopause and a very disagreeable elderly mother-in-law, Mataji. The other major character is never named, but is described as an unsuccessful writer from Europe who has come to India to "start over" and is pursuing Subha. The book begins with Subha in April 2004, who has just had an experience which is only explained later, then returns to the pursuer in March, who has just seen Subha for the first time in front of a musical instruments store where they both look at the same sitar in the window. For most of the novel, the chapters alternate between third person indirect discourse chapters from the viewpoint of Subha in April, in a relatively realist style (for Devi), showing the consequences of their meeting, and first person chapters of the pursuer in March leading up to it, but also meditating on writing (at times it is unclear in the pursuer's mind as to whether Subha is real or a character in the pursuer's unwritten novel). At the end, in May, after the meeting is described, the two styles tend to merge with some of Subha's being in the first person, including a surrealist sequence. The book ends with Subha making a decision, followed by a short and to me rather incomprehensible epilogue by the pursuer.
The themes of the novel are the position of women in India, and more generally the nature of conservative Indian society, and the relationship of literature to reality. The novel was very interesting and well-written, although the chapters from the pursuer's viewpoint sometimes were rather obscure and I was unsatisfied by the ending.
June 14, 2021
Originally written in French by a Mauritius based author with Indian roots. The novel is set in Delhi around the time when Sonia Gandhi was all set to become PM of this land.
The story is about a middle aged woman going through mid-life crisis in a typical Indian patriarchal family and the narrator who is young foreign lady and has failed in her life and has come to India to find some solace.
The foreign author lady got infatuated with this Indian middle aged lady in the first sight — infatuation at first sight. She starts following her and then circumstances leads them to 'a room' where, without getting intro of each other, they explore each other's body. And with this point, by the feelings they get at this point, by this single encounter, their life changes for good.
Kind of feminist novel, I didn't enjoy reading it. On a scale of 5 I'll rate it 2/5. This 2 point for the other subtle stories going along with the so called main story.
The story is about a middle aged woman going through mid-life crisis in a typical Indian patriarchal family and the narrator who is young foreign lady and has failed in her life and has come to India to find some solace.
The foreign author lady got infatuated with this Indian middle aged lady in the first sight — infatuation at first sight. She starts following her and then circumstances leads them to 'a room' where, without getting intro of each other, they explore each other's body. And with this point, by the feelings they get at this point, by this single encounter, their life changes for good.
Kind of feminist novel, I didn't enjoy reading it. On a scale of 5 I'll rate it 2/5. This 2 point for the other subtle stories going along with the so called main story.
February 21, 2024
Ananda Devi at her finest
W „Indian Tango” Devi pisze o tym, co znaczy być kobietą we współczesnych Indiach, w charakterystyczny dla siebie sposób oscylując między akcją a poetyckością. Jej powieść to w pewnym sensie manifest kobiecości, szukania drogi do samej siebie wbrew społecznym oczekiwaniom. To historia o przekraczaniu granic, o łamaniu konwenansów, o byciu szczerą przede wszystkim ze sobą, nawet jeżeli ta szczerość wiele kosztuje. „Indian Tango” to też pisanie o pisaniu — o tym, co konstytuuje pisarza, z wieloma autobiograficznymi odniesieniami do samej Devi czy do jej poprzednich dzieł. A to wszystko jest podane nie wprost, tak jakby między wierszami można było odkryć jeszcze jedną rzeczywistość.
I jak zawsze shoutout dla Krzysztofa Jarosza, chcę być jak Pan, jak skończę te durne studia.
W „Indian Tango” Devi pisze o tym, co znaczy być kobietą we współczesnych Indiach, w charakterystyczny dla siebie sposób oscylując między akcją a poetyckością. Jej powieść to w pewnym sensie manifest kobiecości, szukania drogi do samej siebie wbrew społecznym oczekiwaniom. To historia o przekraczaniu granic, o łamaniu konwenansów, o byciu szczerą przede wszystkim ze sobą, nawet jeżeli ta szczerość wiele kosztuje. „Indian Tango” to też pisanie o pisaniu — o tym, co konstytuuje pisarza, z wieloma autobiograficznymi odniesieniami do samej Devi czy do jej poprzednich dzieł. A to wszystko jest podane nie wprost, tak jakby między wierszami można było odkryć jeszcze jedną rzeczywistość.
I jak zawsze shoutout dla Krzysztofa Jarosza, chcę być jak Pan, jak skończę te durne studia.
May 3, 2023
It's beautiful prose but the whole thing is quite boring for me. It's almost similar to Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf as it describes all of Subhadra's thoughts, emotions, actions, and sights. There was nothing much else going on.
I liked last para on page 21 abt false authority.
And...
"Cooking provides women with the mere illusion of power, barely camouflaging the submissiveness it actually demands from them. The short-lived satisfaction of filling the family's hungry mouths, before the chore begins again, over and over. Meals, the high point of the day, an organic cathedral built by women, the great art of their clever hands, all end up in the same place: the toilet."
I liked last para on page 21 abt false authority.
And...
"Cooking provides women with the mere illusion of power, barely camouflaging the submissiveness it actually demands from them. The short-lived satisfaction of filling the family's hungry mouths, before the chore begins again, over and over. Meals, the high point of the day, an organic cathedral built by women, the great art of their clever hands, all end up in the same place: the toilet."
January 20, 2023
Poetyckość tej książki to dramat 1/5
Literackość warstwy powieściowej to 5/5
Średnia jest średnia.
Ciekawe wtręty autobiograficzne
Literackość warstwy powieściowej to 5/5
Średnia jest średnia.
Ciekawe wtręty autobiograficzne
June 10, 2024
Świetna, sensualna proza, choć niełatwa, trochę hymn ku kobiecości i odkrywaniu własnych potrzeb, trochę też obraz Indii pełnych kontrastów
November 20, 2025
Je pense que je le dois lire en anglais maintenant...
Mais j'aime bien!
(Je juste ne comprends bien pas.)
Mais j'aime bien!
(Je juste ne comprends bien pas.)
July 16, 2014
I had a tough time reading this one. The story flows smoothly when it is narrative & descriptive in nature- for instance while narrating a scene, incident or a character. But it drags, becomes one dimensional and sounds like an intricately constructed jigsaw puzzle when Subhadra (central character of Indian Tango) voices her thoughts, which comprises nearly 85 percent of the book!
The review was originally posted on IndiaBookStore on 15 January, 2013.
Excerpt from my review-
Indian Tango is written by Ananda Devi, who was born in Mauritius and has her roots in India. After reading about Ananda Devi being one of the key speakers in the soon-to-be-held Jaipur Literary Festival, I got pretty eager to read this book. Originally written in French, it was translated to English by Jean Anderson. The name was intriguing and so was the summary at the back. The more I explored the book and its author, the more interested I got.
Indian Tango is Subhadra’s story; about the shedding of her inhibitions. A writer who is alien to Delhi and its chaos, Subhadra is dealing with a personal and professional phase of ‘drying-up’. But soon, Bimala, a beautiful sari-clad stranger, catches her attention near a music store and things change. Subhadra is pulled like a magnet towards her and follows Bimala through the streets, which leads to discovering a forbidden path of gratification that is shunned by society.
Read my full review of Indian Tango by Ananda Devi on IndiaBookStore: http://www.indiabookstore.net/bookish...
The review was originally posted on IndiaBookStore on 15 January, 2013.
Excerpt from my review-
Indian Tango is written by Ananda Devi, who was born in Mauritius and has her roots in India. After reading about Ananda Devi being one of the key speakers in the soon-to-be-held Jaipur Literary Festival, I got pretty eager to read this book. Originally written in French, it was translated to English by Jean Anderson. The name was intriguing and so was the summary at the back. The more I explored the book and its author, the more interested I got.
Indian Tango is Subhadra’s story; about the shedding of her inhibitions. A writer who is alien to Delhi and its chaos, Subhadra is dealing with a personal and professional phase of ‘drying-up’. But soon, Bimala, a beautiful sari-clad stranger, catches her attention near a music store and things change. Subhadra is pulled like a magnet towards her and follows Bimala through the streets, which leads to discovering a forbidden path of gratification that is shunned by society.
Read my full review of Indian Tango by Ananda Devi on IndiaBookStore: http://www.indiabookstore.net/bookish...
January 2, 2015
There are certain books with which you have love & hate relationships in the sense that they just don’t strike enough chord with you so as to grip you along through-out. At the same time, however, there remains something in the book which doesn't let you leave it in between. Fitting perfectly in that canvas was Indian Tango by Ananda Devi – while on one hand I did find it hard not to read it (thanks to the beautiful usage of language & words creating exquisite imagery in the reader’s mind), on the other hand, there wasn't enough charm in the book to hold the reader glued to it through-out.
One can surely get hold of this book for its beautiful usage of words which are woven with such a fine sophistication that it really gives the reader a pleasurable experience in tranches but someone looking for a book to have a wholesome ride to enjoy other aspects of fictional story telling might just feel dejected and disappointed.
Rating: 2.75/5
Reading Complete Review Here>>>
http://musingsofawanderingheart.blogs...
One can surely get hold of this book for its beautiful usage of words which are woven with such a fine sophistication that it really gives the reader a pleasurable experience in tranches but someone looking for a book to have a wholesome ride to enjoy other aspects of fictional story telling might just feel dejected and disappointed.
Rating: 2.75/5
Reading Complete Review Here>>>
http://musingsofawanderingheart.blogs...
August 12, 2016
3.5 Stars
Review at A Bookworm’s Musing: http://wp.me/p2J8yh-2AC
Read this book for the characters and the descriptive, imagery filled narration that would, I feel, stay much longer than the last page of the novel. The imagery makes it quite poetic, something that I enjoyed but something that every reader may not enjoy, with it becoming a little heavy.
Review at A Bookworm’s Musing: http://wp.me/p2J8yh-2AC
Read this book for the characters and the descriptive, imagery filled narration that would, I feel, stay much longer than the last page of the novel. The imagery makes it quite poetic, something that I enjoyed but something that every reader may not enjoy, with it becoming a little heavy.
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