The Last Burden

by Upamanyu Chatterjee

Jamun is a young man, adrift. His father, Shymanand, is old and his mother, Ursula, on her deathbed. As the novel opens, the family are gathering together for the inevitable parting. Tracking backwards and forwards in time and space, the book unfolds a picture of Jamun and his family.

Genres: India, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Upamanyu Chatterjee is an Indian author and administrator, noted for his works set in the Indian Administrative Service. He has been named Officier des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters), by the French Government.

Reviews

[Shivnarayan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not remember why did I choose to read UC! May be because I heard a lot about his pompous prose. In any case, this was my first UC and had I not bought three more of his books at the same time, it would have been my last. The book doesn't have a single sentence that could be underlined or marked out. Perfect trash!

The book is a very slow paced narrative which takes up an infinite momentum in the last chapter of the book. Almost everything is revealed in the last chapter and if you are being lazy, then reading just the last chapter will tell you everything about the book. Do not waste your time with this. Just know what characters are what and read the last chapter. I will help you with the characters:

1) Jamun - the protaganist
2) Barfi - Jamun's elder brother (4 years senior)
3) Shyamanand - Jamun's Dad
4) Urmila - Jamun's Mom
5) Pista and Doom - Barfi's sons
6) Joyce - Barfi's wife
7) Kasturi - Jamun's bae
8) Chhana - Shyamanand's niece
9) Hagiste - Jamun's colleague and neighbour
10) Kasibai - Jamun's maid and her floosie (along with her husband)
11) Vaman - Kasibai's son

Only one more thing that one needs to know before starting out is: that Jamun's is a family of great discord. More often they will be found bickering among themselves with terms unsuitable even with your besties. Besides, his is a family with a heavy kink and perversity. With this you are set. Just read the last chapter. And whoa, you haven't missed a single letter!

[John Harvard · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author has a tortured style of writing where he seems to delight in using an unnecessarily archaic and outdated vocabulary to describe situations and settings that are superfluous to the main theme at hand at any moment. Additionally, the protagonist seems to be obsessed with all things sexual in nature (most normal people would call him a creep) and various references to sexual anatomies keep cropping up unnecessarily throughout the book in describing his thoughts. Overall it is a torture to sit through the language and the slow moving hazy plot. This is one book which I would not recommend for the joy of reading nor for the understanding of anything.

[Rajat Narula · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Bengali family - Shyamanand and Urmila - sons Barfi and Jamun and their grandsons also named after sweets. The story is simple, family ties and how they relate to each other. Realistic though. Chatterjee is great with funny, laughter-provoking dialogs and also capturing the mother-son relationship, particularly after the mother's death. Chatterjee's irreverence to everything - traditions, customs, is refreshing.

[Sinduja Krishna Kumar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t know what I expected when I picked up this book. The story is simple but it is written in a way which is difficult to follow. I tried my best to finish this book but I kept loosing interest. It’s very slow paced and there are too many unnecessary adjectives. These adjectives is what makes it difficult to read the book. The tone of the book also happens to be very grim that I didn’t feel like reading it after a point.

[Sreevidya Gowda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is a portrayal of a dysfunctional middle class family, not just connected by blood but also their nastiness towards each other. I felt the storytelling is honest, so honest that it starts to feel brutal. Do pick it up if you like reading verbose descriptions in prose. I feel it could have been better if the timeline was stretched a bit pre and post the defining event. The flourishing overblown language is overshadowing the characters, so one can't connect and feel much for the characters. The book left me wanting to know more about the lead characters, Jamun, Urmila, Burfi and Shyamanand. Overall 3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐1/2

[Sanchita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful journey through the trials and tribulations of a family, full of strive, frustration and small joys. Very evocative, excellent use of language and realistic, this book is a gem.

[Anamika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book which will definitely touch your heart !!

[Viju · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really struggled through the first forty pages after which this book was a breeze.

It is a very relatable story of two brothers and their parents who are in their twilight years. Human relationships are something that make us a little likeable despite all our flaws.

I am sure this book will not have as many takers but I am sure if people gave it a chance, they’d really love it.

And UC was perhaps the original ST! ;-)

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dyspeptic, bloated vocabulary encroaches throughout and poisons and vitiates the dialogue. Characters are petty and cramped onto a claustrophobic stage. Through some fortuitous conjuration, empathy oozes through, about two-hundred pages in.

An big kiss-off to the 'indian family.'

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read many stories about Indian families from Indian authors. This story lacked heart. Maybe because it wasn't as tragic as stories from Rohinton Mistry or Jhumpa Lahiri, maybe because of the way it was written, the vocabulary got in the way of the story. Not bad but not a favorite.

[Titah]

Indian people are excellent story teller. Well, most of them.

[ram]

middle class existence !

[Karn Kher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A verbose rendition of a typical Indian middle class... description of a generation by the generation's greatest author...