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If You Are Afraid of Heights
A man and a woman meet in a midnight road accident and fall in love. A reporter arrives in a small town to uncover the story of a child's rape and murder. A young girl, shaken by suicides in her neighborhood, begins to fear for her parents' lives. These three tales, written by the author of the debut sensation The Blue Bedspread, come together in the looking-glass world of this magical novel, where nothing is quite what it seems, yet all is strangely familiar.
293 pages, Hardcover
First published August 15, 2003
9 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Raj Kamal Jha
9 books31 followersRaj Kamal Jha (Hindi: राज कमल झा; born 1966) is Chief Editor of the daily newspaper The Indian Express and an acclaimed novelist. He lives in Gurgaon.
Jha was born in Bhagalpur, Bihar, and was raised in Calcutta, West Bengal, where he went to school at St. Joseph's College. He then attended the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, where he got his Bachelor of Technology with Honors in Mechanical Engineering. He was the editor of the campus magazine Alankar in his third (junior) and fourth (senior) years at IIT, where his first writing and editing skills got honed. After graduating from IIT in June 1988, he received a tuition waiver and full scholarship from Graduate School of Journalism at the University of Southern California to pursue a Master's program in Print Journalism; he received his M.A. in 1990.
(from Wikipedia)
Jha was born in Bhagalpur, Bihar, and was raised in Calcutta, West Bengal, where he went to school at St. Joseph's College. He then attended the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, where he got his Bachelor of Technology with Honors in Mechanical Engineering. He was the editor of the campus magazine Alankar in his third (junior) and fourth (senior) years at IIT, where his first writing and editing skills got honed. After graduating from IIT in June 1988, he received a tuition waiver and full scholarship from Graduate School of Journalism at the University of Southern California to pursue a Master's program in Print Journalism; he received his M.A. in 1990.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 10, 2020
I am glad I read ‘If you are afraid of Heights’ before I read ‘Blue Bedspread’ , in this way I can appreciate Jha much better.
The book is in three parts. A man and a woman meet at midnight during a road accident. The man goes with the woman to her apartment which is in a upmarket building, considered an architectural marvel in this city.
However, from time to time he returns to his little apartment, which has a small potted plant in a bottle, it is very common to have a stalk of a 'money plant' in a bottle filled with water. Most of the Middle Class has it. It indicates that you may get Money at a certain point in your life! Wishful thinking? Maybe...No harm in wishing is there?
Then one fine day the relationship ends very abruptly and the man returns to his tiny apartment, no heartache, no recriminations.
A lady reporter arrives in a small town to uncover the story of a child’s rape and murder, she investigates the story but is unable to uncover much. In fact doesn't get very far.
She however never forgets her shoulder bag, it is a sort of status symbol, a mark of her profession.
A young girl is very shaken and scared by a series of suicides in her neighborhood, worries for her parents’ safety, fears for them, fears for the consequences of their suicide. What will happen to her?
What connects these three people? Is it only the crow who is the narrator?
Could they all be the members of the same family?
This novel although very complicated tackles issues of abuse, neglect, sadness, but through all this runs a sliver of hope.
Every member of the family, imagines wonderful scenarios, things they like, their dreams, their aspirations that keeps them going through life which is sometimes boring and mundane with no excitement.
We all have deep longings that many times will never be fulfilled, but what harm is there to imagine wondrous things for us in the deep of the night, or on long train journeys.
We can be the best singer in town, a widely popular writer or a flamenco dancer, sometimes only such dreams keep us going ...
The book is in three parts. A man and a woman meet at midnight during a road accident. The man goes with the woman to her apartment which is in a upmarket building, considered an architectural marvel in this city.
However, from time to time he returns to his little apartment, which has a small potted plant in a bottle, it is very common to have a stalk of a 'money plant' in a bottle filled with water. Most of the Middle Class has it. It indicates that you may get Money at a certain point in your life! Wishful thinking? Maybe...No harm in wishing is there?
Then one fine day the relationship ends very abruptly and the man returns to his tiny apartment, no heartache, no recriminations.
A lady reporter arrives in a small town to uncover the story of a child’s rape and murder, she investigates the story but is unable to uncover much. In fact doesn't get very far.
She however never forgets her shoulder bag, it is a sort of status symbol, a mark of her profession.
A young girl is very shaken and scared by a series of suicides in her neighborhood, worries for her parents’ safety, fears for them, fears for the consequences of their suicide. What will happen to her?
What connects these three people? Is it only the crow who is the narrator?
Could they all be the members of the same family?
This novel although very complicated tackles issues of abuse, neglect, sadness, but through all this runs a sliver of hope.
Every member of the family, imagines wonderful scenarios, things they like, their dreams, their aspirations that keeps them going through life which is sometimes boring and mundane with no excitement.
We all have deep longings that many times will never be fulfilled, but what harm is there to imagine wondrous things for us in the deep of the night, or on long train journeys.
We can be the best singer in town, a widely popular writer or a flamenco dancer, sometimes only such dreams keep us going ...
May 10, 2020
When I think that I might never have read this book -- because it came to me in a $5 for a box of books way, a book I had never heard of by a writer I had never heard of -- I marvel at the power of sheer luck. After at least 12 years of sitting on my shelf unread, I finally picked it up and opened it, and I would urge you not to wait as long as I did.
A cautionary note: This jewel of a book is NOT for literal thinkers, or for people who want their fiction to have a conventional plot, or for those who dislike books that make them ask, "Did that really happen?" or "Okay, so what's the connection between all these characters?" Asking those questions and not getting a clear answer is a huge part of what the book is about. If, however, you are moved by novels that are maps of human suffering, and if you are attracted by the idea that truth is larger and more complex and more mysterious than the linear reality you see every day from inside your body, then this book will be as rare a find for you as it was for me.
A cautionary note: This jewel of a book is NOT for literal thinkers, or for people who want their fiction to have a conventional plot, or for those who dislike books that make them ask, "Did that really happen?" or "Okay, so what's the connection between all these characters?" Asking those questions and not getting a clear answer is a huge part of what the book is about. If, however, you are moved by novels that are maps of human suffering, and if you are attracted by the idea that truth is larger and more complex and more mysterious than the linear reality you see every day from inside your body, then this book will be as rare a find for you as it was for me.
May 26, 2020
I have never felt more confused about a book.
The book feels like there is something missing. I kept waiting for a big reveal that would tie up all the loose ends, but was left disappointed. I cannot fully grasp what the point of this novel was.
That being said, I could not put this book down. I don’t fully understand it, but I also really enjoyed it. This book has left me feeling unsure of myself. I do not whether to feel moved or annoyed. I cannot put into words what this book has done to me. Maybe in a few days, weeks, months or years, it’ll become more clear to me.
The book feels like there is something missing. I kept waiting for a big reveal that would tie up all the loose ends, but was left disappointed. I cannot fully grasp what the point of this novel was.
That being said, I could not put this book down. I don’t fully understand it, but I also really enjoyed it. This book has left me feeling unsure of myself. I do not whether to feel moved or annoyed. I cannot put into words what this book has done to me. Maybe in a few days, weeks, months or years, it’ll become more clear to me.
May 7, 2013
I was enticed into buying this book by the image of the lonely girl in a red frock on the cover, and the description on the back that promised "a glimpse into a looking-glass world where nothing is quite what it seems and yet everything is strangely familiar". I did not expect it to be a regular fiction - the story-telling kind, but more of a set of impressions and interpretations, and exploration of the thoughts, dreams and feelings of the girl on the cover. I would say my expectations were partially fulfilled.
It is a beautifully written book, with a vivid imagery and almost lyrical prose. It comprises of three distinct stories, with repeating images and motifs - each of these stories perhaps represent the viewpoint of a different character. It blurs the lines between memories, dreams, imagination, reality and fantasy, and the reader needs to draw his/her own inference on the meaning of the events, and the inter-connections of the characters. The portrayal of (what I believe to be) an alter-ego - Rima to Amir, and Alam to Mala - was quite a novel concept. Also interesting was the portrayal of observer/narrator flying through and above the city on the back of a crow.
However, with all the beauty, I was rather disappointed - I do not know of anyone else who has read it, but I was not able to extract the theme, and interpret how the stories connect together in the conclusion. It is what can be described as a very "literary" book. It could have been a very good book, if all the narratives could have been brought to a proper closure. But, with all the loose hanging threads, it feels kind of incomplete, and therefore, after finishing the book, that particular satisfaction is missing.
It is a beautifully written book, with a vivid imagery and almost lyrical prose. It comprises of three distinct stories, with repeating images and motifs - each of these stories perhaps represent the viewpoint of a different character. It blurs the lines between memories, dreams, imagination, reality and fantasy, and the reader needs to draw his/her own inference on the meaning of the events, and the inter-connections of the characters. The portrayal of (what I believe to be) an alter-ego - Rima to Amir, and Alam to Mala - was quite a novel concept. Also interesting was the portrayal of observer/narrator flying through and above the city on the back of a crow.
However, with all the beauty, I was rather disappointed - I do not know of anyone else who has read it, but I was not able to extract the theme, and interpret how the stories connect together in the conclusion. It is what can be described as a very "literary" book. It could have been a very good book, if all the narratives could have been brought to a proper closure. But, with all the loose hanging threads, it feels kind of incomplete, and therefore, after finishing the book, that particular satisfaction is missing.
January 26, 2013
If you are afraid of heights, brothers and sisters, I have nothing to show you.
November 12, 2021
Was very different and very interesting, in a good way
November 20, 2015
This was very good. The book is made up of 3 parts which are not connected in any tangible way except details. A red dress, a crow, a crying house, a canal, an 11-year-old girl and a few repeated names. Some strange male figures and a bit of death reoccur here and there but nothing is definable or has much of a context. However, the writing and the multiple little parallels create some beautiful stories which are smooth to read and contain some simple but carefully crafted imagery. It is a wonderful book which shows some of the inner, real, contemporary India, the dichotomies of huge ultra-modern towers and rusting left-over tanks, constant power cuts and hyper-technological windows. The story is a foray into a sort of magical realism that contains little that is purely unrealistic but that as a whole constructs a semi-dream world of real life.
I would probably need a second read to get a full idea of all that connects the stories - the ending comes a bit abruptly in terms of revelations: there aren't any, really. There is no final, simple meaning of life. There is just life, rich and confusing as it always is.
I would probably need a second read to get a full idea of all that connects the stories - the ending comes a bit abruptly in terms of revelations: there aren't any, really. There is no final, simple meaning of life. There is just life, rich and confusing as it always is.
August 3, 2008
So far.. I am wondering what the hype is about. It is quite slow.. and convoluted. Hard to get "into"
It is now August 2, and I have finished this book. I don't know what the "point" was. Why the author wrote the book. usually there is a a fluffy message or some inner work by the characters, or just entertainment... this book.. I'm not sure.
The plot was somewhat convoluted. It reminded me of the way that actors tend to over analyze the symbolism of a scene or action, and it is lost on the audience. that is my experience with this book.
It is now August 2, and I have finished this book. I don't know what the "point" was. Why the author wrote the book. usually there is a a fluffy message or some inner work by the characters, or just entertainment... this book.. I'm not sure.
The plot was somewhat convoluted. It reminded me of the way that actors tend to over analyze the symbolism of a scene or action, and it is lost on the audience. that is my experience with this book.
June 18, 2014
I've been on an Indian novel reading jag over this last week or two, and while this one is imaginatively surreal, with different storylines that reflect and inform each other in skewed, piecemeal ways, I'm afraid I prefer a plot in which there's some final take-away -- not necessarily a completely closed ending, but a sense of causality, at least. I feel as though the plot was just a few steps away from offering something really supernatural and unusual to the reader, but it couldn't quite bring itself to go all the way.
February 15, 2008
I'm still not sure, but I think I loved this book. It took me a while to get into, but once I was about half way through, I didn't want to put it down. It is beautiful, extremely complex, flooded throughout with images that seemed to shift between reality and the imagination. I had hoped the ending would be a little more concrete--I'm still trying to figure it out. It's a book I would definitely like to reread.
September 11, 2022
The story is divided into three parts and each part seems to have a different story that actually is a part of just one story. I am a fan of Mr. Jha's writing. The way he deals with dark topics, The way he portrays the characters of people is commendable. This is the 3rd book i read of his and he didn't disappoint me this time either.
September 20, 2010
A little more polishing would have gotten this book a little better. The story itself was good, but the way it was presented is really poor.
But, am still looking forward to devouring his first book.
But, am still looking forward to devouring his first book.
July 17, 2012
I loved the descriptions of rain in India in this book. I only wish the author had made more of a connection between the three stories other than simple coincidence. If they had been related more, it would have been a very strong book.
October 10, 2007
this book is way too confusing and it could have been remedied if the ending was a bit more concrete---I'm still not sure what i got out of it. read it at your own risk!!
December 3, 2007
Don't ask me what it means, because I have no idea. I just loved it. That's all I know.
February 15, 2010
A cross genre magical realist fever dream...
July 27, 2013
If I recall very philosophical.
June 29, 2012
Couldn't finish it. Not my kind of book - I just couldn't "get it."
October 5, 2013
Please! For the sake of your sanity. Never read this book.
July 31, 2007
did the author transcribe a very long dream? interesting read
May 1, 2017
Vähän hajanaiseksi jäävä kertomus vaihtoehtoisten todellisuuksien mahdollisuudesta. Tai ainakin sellaiseksi minä tämän tulkitsin, jos nyt lähdetään siitä oletuksesta, että romaaniksi nimitettävä kokonaisuus on nimenomaan kokonaisuus.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews