Indian Readers discussion

I finally figured out how to create a new topic :)

The Palm Wine Drinkard - Amos Tutuola
85/100

If you had a wonderful childhood in a bucolic village with a local storyteller, you'd have some idea what this book is about.
The plot, if you can call it that, is quite rudimentary: The protagonist has been a palm-wine drinker since he was ten years old. He has a devastating shock when his palm wine tapster falls off a tree and dies. With "no other work than to drink palm-wine" in his life, he decides to bring back his dead tapster from "Dead's town".

The language is the central character here. Almost pidgin-like [but not really as crude as that] with stresses on some words in the middle of the text (you can imagine the teller's eyes bulge out when he mentions the "SKULL"), it buttresses the weirdness and horror of the story itself. These are not "folk tales" from granny, there are zombie baby armies, beds made of human bones and all kinds of man eating giants that never sound "quaint"

Sudhang wrote: "I finally figured out how to create a new topic :)"

Congrats :D

Temple of the Golden Pavilion - Yukio Mishima
95/100


[copied from my original GR review]
** spoiler alert ** When the young Mizoguchi visits the Golden Temple, he is let down. The temple which he had held in his mind as the pinnacle of beauty since his childhood iss decrepit, its three stories are a jumble of contrasting architectures - it is all too mortal. But as he completed his visit (accompanied by his father), the temple slowly "becomes" the dreamlike ideal representing all he is and cannot be.

Mizoguchi's stutter is another manifestation of his antagonism with the outside world. All the richness of his inner soul deforms as it tries to connect with the world at large! The world order is the unfeeling, cold beauty of the golden temple - at odds with the stutter and ugliness of mizoguchi himeslf.

Unable to accept this state of affairs, Mizoguchi has to make the world more bearable: either through knowledge or action. His course of action is to alter the state of the world itself. The ensuing destruction is the only possibility for life

Boats on Land - Janice Pariat:
80/100
Ms. Pariat is a very talented writer from Shillong whose magic realist tales rarely require suspension of disbelief. The first story "Waterfall of Horses" about an affair between a gallant British Raj officer and a girl from an obscure Meghalayan village. Throughout these tales there is a reverence for ancient folk beliefs and curses that never take on any form of arrogance. Probably the best story though is the titular "Boats on Land". The metaphor refers to the troubled protagonist who just lost her mother, referring to herself as wanting to drift away. Ms Pariat never lets the "marvelously real" overshadow her innate sensitivity.

Left From Dhakeshwari - Kunal Sen:
60/100
I'd originally given this 2/5 on goodreads, but i did a skimming revisit and decided it should at least be a 3. It seems this anthology is inspired (in the genuine, non-Anu Malik sense) by Jhumpa Lahiri, so if you are a fan of hers (I'm not), you'll probably enjoy this a lot. For me there was too much emotion for me to relate. I did enjoy parts of some stories quite a lot, like "Salt Lake".

The Brain That Changes Itself - Norman Doige:
70/100
Doige writes about a field I've long been interested in: Neuroplasticity - the study of how the brain adapts to change by altering its neural connections. This book chooses to expand on interesting case studies (the woman who was constantly falling, the man who forced himself into abusive relationships, amputees with phantom limbs and a woman with half a brain!) to tear apart our preconceived notions of intelligence and "fixedness" of our brains - notions that cripple us needlessly. The stories, while inspirational, are more often than not dry and Doige isn't a great writer, sadly. Be that as it may, it works as a great inspirational book, with "science" behind it as opposed to marketing mumbo jumbo

All About H. Hatterr - G.V. Desani
85/100
This book with its breakdancing, erratic but thoroughly enjoyable prose is a "forgotten landmark" in Indian writing in English. A precursor to Rushdie (I read about it first through somethign he wrote), it's much more light hearted, playful and not at all bitter unlike his work.

And though the prose is derisively called "joycean" by some, it is by no means an obscure book (though it is a bit difficult). Most of the prose reads like 19th century translations of Indian epics by Victorian orientalists and you can tell that Desani considers himself a follower of the great Buddhist philosophers of yore.

As the protagonist ambles along for spiritual enlightenment, he consults seven 'sages', learning in comic lessons that "life is contrast" and through some "indirect" lessons (I think there is an implication that those are the only relevant ones) and that evil does take place, but through kismet. Ultimately, he accepts that truth cannot be known.

I'd give it a higher rating but it would be unfair, because some of the aforementoined prose did wear me out. There are only so many occasions where you can find "maro maro maro" funny.

The Shattered Thigh - Bhasa trans. AND Haskar
50/100
These were so maudlin and boring, except for the last two plays, even though they were full of violence and exciting themes that i suspect a lot of the impact was lost in translation.

Letters to a Young Poet - Rainer Maria Rilke
80/100
This is the sort of book that proud self-described cynics would retch at, if they would consider the blurb: the young poet of the title, unsure of his footing, calls upon an accomplished master for advice, which he obtains in the form of 10 letters. Sounds sentimental and boring.

As it turns out, the accomplished master isn't much older, and being from similar circumstances (both were in military academies that they didn't fit into well), is able to offer some heartfelt insight applicable to not just poets, but to anyone who feels a sense of solitude that pervades the artistic sort.

In the letters, Milke encourages the young poet (Franz Kappus) to search within for the source of his desire to be a writer, and to accept the "pact with solitude" that it implies. The talk about poems to review and discussion on other authors seems to be a curious footnote. What really jumps up are the explanations of how your childhood memories are a source of inspiration as valid as anything else you are likely to experience and the importance of struggle and courage.

Sudhang wrote: "The Brain That Changes Itself - Norman Doige:
70/100
Doige writes about a field I've long been interested in: Neuroplasticity - the study of how the brain adapts to change by altering its neural co..."

Is this non-fiction?

Lit Bug wrote: "Sudhang wrote: "The Brain That Changes Itself - Norman Doige:
70/100
Doige writes about a field I've long been interested in: Neuroplasticity - the study of how the brain adapts to change by alteri..."
Yeah, "Pop Science" to be precise.

Pop Science???

Popular science, sometimes called literature of science, is interpretation of science intended for a general audience

Popular science is a bridge between scientific literature as a professional medium of scientific research, and the realms of popular political and cultural discourse. The goal of the genre is often to capture the methods and accuracy of science, while making the language more accessible.

Sounds interesting - I make out it is science for dummies. Like pop literature is literature for dummies. Is that book available freely in stores?

Lit Bug wrote: "Sounds interesting - I make out it is science for dummies. Like pop literature is literature for dummies. "
That's a less "nice" way to put it :)
Is that book available freely in stores?
You can get it from a store, i'm sure, but they probably won't like you getting it for free ;) [i got my copy from flipkart]

Thanks ;) will get it. Science for dummies is great for me.

Night - Elie Wiesel
80/100
Elie Wiesel's stark, matter-of-fact prose is what is needed for this autobiography of his mechanization and uprooting of his faith.
Another similar book I have read is "Man's search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. Though that book depicted a struggle to assert an individual's humanity, this one is simply a stark depiction of Man and A man's descent from it.

am waiting to read this book.

I think everyone should read it at least once. Something like "essential reading". It's very heartfelt and stark.

edit: I have to be honest though.. the prose is stark and pained but if you don't appreciate that level of starkness, you might not enjoy it so much...

Into my to-read list. You seem to choose lovely, though less-publicized books.

I'm a hipster, yes :D

How do you get to these books? References from friends or some other source?

mostly random. i read Desani because of Rushdie, i read mishima because one of his stories was in an anthology* that i bought impulsively etc etc

* Short Shorts

Ok... Glad to find someone who appreciates Rushdie.

Well I have only read Midnight's Children [long ago] which i loved. I wasn't able to keep myself awake while reading the satanic verses so i gave up entirely. I have a sneaking suspicion that he might be a one-book wonder

Satanic Verses was bad - really bad - thankfully it wasn't my first Rushdie book - I loved MC too, but I loved even more The Moor's Last Sigh. It was structurally even better than MC - not for a single moment did it lose track - The Enchantress Of Florence was good too, but not better (but still, Satanic Verses was the worst of all four)

it was almost embarrassingly bad, like some teenager on a shock-quest. i'll try the Moor's Last Sigh sometime, i guess, but i was so annoyed with SV and some of his essays that i gave up on the guy completely :P

Haven't read any essays, but I really struggled through SV, desperately wanting to know what was so offensive about it. But Moor's.... was a delight - have read ti about 9 times in 3 years - he is at his satirical and witty best

Lit Bug wrote: "about 9 times in 3 years..."
that good, eh? I'll take a look, thanks

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
trans. Gregory Hays
70/100
A reviewer here, justifying his one-star rating, called "Meditations" a "livejournal" that only got popular due to the fame of the author, a Roman emperor. I'm not sure what is wrong with that per se, but the characterization of the book as a blog or a "dear diary" of a great emperor isn't entirely off-the-mark. However, that the said emperor was well-versed in Greek stoicism ensures his writing is far removed from the base self-gratification one ordinarily associates with the blogosphere.

Aurelius' philosophy is practical, for sure, but not petty: his idea of a logos, the system of the universe, and that everything is a part of it informs his thoughts, whether about "rejecting a sense of injury to make the injury itself disappear" or to adopt a sense of acceptance ("When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly."). Perhaps his trials as emperor let him put into practice what he studied, making his blog very insightful.

The structure of the work indicats that the aphorisms and mini-essays here were intended as notes to self as opposed to general readership: the importance of virtue and harmony are sometimes presented with references to his acquaintances which aren't so readily accessible unless the reader is familiar with his history [Hays provides a very useful introduction for this, though].

The translation by Hays is excellent: brief (Hays puts in five words what others put in fifty), lively and contemporary, the book can be read as a self-help book or a starter's guide to a once popular philosophy of life.

Sudhang wrote: "Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
trans. Gregory Hays
70/100
A reviewer here, justifying his one-star rating, called "Meditations" a "livejournal" that only got popular due to the fame of the author, a..."

Very interesting! TBRed...

To be fair, it can get a bit tedious [at least for me it did]: but perhaps that's my own impatience.

Well, not all works are perfect, but this one does seem good, and you write your reviews pretty well!

Thank you! :)

Metamorphosis and Other Stories - Franz Kafka
[Penguin Modern Classics]
100/100

General Knowledge about Kafka and his work can be summed up thus: surrealistic and pessimistic stories featuring extended metaphors about alienated individuals trapped in absurd labyrinths. None of that is dispelled but a common thread to popular perception is that Kafka is "impenetrable" and there is no "point" in trying to derive any sort of meaning from his work. Far from the truth: any casual reading gives at least a vague sense of empathy to all but the most superficial reader.

While Kafka's choice of metaphor encourages this sort of superficiality in "The Trial", it is rendered impossible in these shorts. You'll never fall into this trap (Hint: The Trial isn't about bureaucratic excess) with the best stories here. Kafka teases and prods you into deep thought with every story of his, be it through the neurotic narrator of the brief "Unmasking a Confidence Trickster" or through the barbaric and bizarre torturing device , The Harrow, in "In the Penal Colony".

These stories definitely are pessimistic ("The Metamorphosis") and Surreal ("The Country Doctor") but they are never so in a cliched way. Indeed, Kafka affirms the struggles for the search for ultimate meaning, as "The Hunger Artist" continues his act despite the waning attention of the public, as the man from the country "Before the Law" pleads with the doorkeeper and despite "The Coal Scuttle-Rider" being blown away (literally, in case you had any doubts about the surrealism) while struggling to make his plea heard.

P.S.: It took me 4 months to read this collection because i had to spend days chewing over each little fragment here.

I have mostly forgotten all except "Before the Law" - not because the others weren't memorable but because I also backed it up with Jacques Derrida's application of deconstruction and différance to the story.

It makes a good pair if you're acquainted with Derrida.

Zorba the Greek - Nikos Kazantzakis
80/100

Cinema criticism has a neat term for a recently popular ["500 Days of Summer"] archetype: the Manic Pixie Dream Girl [MPDG], a gorgeous hippie chick who teaches the morose male protagonist [probably a projection of the recently-graduated liberal arts major screenwriter] how to break out of his shell and embrace LIFE in all its many-hued glory.

Given this popular stereotype, one cannot help but classify Zorba along the same lines, except that this Manic Pixie is a sixty-five year old man.

However, the real differentiator is not Alexis Zorba [a fairly predictable womanizer, musician and all-round Life Of The Party] but the character of the narrator. Challenged by his war-bound friend, he decides to undertake a life-affirming journey himself, by absorbing himself into Capitalist Matters viz., running a lignite mine. Hiring Zorba, he learns the importance of "burning away his books" and casting away his ideologies and abstractions.

Indeed, one of his epiphanies [informed by his interest in Buddhism] confronts how he handles the events of life by abstracting and symbolizing them away, in contrast with Zorba who cries and lives through them.

Quotable quotes line the book. One of my favourites:
"The highest point a man can attain is not Knowledge, or Virtue, or Goodness, or Victory but something even greater, more heroic and more despairing: Sacred Awe!"

@Lit Bug:
I'm completely unfamiliar with Derrida, unfortunately. I suppose there isnt a Derrida for Dummies somewhere? ;)

Have you read The trial? Before the law features prominently in it.

I have, but more than 4 years ago, so I don't remember anything except that I enjoyed it immensely.

Introducing Derrida is wonderful - it is short, concise and straight-to-the-point in a very, very simple, lucid manner without heavy terminology. They have this "Introducing...." series for all major philosophers and literary movements and I have found the series exceptionally instructive and fairly easy to read. You can easily get one from Landmark or online.

A quick googling might provide a fair idea, but is quite boring.

Thanks!

Samskara - U. R. Anantha Murthy
75/100

as the translator (a k ramanujan) mentions in his afterword, the title has many connotations, each of which are probed in the text.

a brahmin village (agrahara) is thrown into disarray with the sudden death of the local bete noir. the central question being whether or not he has to be buried as a brahmin despite his impiety. while most of the colony is after the gold he left behind, the must pious man there is forced to confront his own scrupulosity and question the meaning of his station in his own life.