Reading Through the Ages discussion

Add your books here, make suggestions, tell us what you will read and how you liked what you read.
Need some ideas? Then check out the bookshelf for this topic here:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

A detective series set in this time period:
A Rising Man
A Necessary Evil
Smoke and Ashes

I've read the first book and it was pretty good.

Regina wrote: "A detective series set in this time period:
A Rising Man
A Necessary Evil
Smoke and Ashes

I've read the first book and it was pretty good."

Ah, thank you for the reminder about this series. I've got the first couple lurking on my Kindle and think I might have even started A Rising Man late at night but never continued on with it. I must get back to it!

Oooh - I think I’ll go with The Rising Man as I haven’t read any detective series set in India!

I think I’ll read Kim by Rudyard Kipling for this. It was on my last year’s tbr and I need to get to it.

Kate wrote: "Oooh - I think I’ll go with The Rising Man as I haven’t read any detective series set in India!"

Kate, here’s another. I haven’t read this but Rincey Reads really liked it. The Widows of Malabar Hill, set in 1921 Bombay.

Eden Gardens

If you fancy something a bit different I really loved Eden Gardens by Louise Brown. It is a love story set in the dying days of the Raj. I loved the descriptions of Calcutta.

A Very Private Enterprise Elizabeth Ironside
I’ve selected this mystery for India during the Raj.

Regina wrote: "Kate wrote: "Oooh - I think I’ll go with The Rising Man as I haven’t read any detective series set in India!"

Kate, here’s another. I haven’t read this but Rincey Reads really liked it. [book:The ..."

That's the one that I kind of earmarked for this challenge

Laura wrote: "Eden Gardens

If you fancy something a bit different I really loved Eden Gardens by Louise Brown. It is a love story set in the dying days of the Raj. I loved the descriptions of Ca..."

Oh that does sound so good.

Sharon wrote: "A Very Private Enterprise Elizabeth Ironside
I’ve selected this mystery for India during the Raj."

Never heard of this, how exciting

In my travels through book lists, I found The Jewel in the Crown.

It's the first book in a quartet, and I've heard it's a must read. Anyone read it?

Melanie wrote: "Sharon wrote: "A Very Private Enterprise Elizabeth Ironside
I’ve selected this mystery for India during the Raj."

Never heard of this, how exciting"
I believe Ironsides was a British mystery writer. The book (from what I could tell from the synopsis) starts out in England, but the plot is centered around India in the Raj era. Might be a little weak for this category, but it is on my shelf. I do have a backup plan,though ☺️.

Kara wrote: "In my travels through book lists, I found The Jewel in the Crown.

It's the first book in a quartet, and I've heard it's a must read. Anyone read it?"

Not heard of it. Sounds good though, added it to the shelf.

Sharon wrote: "Melanie wrote: "Sharon wrote: "A Very Private Enterprise Elizabeth Ironside
I’ve selected this mystery for India during the Raj."

Never heard of this, how exciting"
I..."

However, you want to interpret it, there is no reading challenge police.

The Game by Laurie R. King; Kashmir Rose and
Ragtime in Simla both by Barbara Cleverly

One I just read last month, and which I highly recommend: What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin. It's set in the last decade or so of colonial rule, and Partition, with a focus on the Sikh experience.

Eve wrote: "The Game by Laurie R. King; Kashmir Rose and
Ragtime in Simla both by Barbara Cleverly"

Nic wrote: "One I just read last month, and which I highly recommend: What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin. It's set in the last decade or so of colonial rule, and Partition, with a focus on the Sik..."

Brilliant choices :)

I own The Siege of Krishnapur and I think it's going to fit nicely here.

A Passage to India

I was already going to re-read this book as part of my re-read my shelf project, so I'm excited it fits!

Karen Michele wrote: "I own The Siege of Krishnapur and I think it's going to fit nicely here."

nice one, so great when you already have a book for a challenge

Rainey wrote: "A Passage to India

I was already going to re-read this book as part of my re-read my shelf project, so I'm excited it fits!"

First time reading this?

I plan to read THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL by Sujata Massey for this section.

I just finished this book and really enjoyed it! Side note: she makes the food sound really good, too 😁

Vicki wrote: "I just finished this book and really enjoyed it! Side note: she makes the food sound really good, too 😁"

Tanya wrote: "I plan to read THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL by Sujata Massey for this section."

Oh, I do like a book that makes me hungry :)

The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter is book 1 in a series about Blake and Avery and book 1 fits this category and book 2 fits the Industrial Revolution prompt. Neat.

Melanie wrote: "Rainey wrote: "A Passage to India

I was already going to re-read this book as part of my re-read my shelf project, so I'm excited it fits!"

First time reading this?"

I read this for the first time in college and remember loving it. I just re-read it for this and I think I’m going to do a short review on my YouTube channel tomorrow. We’ll see how I do explaining things!

I've had The House of Blue Mangoes on my shelves for so long that I'd forgotten what it was about or why I ever bought it. I picked it up for another project of mine and surprise: the story opens in 1899 and ends in 1947 which makes it a perfect fit for this challenge!

Marina wrote: "I've had The House of Blue Mangoes on my shelves for so long that I'd forgotten what it was about or why I ever bought it. I picked it up for another project of mine and surprise: the..."

I've finished this a few days ago. I have enjoyed this a lot, for its wonderful evocation of place. It brought India to life, and for this I was willing to forgive some major flaws. Not the least being a weakness in fleshing out characters, most particularly the women who almost never emerged out of the shadows to engage us, I' m afraid.

Marina wrote: "Marina wrote: "I've had The House of Blue Mangoes on my shelves for so long that I'd forgotten what it was about or why I ever bought it. I picked it up for another project of mine an..."

Ah poor female characters, always a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

I just discovered this book, BELONGING by Umi Sinha.
Would it qualify for this prompt?
(I found this book while looking up Eden Gardens by Louise Brown). Also I can’t seem to post links from my cell phone on the Goodreads app so I’ve copied the info below for ease.

“Lila Langdon is twelve years old when she witnesses a family tragedy after her mother unveils her father’s surprise birthday present – a tragedy that ends her childhood in India and precipitates a new life in Sussex with her great-aunt Wilhelmina.

From the darkest days of the British Raj through to the aftermath of the First World War, Belonging tells the interwoven story of three generations and their struggles to understand and free themselves from a troubled history steeped in colonial violence. It is a novel of secrets that unwind through Lila’s story, through her grandmother’s letters home from India and the diaries kept by her father, Henry, as he puzzles over the enigma of his birth and his stormy marriage to the mysterious Rebecca.

Review
"a gripping story of three generations caught up in the rights and wrongs of imperialism in India" --PaperBlog, 21/16/2015

Shortlisted for the Author's Club Best First Novel Award 2016.

“touching and lithely written.” —Historical Novels Review, May 2016

About the Author
UMI SINHA was born in the military hospital in Mumbai (then Bombay) to an English mother and Indian father, and grew up in India in the decade following Independence. She moved to Britain in 1968 during the backlash against the mass immigration of Asians who had been expelled from Uganda and Kenya. Sinha has an MA in Creative Writing and taught at the University of Sussex. She currently teaches creative writing workshops and runs a performance storytelling club. She is also a trained mediator and trustee at her local community centre. Belonging is her first novel.

A TALE TOLD BY MOONLIGHT by Leonard Woolf is a book of short stories written by Virginia Woolf’s husband. His stories were inspired by his experience’s as a Civil Servant in Ceylon and depict colonial life at the beginning of the twentieth century. ‘A Tale Told by Moonlight’, ‘Pearls and Swine’ and ‘The Two Brahmans’ were originally published as STORIES FROM THE EAST by Hogarth Press in 1921. The edition I have is Modern Voices published by Hesperus Press. It includes two extracts from GROWING: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEARS 1904-1911 by Leonard Wolf detailing his time spent as a civil servant in Ceylon. The book has only 72 pages so it won’t take long to read. It also has a gorgeous cover of the moon and palm branches at dusk. Interestingly enough, I ordered this book prior to joining the Reading Through the Ages challenge and it arrived today.

Bonnie wrote: "I just discovered this book, BELONGING by Umi Sinha.
Would it qualify for this prompt?
(I found this book while looking up Eden Gardens by Louise Brown). Also I can’t seem to post links from my c..."

Sounds like it is a historical fiction set in the British Raj period.

Bonnie wrote: "A TALE TOLD BY MOONLIGHT by Leonard Woolf is a book of short stories written by Virginia Woolf’s husband. His stories were inspired by his experience’s as a Civil Servant in Ceylon and depict colon..."

You can totally read this one, but it is a modern classic rather than historical fiction.

Thank you Mel for your thoughts on A TALE TOLD BY MOONLIGHT. I do have several other books to read for India During the British Raj which I got from the group “bookshelf” and suggestions from others here, so I know those will be appropriate. So this is fine, it’s a short book that I wanted to read anyways before joining in the Readathon. I am trying to find legitimate Historical Fiction for the prompts as I enjoy it very much... Then if I find other genres like poetry, or a modern classic, it’s a just bonus to read and learn more.

Thank you Mel for your thoughts about the book BELONGING by Umi Sinha. This will make five books for this category that sounds very interesting to me. Hopefully I will get to them all over time.

Bonnie wrote: "Thank you Mel for your thoughts about the book BELONGING by Umi Sinha. This will make five books for this category that sounds very interesting to me. Hopefully I will get to them all over time."

Enjoy the reading :)

I'm reading The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye for this. It's certainly a chunker. I'm about 1/3 of way through and it's taking some time. If long sagas of epic length are your thing then this might be for you. Personally I think the same story could be told in maybe 400 pages less, but I'm not finished yet so I'll have to see how the rest of it goes xx

Amanda wrote: "I'm reading The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye for this. It's certainly a chunker. I'm about 1/3 of way through and it's taking some time. If long sagas of epic length are your thing then this might be..."

Often the case with really big books, I sometimes feel like shouting "editor, where are you?"

I’m listening to The Art of Hearing Heartbeats which is a duel timeline story from the end of the Raj and 2017.

Areta wrote: "I’m listening to The Art of Hearing Heartbeats which is a duel timeline story from the end of the Raj and 2017."

Oh, good audiobook?

I found it brilliant.
The first book in the Art of Hearing Heartbeats series, this is a passionate love story, a haunting fable, and an enchanting mystery set in Burma.

When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.

Really loved this book, if you like Maisie Dobbs or the Rowland Sinclair books, then you might like this

I just finished Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for something to read for this prompt. It's set in early-to-mid 19th-century India, and focuses particularly on characters who are variously marginalised and have complicated identities. They all fetch up on the Ibis, a ship bound for Mauritius with a cargo of indentured labourers. The initial rush of detail takes a bit of getting used to (at least for me, as I'm not that familiar with the period), but the characters are great, and the twists and turns of the plot kept me absorbed.

Nic wrote: "I just finished Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for something to read for this prompt. It's set in early-to-mid 19th-century India, and focuses particul..."

Oh brilliant thankyou for that tip :)

Tanya wrote: "I plan to read THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL by Sujata Massey for this section."

Hi Tanya I just about to start listening to this on audible. Would be interested in what you think about it.q

I’m 100 pages in and reading while listening to the audiobook!

I've just finished Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Beautifully written. It follows a dual timeline set in 1923 and in the 1970's, so on top of the colonial setting, you get India in the 1970's, overrun by Westerns seeking spiritual enlightenment. I really enjoyed this novel. The atmosphere made me think of A Passage to India, which I read some years ago.

Twilight in Delhi
Sunlight on a Broken ColumnRiver of Fire: Aag Ka Darya
Karukku
My Boyhood Days

I read A Passage to India. I didn't love the writing style and it took a lot of effort to finish the book. I did enjoy learning about the people and how they interacted with each other.