21st Century Literature discussion

This is the introductory thread for our discussion of Latitudes of Longing, the first novel by the Indian writer Shubhangi Swarup. Its mixture of folktale, geology, magic realism and recent political history takes place in four locations on and around India's borders - the Andaman Islands, Burma, Nepal and Ladakh.

Please do not post spoilers in this thread - we have separate spoiler threads for free discussion.

A few reviews (as always reviews may contain spoilers):
The Scotsman: https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-cul...
The Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bo...
Southern Review of Books: https://southernreviewofbooks.com/202...

I know that this is a busy time of year for those of us who follow book prizes but I hope that some of you will find time to participate.

I’ll be starting this at the weekend and will be back to comment. Interesting reviews Hugh.

Pamela wrote: "I’ll be starting this at the weekend and will be back to comment. Interesting reviews Hugh."
Yes, I can see both the positives and the negatives, and will have to think about how I write mine.

I finished reading the book last night. I have been reflecting on my thoughts and feelings about the book and, in all honesty, they seem to be all over the place. I did not love the book. But there were parts that I found interesting, informative, horrible and funny.

I enjoyed the science v. religion/mysticism discussions. I found physical surroundings described in much of the book to be quite disturbing at times. The foot long centipedes were particularly revolting. The description of the filth in the cities was very uncomfortable and brought home the idea that humans are causing a great deal of devastation to our planet. The historical and geological aspects were interesting although perhaps a bit too involved. The loss and hurt and sadness experienced by so many of the characters seemed to reflect the the hardships of all of nature.

I very much enjoyed the author’s depiction of aging as told through Apo. He claims that senility is a blessing. He wants his new wife to use a sex drug. He uses one and falls asleep. These types of passages and description were relatable . I could feel them and understand them. The more metaphysical aspects of the book were less relatable and dragged a bit for me.

My library came through, so I'm!