Where do I even begin ? I was so excited to read this. Reasons for my excitement :
- This was the first Hindi-translation to win the International Booker Prize .
- This was a big chunky book at 624 pages , I love a big book , it is my thing ! It comforts me .
At least it used to , until I decided to read this one.
After reading this , I have realized two things :
- Maybe Bookers are not really my thing !
- I absolutely detest the stream-of-consciousness narrative. I am sure there is an audience for it , definitely not me.
This book is hardly plot-driven and its not character driven either. Its just a lot of rambling! Some of the rambling is beautiful, some very nostalgic and at times relatable. But you can only read rambling for so long before you begin to lose interest.
It takes a very , VERY long time for things to get moving - almost a good 75% of the book, before it draws you in. That is a very long climb for a very short ride.
At the end of it , neither the journey was good , nor the destination.
While the narrative is beautiful at times , other times its is unbearable. So I ended up loving the parts where a crow runs the story but I could hardly read about someones ability , or lack thereof , to smile.
I almost dropped this book off at 50% and began a light , romantic read as a palette cleanser.
Bad idea!
The very thought of coming to this book was almost akin to eating a dry sandwich made three days ago. I would have rather starved. But , I chewed and chewed and swallowed it down. It did not leave a bad taste in my mouth , but let’s just say , I won’t be eating sandwiches for a while.
I give this two stars :
- For winning the booker
- For some absolutely beautiful prose peppered in.
Running off to read some Stephen King now!