Details Books Supposing Red Earth and Pouring Rain
| Original Title: | Red Earth and Pouring Rain |
| ISBN: | 0316132934 (ISBN13: 9780316132930) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (1996), Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book Overall (1996), David Higham Prize for Fiction (1995) |
Vikram Chandra
Paperback | Pages: 542 pages Rating: 3.79 | 2476 Users | 222 Reviews
Mention About Books Red Earth and Pouring Rain
| Title | : | Red Earth and Pouring Rain |
| Author | : | Vikram Chandra |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 542 pages |
| Published | : | March 1st 1997 by Back Bay Books (first published 1995) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. India. Fantasy. Magical Realism. Asian Literature. Indian Literature. Literature |
Representaion During Books Red Earth and Pouring Rain
The main things this book had going for it:• Stories within stories within stories. You might get lost like I did, but I found I didn’t really care about what level I was in as long as the stories kept unrolling and enrapturing me;
• Beautiful, vivid and lyrical language: descriptive, character-illuminating, sometimes philosophical;
• A typewriting monkey! I mean, a TYPEWRITING MONKEY!
So the stories -- lots of stories -– form a Scheherazade-style framework with the monkey telling tales to both visiting gods and townspeople to save his own life: tales of romance, adventure, war, family, love, birth, death, and growing up, the magical and the mundane, from 18th century India to 1980s California. The framework around the stories, each of which has its own conflict and arc, has a conflict of its own, the challenge every storyteller has: to keep his audience intrigued. Or else.
Today the television cameras came, and also the death threats. We have been warned by several organizations that the storytelling must stop. The groups on the very far right – of several religions – object to the ‘careless use of religious symbology, and the ceaseless insults to the sensitivities of the devout.’ The far-left parties object to the sensationalization and falsification of history, and the pernicious Western influences on our young.’ Everyone objects to the sex, except the audience.
We have become a national issue. Questions have been raised in parliament. Sir Patanjali Abhishek Vardarajan, the grand old man of Indian science, has offered a reward of fifty thousand rupees to ‘anyone who can demonstrate the existence of a typing monkey under laboratory conditions.’ . . .
‘We will not be bullied,’ Saira said. “Type on.’
I was almost a hundred pages into this before I learned that Chandra had studied writing with John Barth at Johns Hopkins. Well, no wonder I was loving it. This has the same sort of sprawling scope and playful tone as many of Barth’s longer works, blending the mythical, historical and the everyday in a similar fashion. It’s certainly not on a level in terms of prose or structure, of course, but it’s still awfully good. And once I knew the connection, I could plainly see the master’s fingerprints, the DNA is there.
I’m not going to lie to you. I didn’t enjoy every page of this. Sometimes the epic battle scenes were too detailed and the play-by-play of a cricket match left me restless and skimming. But then, I’m such a girl, I don’t enjoy war and sports that much. However, most of it was delightful.
So there are stories within stories, which are also stories about stories. There’s a reverence for storytelling that permeates the whole, with the frequent interjection:
“Listen . . . . “
And we do.
Rating About Books Red Earth and Pouring Rain
Ratings: 3.79 From 2476 Users | 222 ReviewsPiece About Books Red Earth and Pouring Rain
DamnThese things are known about this novel: epic scope, stories-within-stories, modern US subjects, and the history of India. More deeply, it explores the British invasion/influence/damage and how so many stereotypes perpetuated by Europeans persist today. Even more deeply, the fictional characters brought to life by Chandra are fascinating and human in every way. The art of story telling is treated with the greatest respect. Some of the Hindu gods appear as characters themselves--some delightful,
The main things this book had going for it: Stories within stories within stories. You might get lost like I did, but I found I didnt really care about what level I was in as long as the stories kept unrolling and enrapturing me; Beautiful, vivid and lyrical language: descriptive, character-illuminating, sometimes philosophical; A typewriting monkey! I mean, a TYPEWRITING MONKEY! So the stories -- lots of stories - form a Scheherazade-style framework with the monkey telling tales to both
At some point in the novel the various narratives which form part of 'Red Earth and Pouring Rain' coalescence into a single story which has multiples essences but which centres on the theme of dislocation; the dislocation of Sanjay and Sikander as they are sundered from their families and martial cultures due to the expansion of colonial England, the dislocation of Abhay as he circumnavigates his way through late 20th century America and the vagaries of an India which seems increasingly surreal
I was so disappointed with this book. I love Indian novels and books by Indian authors and have read many, but just could not get into this book. I tried. The premise was great - a poet reincarnated as a monkey who has made a deal with the God of Death, Yama, that as long as he can keep telling stories (a prescribed number of hours a day) he may stay alive. Of course he cannot speak so he types out stories which are read out to the people who gather on the maidan. As long as Yama is entertained,
Easily my favourite book by an Indian author. Beautifully evocative magic realism epic of Indian mythology grounded brilliantly by a modern subplot. If I still had a copy I would read it again right now.
0 Comments:
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.