Jan 11, 2003 06:18 PM
1771 Views
(Updated Jan 14, 2003 07:44 PM)
I havent come across someone who doesnt feel strongly about this book. Which of course implies its worth a dekko. As for me, I adore the book. The language - ahhh .. its silken .. and it just flows .. the experimentations in narrative style, and the now-oft-abused chronology-ketchup style has been handled remarkably well.
I made the mistake of starting off on the book during my semester exams - exams got screwed, but I couldnt keep the book down :). Of course I had been expecting the book to be good, what with all the prizes and stuff, but it definitely met all my expectations, and surpassed some of them.
This is not one of the typical indian english author kitsch book - you know the types, the types that are launched with a big page 3 crowd party, and have the standard child abuse history thrown in ( Any resemblance of my comments to a book by one particular author IS COMPLETELY INTENTIONAL )
Reading this book, you feel the little kerala village, and you can actually see the world from the eyes of the twins. Never since Malgudi, has a place made such a lasting picture in the mind of the reader of Indian fiction, as Ayemenem, the small kerala town where the book is set, has.
You are in a daze when you finally put the book down.
And phrases like the time Ammu died at a 'viable dieable age' get etched in your mind.
Whos Ammu ? Who are the twins ? What happens in the book ?
Read the other reviews for that.
