May 30, 2015 03:45 PM
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A great sweeping novel that weaves the mythic characters and events of the Mahabharata into the 20th century Indian political scene. It is frequently more of a political commentary than a novel. Tharoor says at the very beginning, as a sort of disclaimer, that the book is called The Great Indian Novel because it is based on the Mahabharata, which literally translated means "great India." He does not wish to imply that it is a "great" work, and the reader might find it is not necessarily all that Indian, and maybe not much of novel.
Shashi Tharoor is a wonderfully quotable, aphoristic writer. These are my two favorites from the book:
"India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay."
Though this one may be more brilliant in context, it is still worth noting: "I want my son to know the good things in life, not just the important ones."
Tharoor is hilarious and has a massive vocabulary. This is the first book I've read in a long time that made me feel like Uma Thurman's character in "The Truth About Cats and Dogs": "I'm reading two books at the moment . . .[this one] and a dictionary so I can understand [it]."
I'd like to reread it with pencil and OED on hand.
Recommended for: People with some knowledge of 20th C Indian history and an appreciation for snarky political humor
