Jun 06, 2007 01:45 AM
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Ever read a book, cause it reminded you of another indian pen that had won international acclaim?
Ever read a book, which had pushed you into the dark world of despair and gloom, when you expected it to be otherwise?
I bought this book as some friends suggested it was beautiful and moving and that it had won a pullitzer prize and was made into a motion picture. Another indian author winning another award and having such a hit, must., sorry should and should at any cost be read with aplomb enthusiasm.
So, happily I bought the book at a time when things personally were not going right for me and I took a break just to read this book.
There is this notion about expectation, if you read something which seems a mystery and that mystery makes you happy with each episode, you relish the idea and love the content, though it may be a very fictional story of utterly contemptible somebody written in a rotten flair.,
I was expecting loads from this book, the namesake, probably expected the hero to do something about his life and mark it successful, or end it for a just cause or something extraordinary, or if none of that, then probably it was the superb writing that would make me one with the environment/nature/surroundings and its descriptions around a thin storyline.my expectations were many and all of them high yet varied,
The beginning was funny and original depicting the birth and subsequent childhood of a boy born to bengali parents in the U.S of A., and the circumstances, experiences and memories of the parents of the child are something worth recommending in this book.
What follows is a natural disaster, not one but one after another, a journey of the hero through broken relationships and disappointments.his tryst with his own name and his hatred for it and his original namesake.
I agree I had made a wrong judgement of the book from its cover, I was utterly wrong in everything. I neither found the storyline thin or strong, nor the characters worth remembering, nor the nature or the traditions being depicted in any way that would make me happy yet sad.
Perhaps it was my high expectations that were shattered when one anti-climatic shock followed another and I could no longer relate why anything that invokes sadness or pity has to be hailed so much when its not what life is all about.
There are struggles and failures in everyone's lives but I wouldnt want to feel better myself by reading about others and pitying them or thinking about them or thinking myself any better or worse than any of the characters.Nor are any of the characters strong enough to be judged, criticized or appreciated.
From Kalidas to Shakespeare, most greats have believed time and again that tragedy is the best and hardest emotion to address to, but unfortunately this book misses that mark grossly in that it fails to make one sad or relate to the main character or any of the others,
I think its high time I mature and judge books not because of the prizes it wins, the reviews people write(me included - you should read things yourself and decide for yourself! - which defeats the purpose of reviewing, but then again is not a bad idea to share the experience) or based on my prejudices towards some writers.
lastly the questions I must answer after I have read a book.
Did I enjoy the read? - NO
Could I draw something memorable(if not inspirational) from it? - NO
Will I ever Re-Read it again? - NO
Will I Recommend it to a friend? - No.
