Aug 17, 2004 06:04 AM
3830 Views
(Updated Aug 17, 2004 06:07 AM)
This was on my reading list for college when I first started studying English Literature. I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise, but it is a powerful story set in India when it was part of the British Empire. Farrell is obviously a good writer, hence the Booker prize win. In terms of theme, 'A Passage to India' by EM Forster is also set in India but the books are very different.
Farrell is predominantly interested in history, and political/military history at that, whereas Forster creates a poetic fictional story. If you are interested in India, or Indian history then you will probably enjoy this book.
Like the movie 'Gandhi' it portrays some of the terrible things the British did while in India. Be warned, some of the chapters are extremely violent. Although written in the early 1970s about a period far back in history it remains relevant to the 21st century as the conflict originates through a cultural misunderstanding.