The Lives of Others - Neel Mukherjee

 Fiction

Verdict: Read It (3/5)

Overview:

Another Bookworm find this novel is the first one I've read from Neel Mukherjee

This novel covers a great deal about Village Life. It is one of the multigenerational stories that I very much enjoy. 

What I Enjoyed:

As with most multigenerational stories, there is a lot of detail that comes along by chance as you continue to meet characters. The different roles and statuses of children become obvious as the reader understands the structure of the house and the placement of the inhabitants. It's a very crude but accurate commentary about India's obsession with status, even among families. 

What I Disliked:

Because there were so many characters, there wasn't as much effort taken to develop them into well-rounded personalities. Perhaps that was the point, but it feels rather like watching a series of photos go by rather than watching a movie. I am either hit or miss with Bengali authors/writing flavor and this just missed with me. 

Summary:

There are other novels that portray the same themes in a better manner. It's a heavy book to just be a so/so novel, but that's simply my opinion. 

 

~Becky~