Blood Brothers - MJ Akbar

Fiction

Verdict: Read It (3/5)

Overview:

Brief Note: Ironically, I read this before and didn't even realize it until I was making my entry into my list of books read and checking if I read anything from MJ Akbar before. This is what happens when you read too much. I'm going to review it anyway because I don't think I did before.

Blood Brothers is yet another novel that I picked up from Bookworm. I'm not sure what made me pick it up. This is the first book I've read by MJ Akbar

The time just prior to and during partition is well-tread ground for good reason. This book is a multigenerational novel about a family that has moved to Bengal outside one of the famous Jute Mills and how the events unfolded around them during and after partition. They are decently well off thanks to a smart grandfather. The family has influence in the community and helps to avert the community tensions that plagued many other places in Calcutta during partition. 

What I Enjoyed:

The novel is well-written and easy to understand. MJ Akbar does a masterful job of splitting his attention between character development and historical events. While a little out of the ordinary, Akbar managed to find a balance between hope and being believable in terms of avoiding community bloodshed. 

What I Disliked:

I would have liked a little more detail on the family relationships. While the importance of the historical events is undeniable, the effects on families and their relationships can't be ignored either. I felt the father's character development could have gone into more depth. There were a few slightly slow sections.

Summary:

It took me quite some time to finish this novel for the 2nd time. There are very few novels I will voluntarily read twice. I would not read this a third time. That being said, this is a suitable contender for a reader who is not familiar with Calcutta and partition. Read it!

 

~Becky~

  

A Plate of White Marble - Bani Basu

Fiction

Read it

This is the first book that I've ready by Bani Basi. In a change of pace, this was a book I ordered because it was recommended, rather than just picking it up because it had a pretty cover. Progress. 

The story covers the life of Bandana. She is a newly made widow with a young son. The first half of the story or so covers Bandana's life after her husband dies. She is still in her inlaws house and slowly backed into a very restrictive corner of shoulds and should nots. However weak, Bandana is a bit of an odd rebel. So much so that I very much felt like cheering her on. 

The second half of the book is Bandana's life after her uncle takes her out of her inlaws house. He urges her to be independent, get a job, let go of old superstitions, etc. Bandana does try her best and makes small leaps, In the end, she crumbles to pressure from her son and inlaws. It's ridiculousy disapointing, but also ridiculously realistic. You can't hate Bandana for her weakness because she truly tries, but there's a limit to what one can do.

The treatment of widows in a conservative society in India is not a new subject. It's rather horrifying on the whole. The beauty of A Plate of White Marble is that Bani Basu does a brilliant job of highlighting a situation that isn't horrific on the surface, but is still resulting in the slow death of someone the family is proported to love. Her heroine also is relateable. She's not perfect and doesn't magically throw off the chains of tradition and superstition all of a sudden one day - she takes small steps where she can. The authoress also brilliantly highlights how sometimes behaviors are so conditioned that women don't have to be held back - they do it themselves because they have been taught that's right. 

I guess I should mention that this isn't a feminism book, even though I felt the small steps that Bandana takes are important ones - and would be even more so if she continued taking those steps and taught her children the same. What was valuable to her generation isn't even recognized in her son's generation and finding a balance is difficult for her.

The novel does drag in places, and like many Bengali works, has a tendancy to be rather morose. I kept waiting for a few shoes to drop and things to turn really tragic. But the beauty of Bengali writing of this type is that tragedy happens quietly. A few small incidents at a time.

It's worth reading. Take it slow and absorb the ethos.

~Becky~

Hangwoman - K.R. Meera

Fiction
Verdict: A must read

This book was given to me by my daughter - she had bought it but it was too difficult for her to read. Since I'm game for anything, I read it.

I'm very rarely left stunned by Indian authors anymore. This book was a powerhouse. As the title suggests, the protagonist is a young, Bengali woman. I am not usually a fan of Bengali settings. Our protagonist is the daughter of a notorious hangman. In fact, she comes from a long line of hangmen and women. Much is made of how the son of the family (who lives and dies a very sad way due to the family business) will not be able to carry on the tradition. 

The main character's father plays a very big part in the story. He's a drunk, angry man and is used very often to contrast against her. Most of the time, it seems he is out to make a little money any way he can. This is how she ends up being a hangwoman - the father leverages her gender to get her a job and make some money. He even sells their story to the press and tries to sell her to a journalist who shows interest in her for his own selfish reasons. He's no hero, but he is a dominating influence on the story line.

You can feel the tension going up through the book as the execution date comes closer. This is masterfully done. The main character weaves family history and narratives through the story as she moves inevitably towards her fate. 

Far from being a wilting flower herself, she begins to take control of her own destiny as the story progresses. The romance with the journalist becomes clear to her as one where he is using her and she ends up making him dance to her tune. She also begins to slowly uncurl her father's domineering control of her life and make her own decisions. 

The setting is different in that the family is poor. The author neither glorifies this nor bombards us with examples - it just is. Death is an atmosphere for the family. They are hangmen and live nearby a burning ghat.

It's not at all clear through the story if the main character will be able to fulfill her destiny and step into her father's shoes. In the end she does, but it's a counter climactic moment. The story wanders a bit after that as if all the characters are at a loss of what to do next. 

It's not an easy read - especially for those who have no context into Indian authors, history, and culture. But for those who do, it's an amazing read. Try it.

Becky

Postmaster : Selected Stories - Rabindranath Tagore

This was my first exposure to Tagore and it was an interesting one.

Tagore is a Bengali. With all my exposure to Indian culture, this was fun as Bengal is like a cousin - similar, but with marked differences.

Tagore has the typical Indian/Bengali pathos in this collection of stories. It hangs over every story like a dark cloud. It never really rains, but you keep expecting it to. For all of the talk about Tagore getting down to details of simple village life, I found that conspicuously absent from this book. He grew up and writes from a zaminder (landlord in a feudal sense) point of view that has nothing to do with normal folks.

Tagore does, however, have a gift for story telling and description. After reading this book, I rather wish I could go visit Bengal, even though it would not be the same Bengal that Tagore knew, just as the India I'm visiting now is not the one my husband reminisces about.

Verdict: If you have any interest in India, read it and revel in the differences if you can find them.