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esshgee's review against another edition
2.0
2 1/2 stars. Frustrating and annoying characters with few redeeming traits
stefhyena's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I don't know. Sometimes I am too literal and need the layers explicitly pointed out to me but all I could see here was the sort of thing Edward Said has so capably critiqued in Orientalism. That book was written more than a decade after this one so perhaps this was among the genre and type of writing he was criticising.
It's a white person's view of India, and even where it is surface-level respectful or in some cases almost reflexive about the fact that Europe is a negative presence and influence - it has a patronising, exoticising view of for example the child-like Bal. Similarly any feminism in the book can be read into the gaps- Etta and Clarissa (these days they would be called "Karens") are narcissistic wealthy white women but when you glimpse into their lives a hell of domestic drudgery is all they could have in their own country- the only way for a woman to be something other than a wife or drudge is to go and be a super nuisance like these too and then they still end up being pitied and objectified. Beauty is the only asset a woman can have and it does not last.
I think we are meant to read Judy as "the good woman" a contrast to the others and happy with being a wife and mother. The book begins with Etta giving her advice to leave her husband which amuses Judy. But for Judy to be happy with the feckless and childlike Bal who is neither a good provider nor helps her in any other way but only pulls her away from her support systems, she has to have a terrible past- poverty in England and her mother's sucide. This is used heavy-handedly to show why despite it all she is content with him, she is also shown to be very in love with him and enjoy life with his family. This all seems idealised and unlikely to me, she is just always content no matter what happens- any negative feelings she has are surface level she just determinedly brings herself back to cheerfulness all the time and her life as a good wife keeps her young (contrast to Etta) despite the fact that the sort of stresses she is experiencing would not do that at all!
Indians are childish, amusing, laugh easily, fascinated by the Europeans in the book. Indian women in the book exist in the shadows - content with whatever they get and lack agency apart from the formidable and unlikeable Mrs Kaur. There's another European couple Dr and Mrs H. They are explicitly labelled as the "bourgeois" and portrayed as the only sane anchor for everyone else in the book- boring and unattractive Mrs H with her boiled eggs and frightening efficiency and being completely untouched by India and not losing her head like Etta, Clarissa and even to an exten Judy and bombastic Mr H who is caught up in a white male intellectual haze- oblivious that anyone apart from him has valid agendas or feelings. Perhaps the book at one point shows that as they anchor everyone else they also manage to cause some of the conflict in their very boringness. At the end though they depart happy and unflappable after having "saved" Etta and patronised everyone.
Maybe there is meant to be a reflexive eye in there somewhere- but there seems to be a "Mother India is better than England" exoticic view and a patronising validation of Bal's childishness throughout. Indian men are portrayed as handsome, desirable and ineffective. These of course are middle class Indian men. There is some talk of most of the country suffering and starving but that is portrayed as a crazy leftist's rantings.
Overall- I guess it's good to read things like this critically and cringe at how awful white people are (yes I am white too) but it was neither enjoyable as escapism nor a particularly wise book.
It's a white person's view of India, and even where it is surface-level respectful or in some cases almost reflexive about the fact that Europe is a negative presence and influence - it has a patronising, exoticising view of for example the child-like Bal. Similarly any feminism in the book can be read into the gaps- Etta and Clarissa (these days they would be called "Karens") are narcissistic wealthy white women but when you glimpse into their lives a hell of domestic drudgery is all they could have in their own country- the only way for a woman to be something other than a wife or drudge is to go and be a super nuisance like these too and then they still end up being pitied and objectified. Beauty is the only asset a woman can have and it does not last.
I think we are meant to read Judy as "the good woman" a contrast to the others and happy with being a wife and mother. The book begins with Etta giving her advice to leave her husband which amuses Judy. But for Judy to be happy with the feckless and childlike Bal who is neither a good provider nor helps her in any other way but only pulls her away from her support systems, she has to have a terrible past- poverty in England and her mother's sucide. This is used heavy-handedly to show why despite it all she is content with him, she is also shown to be very in love with him and enjoy life with his family. This all seems idealised and unlikely to me, she is just always content no matter what happens- any negative feelings she has are surface level she just determinedly brings herself back to cheerfulness all the time and her life as a good wife keeps her young (contrast to Etta) despite the fact that the sort of stresses she is experiencing would not do that at all!
Indians are childish, amusing, laugh easily, fascinated by the Europeans in the book. Indian women in the book exist in the shadows - content with whatever they get and lack agency apart from the formidable and unlikeable Mrs Kaur. There's another European couple Dr and Mrs H. They are explicitly labelled as the "bourgeois" and portrayed as the only sane anchor for everyone else in the book- boring and unattractive Mrs H with her boiled eggs and frightening efficiency and being completely untouched by India and not losing her head like Etta, Clarissa and even to an exten Judy and bombastic Mr H who is caught up in a white male intellectual haze- oblivious that anyone apart from him has valid agendas or feelings. Perhaps the book at one point shows that as they anchor everyone else they also manage to cause some of the conflict in their very boringness. At the end though they depart happy and unflappable after having "saved" Etta and patronised everyone.
Maybe there is meant to be a reflexive eye in there somewhere- but there seems to be a "Mother India is better than England" exoticic view and a patronising validation of Bal's childishness throughout. Indian men are portrayed as handsome, desirable and ineffective. These of course are middle class Indian men. There is some talk of most of the country suffering and starving but that is portrayed as a crazy leftist's rantings.
Overall- I guess it's good to read things like this critically and cringe at how awful white people are (yes I am white too) but it was neither enjoyable as escapism nor a particularly wise book.
angela32's review
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
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