Reviews

Harbart by Nabarun Bhattacharya

sagnik_20's review against another edition

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3.0

Very different from the usual stuff.The story telling is sort of complicated at times as flipping needs to be done.One would enjoy more if he doesn't have any expectations from the book.If a deprived suddenly finds luck in his life , then he should use it to it's merit not waste it away.

rouge_red's review

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slow-paced

3.0

Not quite sure what to think because I haven't read much Indian fiction and so there's a lot here I don't quite understand/ know how to appreciate. I may revisit this one again after I've read more from authors from India, so that I have more of an idea of what to expect.

emmabea19's review

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funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

kingkong's review

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2.0

hard to follow

jasleeen's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a twisted tale. Watching the movie to get the better idea of this novella.

kavyagee's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

dhwan's review against another edition

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5.0

Brilliant book that makes you laugh, think, worry, and smile without falling into any tropes or traps. It's easy to see why it has become a cult classic.

drewhelm's review

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medium-paced

3.5

miss_hempstock's review against another edition

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5.0

Magic realism at its best on the Bengali canvas!

Nabarun Bhattacharya's radically iconoclastic approach, stemming from his anti-establishment political perspective, etches an almost strangely alternative narrative voice in his fictional work.
Herbert Sarkar, an orphan sheltered at his cousin's place, grows up unwanted, in close proximity with urban nature, and develops into a hardly literate, yet strikingly sensitive person, profoundly influenced the by Naxalite movement of the seventies. "Harbart" is the tale of a man who is perched perpetually on the fringe and subconscious phenomenon, fueling an omnipresent hunger, literal and as a social metaphor, which complicates things further making a trickster of him. হার্বার্টদা শ্মশানে যায়, গল্প তবু ফুরোয় না।
A masterly handling of magic realism immortalises "Harbart" with its dark humour, slightly off mainstream Bengali novel writing.

stupidpieceofhuman's review against another edition

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5.0

there are these kinds of moments or rather experiences in your life that you had gone through or felt where you're in immense pain either from an injury or an aching illness which is killing you. but, that sensation of pain is causing you to laugh. while feeling the pain, you're laughing, simultaneously, where you or your body should express painful sounds as an expression of that pain. but no, you're laughing like you're reading a hilarious book or watching a uproariously hilarious comedy show. (i hope you get what i am trying to say, here!)

reading this book gives you the same feeling, ironically.