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A review by tejaswininaik
Ox-Tales: Water by Joanna Trollope, Giles Foden, William Boyd, Esther Freud, Hari Kunzru, David Park, Zoë Heller, Michael Morpurgo, Vikram Seth, Michael Faber
2.0
I think George Eliot once said "Don't judge a book by it's cover" and I should have adhered. But I saw a glimpse of Vikram Seth's name on this book and thought that it really can't be so bad and I bought it on a whim.
This is one of the books in the series of elements of Nature released by Oxfam. Several authors have submitted the first chapters of their upcoming novels in this book and all the proceedings go towards environmental conservation. There are similar ones on the lines of Earth, Fire and Air. I bought this from a second-hand shop so my money didn't definitely go towards the cause.
I was also enticed by the prospect of getting to read unheard of authors. All the stories are in some way related to water or forms of water. Beach, Rain, Ferry, Sea, Monsoon Season. Even Water Borne Disease. But none of them stay with you. I think Vikram Seth's poem is the only one thats worth mentioning. After reading these stories, I neither learnt anything new nor got interested in reading the full novel through free chapters by the authors. I'm really wondering how much money was raised through these books.
You can definitely give this book a miss.
For the love of Vikram Seth since I'm reminded of him,
“In life's brief game to be a winner
A man must have...oh yes, above
All else, of course, someone to love.”
― Vikram Seth, The Golden Gate
This is one of the books in the series of elements of Nature released by Oxfam. Several authors have submitted the first chapters of their upcoming novels in this book and all the proceedings go towards environmental conservation. There are similar ones on the lines of Earth, Fire and Air. I bought this from a second-hand shop so my money didn't definitely go towards the cause.
I was also enticed by the prospect of getting to read unheard of authors. All the stories are in some way related to water or forms of water. Beach, Rain, Ferry, Sea, Monsoon Season. Even Water Borne Disease. But none of them stay with you. I think Vikram Seth's poem is the only one thats worth mentioning. After reading these stories, I neither learnt anything new nor got interested in reading the full novel through free chapters by the authors. I'm really wondering how much money was raised through these books.
You can definitely give this book a miss.
For the love of Vikram Seth since I'm reminded of him,
“In life's brief game to be a winner
A man must have...oh yes, above
All else, of course, someone to love.”
― Vikram Seth, The Golden Gate