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103rd out of 3,145 books
—
13,788 voters
The Far Pavilions
by
M.M. Kaye
After the death of his parents, young Ashton Pelham-Martyn is brought up as a Hindu in a remote corner of British India. As an adult soldier he returns to India, where his love for a princess and his dual heritage make for an epic story of adventure and romance.
Paperback, 958 pages
Published
January 15th 1997
by St. Martin's Griffin
(first published 1978)
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Another one of my all-time favorites. I don't know how I stumbled on this book, but its worth the 955 pages (yeah really!).
What I liked best about this book is the exploration of the main characters alienation. He is neither British nor Indian, Christian, Muslim or Hindu, he's everything and nothing all at once. Actually I might recommend this book if you liked Life of Pi. Although I would say that this is a much more thorough and interesting tale.
The novel takes place in India in the late 188...more
What I liked best about this book is the exploration of the main characters alienation. He is neither British nor Indian, Christian, Muslim or Hindu, he's everything and nothing all at once. Actually I might recommend this book if you liked Life of Pi. Although I would say that this is a much more thorough and interesting tale.
The novel takes place in India in the late 188...more
This is one of those books I've had on my shelf for... freaking-ever, but it's always just sort of been there for a rainy day. Like one of those days where you feel like reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy because you want a romping good time, but sadly, you've already read the Lord of the Rings trilogy and you're not really in the mood for the wordiness that is Tolkien anyway - you just want all the fun and adventure without all the work.
Okay, maybe I'm the only one who has waited to read thi...more
Okay, maybe I'm the only one who has waited to read thi...more
10 likes · like · see review
Some books get into your senses. They fill your nose with the scent of a people, the lick of the sun on bare skin, the brazen gossip of silk sheets, or engulfs you with a composition of shadows that hints at something beyond line of sight. M.M. Kaye is a storyteller that makes you taste India. She takes her own life experience and, like Rudyard Kipling and Frances Hodgson Burnett, draws fairy tales in the sands of Southern India while tucked in at the bed of the Himalayans.
This is not just a...more
This is not just a...more
I can't believe I waited 25+ years to read this again! Oh well, the first copy I had I loaned out and never got back. I would give this 10 stars if I could, I had forgotten how good this book was. Thank you Amazon, for recommending books and Listmania -- so many wonderful books I would never have found or rediscovered without you! A truly wonderful story of star-crossed lovers, treachery, intrigue, heroism, honor and bigotry. The author has a great feel and understanding of India under the Briti...more
14 likes · like · see review
Reading this book was quite possibly the only good thing that happened to me in the year 1995. I've since re-read it in its entireity another four or five times, and skimmed through it and picked out my favorite passages at least a dozen times. It's a beautiful "sweeping epic" set in British colonial India, the story of "Ash", who spends the first part of his life believing he's the son of a Hindu serving woman in the palace of a rajah and is himself enlisted as a personal servant/favorite playm...more
This is the best epic novel I ever read. It's an historical adventure/romance that takes place in colonial India. The book starts out when the protagonist, a young English boy named Ash is orphaned because of a cholera outbreak. He is then raised by an Indian nursemaid. Later as a young man he falls in love with a young woman, Anjuli, who has been promised to marry an elderly wealthy nobleman against her will. Her wicked stepmother selected the old man out of spite knowing he would die soon. Cus...more
Magnificent book, telling the story of Aston and Anjuli ant the India struggle against Afghnistan.
The movie is available at You Tube. It is as good as this book, it's worth watching.
The movie is available at You Tube. It is as good as this book, it's worth watching.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is not a book you want to start reading if you will not have lots of time to dedicate to it. My paperback is 995 pages and I took it with me to read on the plane on a trip to Europe.
While the book is fiction, it does provide an interesting glimpse into what life was like in India and Afghanistan during the 19th century. A British boy loses both parents in India and is raised by a surrogate Indian mother. He ends up being discovered for who he is when he becomes a teenager, and since he is p...more
While the book is fiction, it does provide an interesting glimpse into what life was like in India and Afghanistan during the 19th century. A British boy loses both parents in India and is raised by a surrogate Indian mother. He ends up being discovered for who he is when he becomes a teenager, and since he is p...more
I was convinced I had read this a long time ago - now I'm not so sure. Enjoyable so far.
It started well and I found the beginning half very interesting but got a bit too 'romantic' for me - not only in the boy meets girl story - but in the depiction of the close-knit Guides, the 'third man' for Ash etc... I have read far better books on the stupidity and arrogance of the attempted empire builders in Afghanistan and this part, in particular, let it down for me.
It started well and I found the beginning half very interesting but got a bit too 'romantic' for me - not only in the boy meets girl story - but in the depiction of the close-knit Guides, the 'third man' for Ash etc... I have read far better books on the stupidity and arrogance of the attempted empire builders in Afghanistan and this part, in particular, let it down for me.
1 like · like · see review
Oct 26, 2008
Alison
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
History buffs and Culture hounds
Recommended to Alison by:
Julie
Despite the length, I loved this book. The characters, the places, the action and intrigue all held my attention to the very last page. Woven through the history of 19th century India is Ashton's struggle to find his place in society--his identity. He is a man with superior language skills and an uncanny ability to meld with local customs, yet he never is "at home." Always the outsider, he can never truly be himself, except with his "larla" (darling)...
A map in the book would really enhance the...more
A map in the book would really enhance the...more
I loved this book!! The author did an excellent job at describing the characters, the setting, the people, everything...I really want to travel to India now :) I loved the main character Ash, although I found myself wondering "why can't he just wake up and see what is really going on???" But I still love him!
I also loved the message of the book of how sometimes we get caught in having to "be" one thing or another and our prejudcies sometimes prevent us from truly knowing another culture or peop...more
I also loved the message of the book of how sometimes we get caught in having to "be" one thing or another and our prejudcies sometimes prevent us from truly knowing another culture or peop...more
I watched the TV mini-series around the time of the 1984 Olympics (made a change from watching "V"!) and whilst the events are in a different order here, it is essentially the same story.[return][return]Ash is born in India to English parents, who are killed during an uprising when Ash is still a young boy. He is rescued by his nursemaid, who passes him off as her son, since he is dark enough to pass as a native. His new mother gets a job in the palace of a maharaja, and Ash becomes the bodyguar...more
Mar 28, 2013
Deborah Blair
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People who like Historical Romances and/or want a taste of India and Afghanistan of the 1800's
Recommended to Deborah by:
Afghan Refugees
Shelves:
fiction
This is a wonderful book. A real epic novel of war and romance, it has been called a "Gone with the Wind" set in India and Afghanistan. It is a long adventure that weaves through many of the small "kingdoms" that made up India during the 1800's and the time of Britain's attempted hold on the country and its forays into trying to take over and hold Afghanistan.
M.M. Kaye, the writer, knew the landscape and territory she wrote about well because her father was a decorated, "Guide," in the British...more
M.M. Kaye, the writer, knew the landscape and territory she wrote about well because her father was a decorated, "Guide," in the British...more
This book has it all, romance, adventure, excitement, blood and guts. Although the story is set against the last days of the British Raj, it is what the phrase "sweeping saga" was invented for. Ashok is an English boy who grows up as a peasant Indian child, eventually becomes rediscovered and sent back to England to be "re-educated." He joins the army, moves swiftly up the ranks before disgracing himself and being sent on a mission to deliver two spoilt Indian brides-to-be to their decrepit brid...more
Wow, it seems as if I'm the only person who disliked the book. I was excited to read it, and only finished for my book club (yes, I do take one for the team now and then). For me it had several flaws and was painful to finish.
1. The narrative's flow is disappointing, things happen and then you're on to the next event with little transition, which made the piece feel rushed in that sense.
2. The detail that drowns you into boredom. She describes some things to the point of ad nauseum, but then do...more
1. The narrative's flow is disappointing, things happen and then you're on to the next event with little transition, which made the piece feel rushed in that sense.
2. The detail that drowns you into boredom. She describes some things to the point of ad nauseum, but then do...more
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I read this book many years ago on a recommendation from a friend. Before that I had not heard about the author or the book. When I saw the size of the book, I was not sure whether I will end up reading such a fat book. Before this book, I had kept “War and Peace” with me without reading for many years. But I will write about that experience some other time. “The far pavilions” is not a book that you want to put down once you start reading it. It was one of those b...more
I read this book many years ago on a recommendation from a friend. Before that I had not heard about the author or the book. When I saw the size of the book, I was not sure whether I will end up reading such a fat book. Before this book, I had kept “War and Peace” with me without reading for many years. But I will write about that experience some other time. “The far pavilions” is not a book that you want to put down once you start reading it. It was one of those b...more
I'd been keeping an eye out for this book at my library ever since my friend, Leslie, had recommended it on Goodreads. I found the relationship of the main characters, Ash and Anjli absolutely riveting and I could not put the book down for the first 500 pages (it's a whompin 955 page EPIC novel). I knew little about India and Afghanistan in the mid to late 1800's and enjoyed being immersed in cultures and worldviews so completely different from my own. I'd have to give the last 200 pages of the...more
4 stars for parts of the book, maybe 40-60% of Ash's life and the book. I loved the first 200 pages, that was amazing, 5 STARS! The love story was thrilling and captivating because of the challenges involved. 1/3 of the books I would give 2 stars but that is only because I was not in the mood nor felt like I would remember the long factual accounts and sketches of British soldier life in India/Afghanistan. Those accounts were well written, but tediously detailed. I would have enjoyed a more succ...more
http://tinyurl.com/5sh7g7
Just to get it out of the way, the first thing I'll do is complain about the length of this book. 955 pages-- what were you thinking, Mary Margaret? Actually, I know perfectly well what she was thinking. Her intent from the beginning must have been to write an epic, and that only as an epic would this tale of British rule in India, the Second Afghan War, and the romance between her British-born, India-raised soldier and the half-blood Russo-Indian princess work.
This migh...more
Just to get it out of the way, the first thing I'll do is complain about the length of this book. 955 pages-- what were you thinking, Mary Margaret? Actually, I know perfectly well what she was thinking. Her intent from the beginning must have been to write an epic, and that only as an epic would this tale of British rule in India, the Second Afghan War, and the romance between her British-born, India-raised soldier and the half-blood Russo-Indian princess work.
This migh...more
May 02, 2011
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by:
Gerri, The Idiot's Guid to the Ultimate Reading List
You know that kind of novel where you turn to page one, and hours later blink and look down to find hundreds of pages went by? This is that kind of novel. Kaye was born, raised, and spent her early married life in India, and she and her husband came from a long line of British officers that served the British Raj. In fact, given the dedication, Walter Hamilton, a character in the novel, was related to her husband. So she certainly has the credentials to bring the India of the Raj to life, nor is...more
Don't start reading a 995 page book a week before Christmas. That is bad planning. I thought this book would be an epic love story, it is not. It is a historical fiction that was interesting at times. Reading about Indian/Hindu (India) culture from the 1800s as a Western twentieth century woman leaves me less than sympathetic towards certain aspects of their culture. Kaye does a very good job at creating a character that can see both sides and must uncomfortably straddle both cultures. The last...more
i may be giving this 4 stars out of 5 because so many people love it ... simply out of respect. nevertheless, there are many things to admire and enjoy. MM Kaye really knows India and Afghanistan and her history - the detail is absolutley amaizing, from weapons and landscape to language and customs ... and im struck by how similar the problems are today in Kabul, you could substitute Americans-NATO for the British Raj - many of the attitudes are the same, and she captures them perfectly. but...i...more
I read The Far Pavilions many years ago when I was in High School, and it has always held a special place in my heart. I credit this book to introducing me to Indian history and culture, which I have had a continuing fascination to this day. I was up on the third floor browsing, and I happened to see this book on the shelf. It was written in 1978 and most public libraries have long since weeded their copies, so I haven’t even seen a copy of this since the 1980s. I just had to re-read it, if only...more
First things first: This book took me a week to read, which is a rare thing and I really enjoyed being able to devote a whole week to one book. It is 950+ pages, and I think the first 800 or so make up one of the best books I have ever read. I was transported from the first page, and I really feel like I got to know and care about an entire (and large) cast of characters. I enjoyed the history (with some clarifying help from Wikipedia), the love story and the adventure. The last 150 pages or so,...more
A very good adventure novel with interesting characters and great descriptions of the various settings in India and Afghanistan and their culture. The love-story is believable and doesn't dominate the suspenseful story (I've often found this book described as a romance but I don't think this is really true - the love-story is a central part of the plot but a romance-fan will be confronted with a lot of politics, military strategy and detailed descriptions of battles and camp-logistics too).
As a...more
As a...more
I read this book when it first came in the l970's and happened to see it in the library. I am totally enjoying this book again. The characters are so believable and the story line just keeps you wanting to continue reading until you get to the end. As a woman, I would never be able to live in a country where there is the possiblity of my parents choosing who I am to marry. Forget that. I can picture the mountains and the plains from the way the author discribes them. There are two other books th...more
This is a big novel, part romantic fantasy and part a gritty history of invasion and war. It has to be big, to combine the two. Historically, it’s fascinating and very real. Romantically, it’s pleasurable and escapist, with dashing heroes and rescued princesses. It never gets overly sentimental, and the writing is both precise and dynamic. The close description of a suttee chilled me to the bone.
What holds the history and the fantasy together is a detailed understanding of India and Afghanista...more
What holds the history and the fantasy together is a detailed understanding of India and Afghanista...more
Mar 21, 2013
P.I.
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
historical, romance, adventure readers
Recommended to P.I. by:
No one: picked it up on my own!
This book is not just an historical romance, it's a magnificent saga of British Ruled India that swirls around the love story. It's also not a typical romance--it spans decades, racism, social snobbery against the backdrop of Indian vistas. It doesn't contain any graphic sex or violence and there's no sweetly tied up happily ever after; it leaves the couple searching for a place they can be accepted, no guarantees. Oh, there's plenty of romance but it's real; deep and worth struggling for and it...more
This epic tale (over 1,000 pages, but don’t let that stop you) is set in India during the British occupation. Ashton Pellham-Martyn is British, but because of his parents’ deaths has been raised by his Hindu nurse. When his relatives finally find out, he is sent to England for schooling. Once grown up, he returns to India to work for the British army, and his task is to organize the caravan escorting two Princesses to their wedding hundreds of miles away. Because of his upbringing, he is torn be...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A little slow for me. Excellent book.. | 16 | 75 | 25 feb. 19:55 | |
| Around the World ...: Genia Recommends The Far Pavilions | 1 | 12 | 20 ott. 08:46 |
M. M. Kaye(Mary Margaret) was born in India and spent her early childhood and much of her early-married life there. Her family ties with the country are strong: her grandfather, father, brother and husband all served the British Raj. After India's independence, her husband, Major-General Goff Hamilton of Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (the famous Indian Army regiment featured in The Far Pavi...more
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“They rode out together from the shadows of the trees, leaving the Bala Hissar and the glowing torch of the burning Residency behind them, and spurred away across the flat lands towards the mountains...
And it may even be that they found their Kingdom.”
—
6 people liked it
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And it may even be that they found their Kingdom.”
30 gen. 18:20
great reviews. x
20 mag. 17:45