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11th out of 29 books
—
22 voters
In Custody
by
Anita Desai
Touching and wonderfully funny, In Custody is woven around the yearnings and calamities of a small town scholar in the north of India. An impoverished college lecturer, Deven, sees a way to escape from the meanness of his daily life when he is asked to interview India’s greatest Urdu poet, Nur – a project that can only end in disaster.
Published
(first published April 1st 1986)
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there's no question the woman can write, but i can't say i'm really enjoying this, and after being battered by her daughter's booker winner, i think i may need to give this up.
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I have been extremely lucky to be reading books by two wonderful Indian authoresses one after the other. One was Shashi Deshpande and the other is Anita Desai. I remember coming across Anita Desai’s name a couple of time but had been unable to read any of her books till date. Thankfully the opportunity came my way and the fact that the story had been made into an award winning film piqued my curiosity even fu...more
I have been extremely lucky to be reading books by two wonderful Indian authoresses one after the other. One was Shashi Deshpande and the other is Anita Desai. I remember coming across Anita Desai’s name a couple of time but had been unable to read any of her books till date. Thankfully the opportunity came my way and the fact that the story had been made into an award winning film piqued my curiosity even fu...more
Don't know why I didn't pick up on Anita Desai before now, but I'm glad I got to her, finally. In Custody was nominated for the Booker in 1984. I'm not surprised. Her story is straight forward and elegantly told. Yet she uses this seemingly simple tale to burrow deep into the shadows of the human soul and pick out its harshest complexities and contradictions.
We follow the protagonist, Deven, a naive, incompetent, and unhappy bumbler, as he takes on a task he is utterly unprepared for yet is dri...more
We follow the protagonist, Deven, a naive, incompetent, and unhappy bumbler, as he takes on a task he is utterly unprepared for yet is dri...more
Anita Desai clearly is one of the best Indian writers of the English language. Not only is her prose very much lucid and succinct, but at the same time able to capture exactly all those emotions and sentiments that make the subcontinent what it truly is.
The writer's knack for storytelling is definitely worth recommending, and plus the fact that she is able to portray and chronicle Indian life with such ease and lucidity in the English language makes her a distinguished author. But what makes In...more
The writer's knack for storytelling is definitely worth recommending, and plus the fact that she is able to portray and chronicle Indian life with such ease and lucidity in the English language makes her a distinguished author. But what makes In...more
It can be harrowing to follow the tribulations of this teacher whose misconceived master-plan (to record for posterity the voice of a local poet of some repute who, predictably, turns out to be a bit of a con-artist) lays waste to his life. Of course it conveys a rather bitter message about corruption and greed in India - what else? But it is definitely among the best novels of one of India's best novelists.
This story was billed as humorous, but I found it to be depressing at best. The only good part about it was that I could look at the story and go alright, my life sucks, but it's not as bad as Deven's. I did finish the book and in some ways enjoyed it, but it's a book that leaves you feeling depressed afterward and not in a profound way.
I'm glad I read it, but it's not a book I ever want to read again.
I'm glad I read it, but it's not a book I ever want to read again.
I wanted to like this and felt I should but at times this book was tedious. I am beginning to get the feeling that all Indian novels never seem to be able to get beyond the hopelessness of their characters and when Deven sees a chance to escape the ordinariness of his life by interviewing India's greatest Urdu poet, Nur we know this will be a project that can only end in disaster.
As others comment, it's not an easy read, although beautifully written. Sit on the crowded bus to Dellhi with Deven, walk through the narrow streets into the high walled house, feel the the embarrassment, shame and disappointment when he meets the poet. I think you have to have a very whimsical sense of humour to find it funny. However, Deven ends up down but not quite out.
Finally i finishd it after a very long time, this book has only around 200 pages still i coudn't finish it soon. Language is simple and very straight forward, i liked the discription part of this book, but overall the story didn't touched me. There is honesty in Anita Nair's style and tone. For me it was a tough reading experience at times i had to force myself to read it because i don't like leaving a book half read. I'm definately not going to read this one again, but i'll read other books wri...more
This is as depressing as a book can get. Deven, the protagonist, is a teacher of Hindi literature, but his true interest is in Urdu poetry. He sets about doing an interview of the great Urdu poet Nur, but ends up finding himself fleeced by the poet and his family, his colleague and his former schoolmate Murad. Depressing, because everyone in the book makes a hell of Deven's existence; what's worse is that Deven's life appears to be heading for more gloom and doom after his failed project to reco...more
Although the way the story is told is pleasant. Descriptive and straight forward it never gets of the ground.
I felt quite irritated at one point that the main caracter doesn`t seem to show any personal growth even at the end although the author seems to think he does.
The only time my heart started speeding up was when the letter arived from wife no.2 and i thought that rhis was going to be it.
I expected this big surprise twist but it didn`t materialise.
Not one to recomend.
I felt quite irritated at one point that the main caracter doesn`t seem to show any personal growth even at the end although the author seems to think he does.
The only time my heart started speeding up was when the letter arived from wife no.2 and i thought that rhis was going to be it.
I expected this big surprise twist but it didn`t materialise.
Not one to recomend.
I am acquiring a taste for writers from India. Desai's prose is colorful, clear and tantalizing. The characters are quirky and written in great maybe neurotic detail. Maybe the wife is sketched a little lightly. But these characters suffer for poetry as much as in other genres who suffer from love or crime. I must read more.
The hapless, put-upon protagonist, Deven, lurches from disaster to predictable disaster as he tries to interview the great Urdu poet, Nur. It's billed as gently humorous, but I found it pretty bleak and depressing. One to forget.
A 4 for her writing and a 2 for the story, this averages out to a 3. Reading the reviews, I was glad to see I was not the only person to feel that following the life of a man going through one humiliation after another was not necessarily the best way to spend those hours of my life.
Not what I expected reading the cover - humour mentioned was bittersweet. Definitely agree with it being touching - well the very naïve main character certainly is.
Strange book but well written - didn't really find it funny though.
I'm afraid ,this isn't my cuppa tea! It was way too slow for me.
Jul 29, 2011
Sara
marked it as to-read
84 shortlisted for booker prize
Nov 26, 2012
Giulia
added it
loved it
Didn't grab me, I'm afraid
An extremely slow book. Couldn't read through and had to skim through most to reach the end. Thought I might find something interesting. Very disappointing for a booker prize nomination :((
Felt depressingly true to life - it portrayed life in all of its drabness.
The book has a slow pace to it and a vivid description of the characters; and of the sights, sounds, smell of places in India. Each and everything has been put as it is. Some people may find this book a bit boring but hang in there, the story comes together in the end .. :-)
a bad situation that snowballs. not as much spark here as in other works. i guess because it deals so much with facing mediocrity--tough stuff.
Moving and quite sad. An interesting view of the 1980s India, vivid and honest, yet universal because of the themes it broaches.
Easy language. And a totally different part of life is shown.
I like stories mostly, and this was a really good one.
Laced with dark humour, Anita Desai weaves a depressing tale of a gloomy college professor who sets out to interview a once famous Urdu poet in Chandni Chowk. Moving from one blunder to the other, the prof finally ends up as a miserable loser. This is one book that can be safely avoided
The book is about a famous Urdu poet and his (somewhat) protege, who is also the protagonist in the story. It talks about how the protagonist tries in vain to derive strength and justification for his misdoings from the already desolate and dissipated poet.
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Anita Desai was born in 1937. Her published works include adult novels, children's books and short stories. SHe is a member of the Advisory Board for English of the National Academy of Letters in Delhi and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in London. Anita Mazumdar Desai is an Indian novelist and Emeritus John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technolo...more
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Jul 05, 2007 10:27am