"Gorgeously wrought...pitch-perfect prose...In language of terrible beauty, she takes India's everyday tragedies and reminds us to be outraged all ...
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Feb 10, 2012
Publicserviceradio
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We know Arundhati Roy predominantly as a fiction author in this country, this book however is a collection of essays on the recent history of India. It focuses on Kashmir, terrorism and corruption which then feeds in to the wider debate about global power struggles and democracy. There is a vigorous passion to the writing as Roy espouses a politics that she wishes her country would practice; one of secular democratic egalitarianism. However, she sees a strong opposing shift in India at the momen
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Jun 28, 2010
Tarquin
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Earlier this year, I interviewed a senior economic adviser to the Indian government. When I challenged his view that India would soon be a “superpower” and referred to the country’s 600m poor, he shot me a venomous look: “You’ve been listening to Arundhati Roy!”
That Roy should be perceived as having singlehandedly coloured a foreign journalist’s perception of India is laughable. Away from the gated communities of the middle classes, the country’s problems are palpable. But no other Ind More...
That Roy should be perceived as having singlehandedly coloured a foreign journalist’s perception of India is laughable. Away from the gated communities of the middle classes, the country’s problems are palpable. But no other Ind More...
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Feb 16, 2010
John
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I admit up front that I didn't read the entire book, though I read several of the essays and skimmed the rest. Why? I don't trust what Roy writes.
Below are a few quotes from this book regarding the United States. I use these examples not to defend the U.S. but because I am most familiar with them:
The United States "continues to celebrate Columbus Day...which marks the beginning of a holocaust that wiped out millions of Native Americans, about 90 percent of the original p More...
Below are a few quotes from this book regarding the United States. I use these examples not to defend the U.S. but because I am most familiar with them:
The United States "continues to celebrate Columbus Day...which marks the beginning of a holocaust that wiped out millions of Native Americans, about 90 percent of the original p More...
Dec 06, 2009
Stephen
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Roy is an engaged intellectual, a rare breed these days--an Indian Noam Chomsky, one might say. And her anti-globalization, basically left-wing take on politics aligns her very much with Chomsky. There is however a fundamental difference: Roy is a great writer and a truly formidable polemicist. One can disagree with her positions, and on occasions I do, but no one can question her intelligence, passion, and capacity for mixing detailed data and first-rate prose. This book is largely, but by
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Oct 05, 2009
Anthony
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I had been so excited about this new title from Roy, author of the Booker Prize-winning The God of Small Things, but disappointment will be my lasting response. Listening to Grasshoppers is not intended to add anything new - it's a compilation of essays she's written for India's leftist outlets like Frontline and Outlook and reprints from submissions to The Nation, etc. This would be great, spanning 7+ years of post 9/11 writings and running commentaries on India's War on Terror, but when plac
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Aug 10, 2011
Pradipta
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Roy starts off poorly - the first essay in the collection preaches to the converted and then descends into a theory about the rise of Hindu nationalism which contradicts itself and got even a Roy devotee like me irritated. But she really gets into gear with her next few well-researched essays on the linked topics of the terrorist attack on the Indian parliament, the spinelessness of the Indian media, and the gross contraventions of the law as far as custodial confessions and fabrication of evide
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Jan 03, 2012
Joe
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Yet another great book from Ms. Roy. I liked the focus on India solely...forced me to learn a great deal about this beast of a country. I can't wait for her second novel!
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Favorite or Clarifying Passages:
Page 3
"As a writer, a fiction writer, I have often wondered whether the attempt to always be precise, to try and get it all factually right somehow reduces the epic scale of what is really going on. Does it eventually mask a larger truth? I worry th More...
--
Favorite or Clarifying Passages:
Page 3
"As a writer, a fiction writer, I have often wondered whether the attempt to always be precise, to try and get it all factually right somehow reduces the epic scale of what is really going on. Does it eventually mask a larger truth? I worry th More...
Nov 11, 2011
susa
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Arundhati Roy on kirjoittanut koukuttavia poliittisia esseitä Intian ristiriitaisesta demokratiasta, joka on aivan erilaista kuin mitä se kuvitellaan olevan. Kirja antaisi varmasti paljon enemmän, jos kaikki Intian, Kashmirin ja Pakistanin väliset konfliktit olisivat tutumpia, mutta tällaisenaankin kertoo paljon siitä, mitä yhdessä maailman nopeimmin kasvavassa valtiossa oikein tapahtuu.
Arundhati Royn kirjoitustyyli on ihana. Politiikkaa voi käsitellä puhumalla siitä kauniisti.
Arundhati Royn kirjoitustyyli on ihana. Politiikkaa voi käsitellä puhumalla siitä kauniisti.
Dec 10, 2009
Thatsbadshiva
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a collection of essays made up of some good, crisp and heart wrenching prose. Her non fiction is as compelling as her fiction. Anger, despair, hopelessness and frustration at the Indian political scenario leaps out of this one. It's a good long look at where we stand as a country today. In fact, it is relevant to all countries that have dangerous democracies as what we have in India today. And, all the facts which may seem totally absurd and even funny are sadly true :(
Oct 03, 2010
Vazir
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Labelling Arundhati leftist,anti-national,anti-american,anti-hindu,anti-progess is obviously reducing her.Truth knows no boundaries. Her uncompromising stand & her defence of the underprivileged,the downtrodden,the minorities,the poor may not be palatable for many, but truth is seldom sweet. Her compassionate writing is like the voice of conscience.
Jan 14, 2010
Dhanya
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some of the issues the writer raises are relevant,but some i felt were expressed out of despair at the state of affairs of the country and somewhere i felt her patriotism turning into jingoism and finally into anti national sentiments specially when she writes about kashmir issues
May 04, 2010
Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea
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Really interesting look at some of the bloodier parts of India's past and present. Strong critique of Indian and global democracy in the context of global capitalism. Got me revved up! Eloquently written and upsetting. Dashed through it. I recommend.
Jan 01, 2010
Gwenyth
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In retrospect, I would have tried to read something to get a better overview of the political situation in India before getting into this - there were a lot of instances in which I felt I didn't have enough context to fully understand her arguments. Perhaps I'll do that, and then come back and re-read later on. :-p
May 18, 2010
Sameer
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Roy has a very engaging way of stringing together facts and giving them a larger historic context. As someone who grew up in India, and was exposed to these "facts" in isolation, it's interesting to see a plausible justification of the real forces behind them. I don't think het goal is to educate the world about factual matters that are unreported in mass media as much as it is to challenge intellectuals to broaden their information sources and to include wider perpectives before formi
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Jan 02, 2011
Broadsnark
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Roy writes so beautifully that even mundane details are poetic. Some essays are better than others, but they are all interesting - especially for someone like me who really doesn't know shit about Indian politics.
Oct 23, 2010
Jim
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This was a difficult but important read. Difficult because it is so relentlessly angry. Important because it reinforces the notion that the vote is a necessary but insufficient condition for democracy. India is growing its economy rapidly, but when the standard deviation expands faster than the median moves to the right, enormous numbers of people are left behind.
Jan 16, 2010
Silky
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always a pleasure to read roy, since she's not only incredibly insightful, but also a great writer.
Dec 06, 2011
Deep
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Had found it amazing before I discovered what a one-sided hysterical bullshit this is.
Dec 31, 2009
Anubhav
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Throughout the book, she jumps seamlessly from being a fantastic analytical thinker to a utter nonsensical ideologue and back. She does raise some valid issues but most critique is rhetorical.
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Nov 26, 2010
Joshua
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There were good parts of this book, but there was nothing new enough to justify spending 200 pages with it. Because it was a collection of essays there is a lot of annoying repetition -- Roy tells the same anecdotes and uses the same facts in multiple pieces, which is fine unless you're reading all those pieces one after the other. And the satire of George W. Bush was just childish.
Jan 03, 2012
Hariram
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This should really be one 60-70 pages essay and not an entire book. Apart from that, very strong, opinionated and eye opening at times. Good and quick read for someone interested in finding out about issues with the government of India
Jun 01, 2010
Hazel
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An informative and interesting collection of essays that comment on the 2001 Parliament attack, Mumbai attacks, and corporate development in India. Ms. Roy is courageous and admirable in her activism for the poor and disenfranchised.
Jan 03, 2012
HKd
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A collection of short tough opininated pieces better to dip into than read in one long stretch. I read it in a couple of days because it was so compelling, and then cried myself to sleep because it was so brutal.
Jan 03, 2012
Ivis
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Fantastically written, though, it is heavy in references to India's government (not that that's a bad thing). Some background information, or some research while reading, will be necessary.
Dec 31, 2009
my 1st e-book - wierd technology - I like it but miss real paper and ink.
