"An amazing literary feat and a masterpiece of storytelling. Once again, Bharati Mukherjee prove
she is one of our foremost writers, with t... read full description
she is one of our foremost writers, with t... read full description
reviews
Aug 17, 2011
Proustitute
rated it: 
Mukherjee’s novel is a fantastic journey not through history, per se, but about the aspects of the personal that inform history and its varied tellings. Many of the reviews I’ve read of The Holder of the World that were negative seemed to be expecting a historical fiction; this is far from Mukherjee’s intention here. Indeed, she is questioning the very notion of history itself in how the narrator constructs the past of her seventeenth-century ancestor, Hannah, whose very name is palindrome, impl
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Sep 27, 2011
Denae
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The Holder of the World is the first book by Bharati Mukherjee I have read, and I am looking forward to reading the others she has on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list. The degree to which I enjoyed this book is made impressive by the fact that it is a loose re-telling of The Scarlet Letter, a book I utterly loathe. The Holder of the World is a story within a story; that of Beigh Masters and the novel she is writing about Hannah Easton, a 17th century American who ends up in India, the
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Sep 29, 2008
Brimate
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There's a crazy story behind me reading this book. So my partner was going to take this class, and I happened to work briefly at a textbook store. I enjoyed looking at the books for different courses, and one course on Asian American literature had this book, when I had not previously seen, though I'd heard of the author.
It looked amazing of its own accord, and it looked quite relevant to the secret story I'm writing. They're sort of similar, and I thought I had been super origi More...
It looked amazing of its own accord, and it looked quite relevant to the secret story I'm writing. They're sort of similar, and I thought I had been super origi More...
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Feb 19, 2010
Bonnie G
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This book has several violent scenes, so don't read if you don't care for that kind of thing. But the premise is fascinating, and I love the shift from the 1990s to the late 1600s. The majority of scenes are in India and describe tribal identities that I had no idea existed. The British were there too, plundering like crazy. The author does a great job of describing chaos while holding it all together with a story of an unlikely early American heroine. She is fascinating. I wish she really
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Aug 31, 2010
Becky
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Eurgh. I think historical fiction is rapidly becoming one of my least favourite genres. The Holder of the World is supposed to tie the modern day life of Beigh Masters, a US academic, with the life in the 1700s of The Salem Bibi, a white woman who ended up doing some pretty bizarre things in India. It's contrived, the modern day subplot is clumsy as hell, and it's not very interesting. Poor show.
May 08, 2009
Monica
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Someone needs to reissue this with a better cover.
There is a staggering amount of plot in this book. Somehow it manages to combine puritan orphans, witch trials, pirates, serial killing, feminism, treasure hunting, concubines, and battles featuring elephants in full armor in 1600s India. Mukherjee's world creation is historically authentic (as far as I can tell) and full of fascinating details about an India I know nearly nothing about. I also think this might make an amazing mo More...
There is a staggering amount of plot in this book. Somehow it manages to combine puritan orphans, witch trials, pirates, serial killing, feminism, treasure hunting, concubines, and battles featuring elephants in full armor in 1600s India. Mukherjee's world creation is historically authentic (as far as I can tell) and full of fascinating details about an India I know nearly nothing about. I also think this might make an amazing mo More...
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Sep 14, 2010
Yesica
rated it:
this was great but had so many different plot elements & tie-ins that it became a distraction which didn't allow me to fully enjoy the main story-line. still loved it, though. it's such a unique tale, and it's told in a voice with such surprising strength.
Dec 21, 2010
Teapot
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Probably would not meet my current reading tastes, but in college this was one of the most interesting reads I'd ever been assigned for class requirements. It's still on my bookshelf.
Oct 28, 2009
Katie M.
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In retrospect, this was maybe a two-and-a-halfer ... kind of boggy and not as engaging as I kept expecting it to be. But still an interesting and original weave of colonial American/colonial Indian historical fiction.
Jul 02, 2011
Catherine
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I really liked this one; "asset-hunter" Beigh Masters investigates the story of her ancestor, Hannah Easton, who is born in Massachusetts colony in 1670, marries an English trader and relocates to Mughal India, where she ultimately falls in love with Jadav Singh, a powerful Raja who battles the Emperor Aurangzeb. Muhkherjee tells an engrossing story at the same time that she also considers the nature of history and the recovery of the past -- what we can know and how we can know it.
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Oct 04, 2010
Alyssa
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Timeless historical fiction work that craftfully weaves together the lives of a woman in early-90s Boston with an early American who traveled to England and India in a very different time. The more you learn about main characters, the more the barriers of time break down, and the more you want to learn.
Aug 10, 2011
Susan
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Lively writing, evocative description, and an engaging double story. I'm looking forward to more from this author.
May 11, 2011
Jason
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What an absolutely gorgeous read. A fantastic protagonist, great premise, beautiful locales, stunning craftsmanship-just amazing.
Mar 25, 2008
Joe
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This is an ingenious cross genre book that combines Pilgrim times with Mughal India, a giant diamond, a modern day geneologist and antiques dealer, and a computer VR program that will eventually introduce an entirely unexpected story element.
Mukherjee is one of my favorite authors and this is her best book. Inspiring, brimming with feminist ideals that don't insult historical accuracy, and passionately researched, Holder of the World is a remarkable bit of historical romance as brou More...
Mukherjee is one of my favorite authors and this is her best book. Inspiring, brimming with feminist ideals that don't insult historical accuracy, and passionately researched, Holder of the World is a remarkable bit of historical romance as brou More...
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Dec 10, 2009
Dee
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Oppressed New England woman runs off with a pirate. It only gets better from there.
Jul 23, 2009
Karen
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Very strange book, and I had trouble tracking the progress of the narrative.
Feb 20, 2011
Ulla
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Not the easiest read, but loved the story, the history in time and the connection with Salem, MA, the Essex-Peabody Museum, London and the coast of sothern India.
Jan 02, 2012
Brandon
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Solid read. Enjoyed it, but a bit heavy on the subplots and overly descriptive paragraphs.
Jun 20, 2008
Tiffany
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I read this book several years ago for a Colonial Literature class. I started rereading it again a week ago. I could not put it down. It is very fast-paced, moving through different time periods, past, present and even the future. The story is intriquing. I thought the author handled the story and idea well and linked it in a very surprising way to the The Scarlet Letter.
Dec 16, 2009
kimberly
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I was first introduced to this author in college in a feminist theory class, where we read Jasmine, which follows a woman through several re-creations of her life. I love Holder of the World for its sense of wonder, magic, and intense living.
Jan 21, 2010
Matthew
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This is a lovely book. Scrupulously research, beautifully written, filled with awe and charity for its characters.
Apr 21, 2008
Meaghan
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Half my thesis; a book that gets better each time I read it.
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