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179th out of 290 books
—
192 voters
A Beautiful Lie
by
Irfan Master
An extraordinarily rich debut novel, set in India in 1947 at the time of Partition. Although the backdrop is this key event in Indian history, the novel is even more far-reaching, touching on the importance of tolerance, love and family. The main character is Bilal, a boy determined to protect his dying father from the news of Partition - news that he knows will break his...more
Paperback, 298 pages
Published
January 4th 2011
by Bloomsbury UK
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The story takes place in a town in India in 1947 where Bilal, a schoolboy, is facing many tensions. He misses his late mother and strives to care for his loving father who is bedridden, dying of cancer. Bilal is concerned that his father, who loves India, would die heartbroken if he learns that his nation is about to be divided to create Pakistan.
Soon people who had peacefully conducted business in the open-air market become restless. Threats of violence escalate as the date for India’s independ...more
Soon people who had peacefully conducted business in the open-air market become restless. Threats of violence escalate as the date for India’s independ...more
Membaca buku ini membuat gue bertanya-tanya, "Apakah kebenaran itu?". Bagaimana sesuatu bisa dianggap sebagai kebenaran. Di sisi lain, bagaimana dengan dusta. Apakah ada dusta yang indah? Dusta yang ditujukan untuk kebaikan atau apa?" Ya, semua pertanyaan itu muncul di benak sepanjang gue menikmati rangkaian kata-kata dalam buku ini.
Dikisahkan seorang anak, Bilal, berdusta pada Bapuji(ayah)nya yang sedang sekarat. Bilal berdusta akan keadaan negerinya, India. Dahulu, semua warganya hidup berdam...more
Dikisahkan seorang anak, Bilal, berdusta pada Bapuji(ayah)nya yang sedang sekarat. Bilal berdusta akan keadaan negerinya, India. Dahulu, semua warganya hidup berdam...more
Kisah persahabatan empat anak di India pada masa kondisi kritis yang akhirnya memisahkan Pakistan dari India ini menarik. Pertama, karena sang pengarang dengan indah melukiskannya dalam sebuah kebohongan yang dilakukan seorang anak kecil kepada ayahnya. Kebohongan dalam kisah ini menjadi sangat tidak biasa karena pembaca diajak berpikir tentang banyak hal yang membuat sesuatu yang selama ini dianggap hitam menjadi berbeda. Kedua, pengarang tidak mendikte pembaca untuk menyetujui yang dianggapnya...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I think this book is going to be one of my favorites.
Setelah lama vakum membaca, saya berkali-kali coba membeli novel dan banyak sekali yang tidak saya tamatkan. Saya mulai bertanya-tanya apa kemampuan membaca saya yang menurun atau buku yang saya beli yang bertele-tele? Akhirnya A Beautiful Lie berhasil membuktikan bahwa saya masih betah membaca jika ceritanya memang menarik.
Kisah ini mengambil sudut pandang seorang bocah bernama Bilal dan mengenai isu pembagian India berdasarkan agama. Menurut...more
Setelah lama vakum membaca, saya berkali-kali coba membeli novel dan banyak sekali yang tidak saya tamatkan. Saya mulai bertanya-tanya apa kemampuan membaca saya yang menurun atau buku yang saya beli yang bertele-tele? Akhirnya A Beautiful Lie berhasil membuktikan bahwa saya masih betah membaca jika ceritanya memang menarik.
Kisah ini mengambil sudut pandang seorang bocah bernama Bilal dan mengenai isu pembagian India berdasarkan agama. Menurut...more
This is a beautiful book, with the rich Indian culture still fresh in my mind from the spring play (we set in India), the imagery of the banyan tree, dhotis, and the spicy daal came alive. This is the story of a boy and his dying father, the story of India, and the story of four friends all woven together into a rich tapestry of pain, anguish and truth.
The theme of lying and truth was examined at length, with no easy solutions. Bilal carries a heavy burden throughout the book as his deception le...more
The theme of lying and truth was examined at length, with no easy solutions. Bilal carries a heavy burden throughout the book as his deception le...more
3.5/5 stars
A Beautiful Lie is written for a younger audience than I anticipated but I like the idea of this book for a middle grade reader. It's set in the days leading up to the Partition in India. I've always found India fascinating (the colors, the food!) but frankly aside from all the classic children books that use it as a backdrop, I know nothing about it. (I.E. Little Princess, Secret Garden).
In the waning days of NAME OF MC's father's life, India is quickly unravelling. A muslim who gre...more
A Beautiful Lie is written for a younger audience than I anticipated but I like the idea of this book for a middle grade reader. It's set in the days leading up to the Partition in India. I've always found India fascinating (the colors, the food!) but frankly aside from all the classic children books that use it as a backdrop, I know nothing about it. (I.E. Little Princess, Secret Garden).
In the waning days of NAME OF MC's father's life, India is quickly unravelling. A muslim who gre...more
Jun 25, 2012
D Adams
added it
A very poignant story, dealt with sensitively, beautifully written. Bilal's father is dieing at the time his beloved India is about to experience partition. Bilal knows. His father would hate the thought of partition and of leaving the home he loved, so he pretends all is well. He stops people visiting his father so that he doesn't learn the truth. His father doesn't question the lack of visitors! The doctor tells Bilal's father what Bilal he has done for him. An alternative ending might have be...more
Is it ever acceptable to tell a lie?
Ask that question in a crowded room and you’d fracture the crowd into multiple camps of opinion, but ask that same question of Bilal’s best friends, and they would all agree—sometimes a lie is the right thing to protect the one you love. Thirteen-year-old Bilal isn’t so sure, but he’s sworn to control his own destiny. His father is dying of cancer, and it’s 1947. The India they have always known is about to split down the middle along religious and political...more
Ask that question in a crowded room and you’d fracture the crowd into multiple camps of opinion, but ask that same question of Bilal’s best friends, and they would all agree—sometimes a lie is the right thing to protect the one you love. Thirteen-year-old Bilal isn’t so sure, but he’s sworn to control his own destiny. His father is dying of cancer, and it’s 1947. The India they have always known is about to split down the middle along religious and political...more
Set in India in 1947, when racial tension was rife and the country was on the verge of dividing, Bilal weaves a web of lies to keep his father safe from the truth of his India at war.
Members of the community become caught up in the lies, helping Bilal as the India he knows falls down around him, irrevocably dividing communities and friends alike.
When Bilal realises that his father is dying, he is dogged about making sure he never discovers just how bad things are getting. His determination and l...more
Members of the community become caught up in the lies, helping Bilal as the India he knows falls down around him, irrevocably dividing communities and friends alike.
When Bilal realises that his father is dying, he is dogged about making sure he never discovers just how bad things are getting. His determination and l...more
A Beautiful Lie
by Irfan Master
Historical Fiction
304 Pages
The thing with lies is that the more you tell, the easier it gets, until you find yourself tangled and your lies become the truth. It's revolutionary India in 1947, and thirteen-year-old Bilal is tangled in a web of lies. Bilal's father is dying, and India is falling apart. There are riots increasingly, until they are everyday, and Bilal is determined, no matter what it takes, to have his father die in peace. Bilal sets out to keep his fat...more
by Irfan Master
Historical Fiction
304 Pages
The thing with lies is that the more you tell, the easier it gets, until you find yourself tangled and your lies become the truth. It's revolutionary India in 1947, and thirteen-year-old Bilal is tangled in a web of lies. Bilal's father is dying, and India is falling apart. There are riots increasingly, until they are everyday, and Bilal is determined, no matter what it takes, to have his father die in peace. Bilal sets out to keep his fat...more
This is a powerful evocative story set in India in 1947 leading up to both independence and partition. Thirteen year old Bilal's grandfather is dying and Bilal is determined to keep the truth about the partition of his beloved India from his grandfather. With his group of friends, beautifully drawn by Master, he almost succeeds, but not without paying almost too high a price. Set in a small town, with a colourful array of characters, the pain and suffering of this era in India's history is broug...more
This was a lovely book and delightful read.
I am a fan of books set in the back drop of a major historical event but not that the historical event as such. This book did that. It was set in the 1940s during the partition of India. While the book wasn;t about that directly you got to see how the events were affecting the lives of ordinary people in India.
The book follows the story of a young boy and his dying father and the lengths the boy goes to to keep events of the partition of India from his...more
I am a fan of books set in the back drop of a major historical event but not that the historical event as such. This book did that. It was set in the 1940s during the partition of India. While the book wasn;t about that directly you got to see how the events were affecting the lives of ordinary people in India.
The book follows the story of a young boy and his dying father and the lengths the boy goes to to keep events of the partition of India from his...more
This is a truly moving and unique debut novel. Told by a young boy Bilal who is seeing the India he has known his whole life about to be transformed with the partition of his country in 1947. Bilat is shocked to hear his father is dying and know's that if he was to discover about the change that was coming it would not only kill him but break his heart. With the help of his friends Bilat will try and make sure that his father never knows the truth.
A beautiful Lie has many themes with family love...more
A beautiful Lie has many themes with family love...more
A Beautiful Lie is set in India at the time of the partition in 1947 and centres around the life and problems of a young Bilal who is witnessing his Father's beloved India and everything that it stands for fall apart before him. He is determined to protect his ill father from finding out the truth about what is happening in the outside world whatever the cost for he knows that it would break his heart. Helped by the best friends he has grown up with, it seems as though everything will go as plan...more
I received this book to review and was initially a little unsure about whether or not I was going to enjoy it. Although I am a fan of historical fiction, I tend to read books set against an English or American backdrop, so a story set in India is not normally the sort of thing that I'd choose. However, it was a really interesting read and taught me a lot about a key event in India's history.
The story is based around the partition that took place in India in 1947, when India won freedom from Bri...more
The story is based around the partition that took place in India in 1947, when India won freedom from Bri...more
I absolutely loved this book. I'd seen other book bloggers review A Beautiful Lie previously and everyone had lovely thing to say about it, but until I read it, I didn't fully understand. It's such a sweet and sad story, one that will stay with me for awhile.
Bilal is a young boy, living in India with his father. All around him, in his village and in all of India there has been trouble with the news of the upcoming Partition. I was only vaguely aware of what Partition was and what had happened be...more
Bilal is a young boy, living in India with his father. All around him, in his village and in all of India there has been trouble with the news of the upcoming Partition. I was only vaguely aware of what Partition was and what had happened be...more
Un romanzo delicato e incantevole.
Il pap�� del ragazzino protagonista si sta spegnendo per il cancro, mentre l'India sta cambiando, incendiata tra lotte interiori.
Le persone di diverse religioni che fino ad allora avevano pacificamente convissuto, ora si ritrovano ad essereSetarate e nemiche tra loro.
Il dodicenne protagonista sa che suo padre sarebbe devastato nell'udire le notizie di questi cambiamenti eDicide di caricarsi del fardello di una enorme bugia e fa di tutto per nascondergli la verit...more
Il pap�� del ragazzino protagonista si sta spegnendo per il cancro, mentre l'India sta cambiando, incendiata tra lotte interiori.
Le persone di diverse religioni che fino ad allora avevano pacificamente convissuto, ora si ritrovano ad essereSetarate e nemiche tra loro.
Il dodicenne protagonista sa che suo padre sarebbe devastato nell'udire le notizie di questi cambiamenti eDicide di caricarsi del fardello di una enorme bugia e fa di tutto per nascondergli la verit...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book turned my attention of world history I knew little about: Partition of India. It's a tender story of how a big event like Partition plays itself out in the lives of the individuals most affected. I wish there would have been a brief preface explaining the historical aspects of the setting. Without some basic knowledge of Partition, which many Americans likely lack, the book may prove to be inaccessible to the tween and teen audience for which it seems intended. Aside from that, it'a be...more
In A Beautiful Life Bilal tells the story of his small market town in India in the early summer of 1947. Bilal's father is dying. Bilal's father loves India. He loves all of India, and all the people of India; Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus alike. Bilal knows that India is about to be partitioned into three separate countries: East and West Pakistan for the Muslims and what's left of India for the Hindus. He's concerned that knowledge of the Partition will break his father's heart and he doesn't want hi...more
4.5/5
I was first captured by the title; given my stance against lying, what could be beautiful? Then I was sold once I found out it was set in India-that was literally all I needed to know to request. Upon opening the book up, I discovered that it was set in 1947 with rising tensions as India is partitioned into India and Pakistan, with most people choosing their ultimate location based on religion (Hinduism and Islam respectively), such tensions continuing into today.
I really don't know much ab...more
I was first captured by the title; given my stance against lying, what could be beautiful? Then I was sold once I found out it was set in India-that was literally all I needed to know to request. Upon opening the book up, I discovered that it was set in 1947 with rising tensions as India is partitioned into India and Pakistan, with most people choosing their ultimate location based on religion (Hinduism and Islam respectively), such tensions continuing into today.
I really don't know much ab...more
Jan 10, 2012
El Templo de las Mil Puertas
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
24-eltemplo,
reseñas
Aunque entre las novedades de juvenil es habitual encontrar libros que se sitúan al otro lado del charco, no son tantos los que nos acercan los problemas de algunos de los países de Oriente Próximo.
Irfan Master nos presenta, en su novela Daily India, los problemas de un joven de trece años, Bibal, que quiere ahorrarle a su padre las noticias de que la India está a punto de ser dividida en dos países diferentes. Es 1947 y el padre de Bibal está gravemente enfermo de cáncer. El médico les ha dicho...more
Irfan Master nos presenta, en su novela Daily India, los problemas de un joven de trece años, Bibal, que quiere ahorrarle a su padre las noticias de que la India está a punto de ser dividida en dos países diferentes. Es 1947 y el padre de Bibal está gravemente enfermo de cáncer. El médico les ha dicho...more
Bilal’s father is dying, and he doesn’t want his father to know the problems being faced by his beloved India. Partition is coming, but Bilal hopes if his father is kept ignorant of the news, he will die peacefully and not from a broken heart. He plans to lie about what is going on in the village and the world to make sure this happens.
Read the rest of my review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...
Read the rest of my review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...
Powerful, engaging and more than anything unforgettable.
A Beautiful Lie is honest and beautifully written, I put it down with tears rolling down my cheeks. I felt as though I was living Bilal's tale alongside him and his friends. The subject isn't one touched upon in Children's fiction and Master has done it complete justice.
Once you've read A Beautiful Lie, you will be waiting as eagerly as I am to see what Master comes up with next.
A Beautiful Lie is honest and beautifully written, I put it down with tears rolling down my cheeks. I felt as though I was living Bilal's tale alongside him and his friends. The subject isn't one touched upon in Children's fiction and Master has done it complete justice.
Once you've read A Beautiful Lie, you will be waiting as eagerly as I am to see what Master comes up with next.
Poignant and lovely and sad at the same time. From a child POV, this book tells a story about incidents in India before it split into three nations.
Makes me wonder and wonder, children have this knack to befriend almost anybody, in spite of gender, race, religion. Why the hatred because of differences? Do we mistrust others because we are taught to do so?
Makes me wonder and wonder, children have this knack to befriend almost anybody, in spite of gender, race, religion. Why the hatred because of differences? Do we mistrust others because we are taught to do so?
Jul 06, 2011
Bookheads
is currently reading it
This book was very fun and good to read, but I thought it was a very good book all round. I liked it because it was written from Bilal's point of veiw and it was different from the other books because it was in India when other books aren't and it was very moving when the Bapuji died. Also because it is set in past tense. I really enjoyed this book!
I loved this. It's beautifully written and a very poignant tale of life in India during partition. It's a simple and entirely unique tale told in an engaging way. I loved the observations of young Bilal and the deep love he has for his bapuji and his friends. It's a poignant and gripping story. I heartily recommend it.
This book is an excellent fictional introduction to the division of India in the 1940s. It focuses on the lives of ordinary people who want to live in peace as they have before, but whose lives are disrupted by the turmoil around them. Beyond the catalyst of the partition, the story of a boy trying to protect his dying father is heartbreaking, but avoids becoming sentimental. Even if you dislike sad books, the beginning and middle make this story worth the tearful ending.
The story is very touching and although it has a sad ending it makes the reader happy and satisfied. The story moves fast so once you start you dont want to put it down. Excellent read.
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“If you tell a lie long enough, it becomes real. Then the lie no longer exists and all you're left with is your version of the truth.”
—
5 people liked it
“Remember that you told me that a monsoon doesn't discriminate? Rich or poor, kind or cruel, we are all equal in the monsoon. And yet we carry on as normal! We go to school, market stalls open and close, we play cricket, we laugh. Meanwhile, the monsoon gathers. We are all liars, Ma. We are all great deceivers. I am a liar but I'm not the only one.”
—
1 person liked it
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Feb 20, 2013 01:51am