I simply don't understand the gushing praise for this book. Unlike the book I'll keep my comments brief.
Let me begin by saying that I only got throug...moreI simply don't understand the gushing praise for this book. Unlike the book I'll keep my comments brief.
Let me begin by saying that I only got through about 600 of the 1400 pages. If you're inclined to ignore a review a from someone who hasn't finished the book he's reviewing (a perfectly fair inclination) feel free to stop here.
This book simply reads as an incredibly long and needlessly drawn out soap opera of three families' lives. That's really it. There weren't any subtle intersting themes the author was exploring. This read to me like a pretty basic plot driven book. Given that, I think the author could have accomplished whatever it was he set out to do in well under a thousand pages.
As for the actual substance: boring. The characters often didn't seem very believable or interesting and were one-dimensional. I also found it odd that the author chose chatoic post-partition India for the setting but most of the characters read as being well educated and from upper class families. I can't think of a more boring type of character to spend 1500 pages on. (less)