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	<review id="14932856">
    <user id="653409">
    <name><![CDATA[Becky]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Wilmington, NC]]></location>        
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  <id type="integer">129678</id>
  <isbn>0316132934</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780316132930</isbn13>
  <ratings_count type="integer">354</ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">63</text_reviews_count>
  <title>Red Earth and Pouring Rain: A Novel</title>
  <average_rating></average_rating>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/129678.Red_Earth_and_Pouring_Rain_A_Novel</link>
<author>
  <id type="integer">22496</id>
  <name>Vikram Chandra</name>
  <ratings_count type="integer">1451</ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">385</text_reviews_count>
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    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[people who have time to read it all in one sitting ]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Feb 08 14:36:21 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Feb 08 14:48:35 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It seems strange or maybe a little general/stereotypical for me to say that I usually love Indian literature, as all Indian literature is not the same. However, there are certain characteristics that I use in that term such as subject matter, style, history, etc. This book has a lot of those elements but is so scattered that it's hard to really understand all that the author is trying to accomplish. It took me 4 different attempts to actually finish this book and when it finally happened I was disappointed in the whole story in general. I never really got invested in any of the characters, which was the main problem. Second, Chandra jumps through history so rapidly and without any form of transition that it's hard to remember all the sub-plots of the story. Basically it's supposed to be a kind of 1,000 arabian nights kinda motif. Some people might like that, and maybe they are smarter than me and can follow the logic. Otherwise, there are some really beautiful prose, but it's so muddled that I don't feel it worth the time or energy. ]]></body>
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