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Cycles of Udaipur
Rajasthan is a vivid land of colour and spice, Maharajahs and gods. But the vibrant city of Udaipur is not the peaceful Hindu refuge it once was, and as India races towards modernity its youth faces a cultural identity crisis.
When young Raj hits a cow with his motorcycle, little does he know that he has started a chain reaction that will obliterate his close-knit group of friends. Mariam is a Muslim artist forbidden to paint Hindu deities. Her paramour Shiv aches to be a politician in a city ruled by gangland overlords. And lovelorn Vansh finds himself sucked into a mystical vortex from which his mind may not recover.
Set against the sweeping grandeur of Rajasthani history, Cycles of Udaipur spins on the axle of tradition and a tangled web of hope, faith and enduring passion that epitomises a new India heretofore unknown to the West.
When young Raj hits a cow with his motorcycle, little does he know that he has started a chain reaction that will obliterate his close-knit group of friends. Mariam is a Muslim artist forbidden to paint Hindu deities. Her paramour Shiv aches to be a politician in a city ruled by gangland overlords. And lovelorn Vansh finds himself sucked into a mystical vortex from which his mind may not recover.
Set against the sweeping grandeur of Rajasthani history, Cycles of Udaipur spins on the axle of tradition and a tangled web of hope, faith and enduring passion that epitomises a new India heretofore unknown to the West.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 7, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 3, 2016
Really impressive book. So vivid, well-researched and expertly written. Engaging characters that I could instantly care about and share their struggle. I found it impossible to put down.
Cycles is a compelling story of Forbidden Romance, Religious and Cultural Identity and Conflict, Spirituality, Troubled Friendship, Clashes between Tradition and Modernity, Tragedy and the Ingenuity and Persistence of the Human Spirit.
I was introduced to the cultures, religions and struggles of India with very relatable and real characters that remind me how similar we all are, regardless of where we live.
The cultural contrast and contradiction that are faced by India’s youth is very well depicted. They are living in the world that the generations before them have created and accepted, while struggling to embrace a new reality of a more interconnected world, and the technology and “modernity” that that interconnection makes possible, further leading to the dissolution of artificial barriers between peoples of different cultures, religions and castes. The symbolism used to demonstrate this cultural shift is masterfully interwoven into the story.
Cycles is a compelling story of Forbidden Romance, Religious and Cultural Identity and Conflict, Spirituality, Troubled Friendship, Clashes between Tradition and Modernity, Tragedy and the Ingenuity and Persistence of the Human Spirit.
I was introduced to the cultures, religions and struggles of India with very relatable and real characters that remind me how similar we all are, regardless of where we live.
The cultural contrast and contradiction that are faced by India’s youth is very well depicted. They are living in the world that the generations before them have created and accepted, while struggling to embrace a new reality of a more interconnected world, and the technology and “modernity” that that interconnection makes possible, further leading to the dissolution of artificial barriers between peoples of different cultures, religions and castes. The symbolism used to demonstrate this cultural shift is masterfully interwoven into the story.
April 14, 2016
I wish I could give this book 4.5! It's not quite perfect, but it is pretty close.
Cycles of Udaipur is one of those books that sucks you into it. I love the way the characters and the world take shape in this novel; through tiny observations and specific details instead of broad platitudes. Things such as how the skin of the milk sticks to someone’s lip when they drink their tea, or how someone’s faded scarf used to be purple. It makes the story feel real and alive and fleshes out the characters in a way that makes them easy to relate to. When you combine this with the social and political commentary that can be found between the lines (or on the lines, through some of the characters), after reading this book, I feel that I understand India better.
If you like Khaled Hosseini's ”And the mountains echoed” or Elif Shafak's ”Bastard of Istanbul”, you will probably like the Cycles of Udaipur.
Cycles of Udaipur is one of those books that sucks you into it. I love the way the characters and the world take shape in this novel; through tiny observations and specific details instead of broad platitudes. Things such as how the skin of the milk sticks to someone’s lip when they drink their tea, or how someone’s faded scarf used to be purple. It makes the story feel real and alive and fleshes out the characters in a way that makes them easy to relate to. When you combine this with the social and political commentary that can be found between the lines (or on the lines, through some of the characters), after reading this book, I feel that I understand India better.
If you like Khaled Hosseini's ”And the mountains echoed” or Elif Shafak's ”Bastard of Istanbul”, you will probably like the Cycles of Udaipur.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews