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The Cauliflower
From Man Booker-shortlisted, IMPAC Award-winning author Nicola Barker comes an exuberant, multi-voiced new novel mapping the extraordinary life and legacy of a 19th-century Hindu saint
He is only four years older, but still I call him Uncle, and when I am with Uncle I have complete faith in him. I would die for Uncle. I have an indescribable attraction towards Uncle. . . . It was ever thus.
To the world, he is Sri Ramakrishna--godly avatar, esteemed spiritual master, beloved guru (who would prefer not to be called a guru), irresistible charmer. To Rani Rashmoni, she of low caste and large inheritance, he is the brahmin fated to defy tradition and preside over the temple she dares to build, six miles north of Calcutta, along the banks of the Hooghly for Ma Kali, goddess of destruction. But to Hriday, his nephew and longtime caretaker, he is just Uncle--maddening, bewildering Uncle, prone to entering ecstatic trances at the most inconvenient of times, known to sneak out to the forest at midnight to perform dangerous acts of self-effacement, who must be vigilantly safeguarded not only against jealous enemies and devotees with ulterior motives, but also against that most treasured yet insidious of sulfur-rich vegetables: the cauliflower.
Rather than puzzling the shards of history and legend together, Barker shatters the mirror again and rearranges the pieces. The result is a biographical novel viewed through a kaleidoscope. Dazzlingly inventive and brilliantly comic, irreverent and mischievous, The Cauliflower delivers us into the divine playfulness of a 21st-century literary master.
He is only four years older, but still I call him Uncle, and when I am with Uncle I have complete faith in him. I would die for Uncle. I have an indescribable attraction towards Uncle. . . . It was ever thus.
To the world, he is Sri Ramakrishna--godly avatar, esteemed spiritual master, beloved guru (who would prefer not to be called a guru), irresistible charmer. To Rani Rashmoni, she of low caste and large inheritance, he is the brahmin fated to defy tradition and preside over the temple she dares to build, six miles north of Calcutta, along the banks of the Hooghly for Ma Kali, goddess of destruction. But to Hriday, his nephew and longtime caretaker, he is just Uncle--maddening, bewildering Uncle, prone to entering ecstatic trances at the most inconvenient of times, known to sneak out to the forest at midnight to perform dangerous acts of self-effacement, who must be vigilantly safeguarded not only against jealous enemies and devotees with ulterior motives, but also against that most treasured yet insidious of sulfur-rich vegetables: the cauliflower.
Rather than puzzling the shards of history and legend together, Barker shatters the mirror again and rearranges the pieces. The result is a biographical novel viewed through a kaleidoscope. Dazzlingly inventive and brilliantly comic, irreverent and mischievous, The Cauliflower delivers us into the divine playfulness of a 21st-century literary master.
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
May 18, 2016
The Cauliflower is, in short, the biographical account of the life of Sri Ramakrishna. The reality is that this is so much more than that! The book is divided into short sections, varying from a few words to a few pages, with no apparent chronological or discernible order to them. Some of these sections are nothing but a haiku, some are a set of questions about the life of the enigma and some are fragmented scenes, from various perspectives, from the life of the great spiritual master. When pieced together, these scenes all work to bring the life of Sri Ramakrishna, along with the cultural and historical setting, into sharp focus.
I felt quite conflicted whilst reading this book. The timescale jumps on every other page, but I found I could get into that. It was the subject matter that baffled me. I knew too little about it and therefore felt it quite hard to follow, know what the multitude of native words were referring to, and where in the overall story each fragment was referring to. It was definitely interesting but quite a dense read, despite the actual manner of storytelling being quite the opposite.
I can fully understand why it is Man Booker shortlisted, but it was such a complex read and I am not sure it was necessarily for me. The writing had a beautiful poetic quality to it and the knowledge imparted was immense but as there was little order to them, I often was unaware of where and what exactly I was learning about. As I previously stated, if I had a cursory knowledge of the subject matter, my enjoyment and overall understanding would have been greatly heightened.
I felt quite conflicted whilst reading this book. The timescale jumps on every other page, but I found I could get into that. It was the subject matter that baffled me. I knew too little about it and therefore felt it quite hard to follow, know what the multitude of native words were referring to, and where in the overall story each fragment was referring to. It was definitely interesting but quite a dense read, despite the actual manner of storytelling being quite the opposite.
I can fully understand why it is Man Booker shortlisted, but it was such a complex read and I am not sure it was necessarily for me. The writing had a beautiful poetic quality to it and the knowledge imparted was immense but as there was little order to them, I often was unaware of where and what exactly I was learning about. As I previously stated, if I had a cursory knowledge of the subject matter, my enjoyment and overall understanding would have been greatly heightened.
April 22, 2016
Put simply, this is a fictionalized biography of the largely illiterate Hindu guru Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886). That may sound dry as dust, but Barker makes it a playful delight by skipping around in time and interspersing aphorisms, imagined film scenes, questions and answers, and even a recipe with the narrative chapters. Indeed, she teasingly refers to herself as the book’s collagist. The kernel of the story – set in 1857 at the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, six miles north of Calcutta – is narrated in the first person by the guru’s nephew, Hriday. No matter how wildly it swings, the narrative keeps returning to this stable point. Scripture of all types (the Bible is also cited) is a relevant, joyful echo here rather than a dull set of rules. Some of the guru’s teachings are delivered as pithy three-line stanzas, almost like haikus. Bizarre but very readable; recommended.
See my full review (including an explanation of that peculiar title) at The Bookbag.
See my full review (including an explanation of that peculiar title) at The Bookbag.
May 19, 2016
I read just over half of this and then gave up.
A book about a Hindu mystic & saint, written by a Westerner who is not Hindu. A book that part relies on the Japanese form of Haiku to tell a story about India, a cultural mash-up too far in my humble opinion. It is well researched but reads inauthentically. Perhaps that's why the author opted for a non-linear 'experimental' approach, but that only erodes any notion of spirituality which is after all its quest. An attempt to describe the ineffable which is perforce ineffable, so the artifices and conceits of the adopted style show through all too readily. If anything rather than the author's intention of "a small (even pitiable) attempt to understand how faith works" she manages to be irreligious and profane and disrespectful of her subject matter through her chosen form of presenting it and I say that as an irreligious person myself with no hankering to defend the honour or dignity of any religious faith. I suppose any work of fiction asks its reader to take a leap of faith and stick with the book to see how it unfurls and reveals itself. But this book seems to ask for twin leaps of faith, that, plus one into the subject of religious faith itself which I was not prepared to do. I took the first leap of faith and stuck with it to halfway through, but then I desired no further revelation from the book (having adjudged there to be scant for my non-theistic spiritual/artistic hunger by page 163 anyway).
Now don't get me wrong, I am a fan of the experimental and especially the non-linear. But it has to be in the service of the apposite material or themes. And I can't help feeling that here it isn't. If the subject is so vaporous, a vaporous diffuse literary style is just going to further disperse the specks and grains of the character rather than condense them and bring them to light. The 'miraculous', unexplained phenomena here don't come across as holy and sacred and divine, but just as cod Magical Realism. And outside of Latin America I don't like MR (don't like it much in Latin American literature either, but at least it has a context there).
In the half that I read, the two most interesting stylistic perspectives both derived from our modern age, not from the 19th Century when this mystic lived his life. One is on a film set making the story of his life and the jaundiced, ambitious actors inhabiting the main historical characters. The other is when an imaginary camera is mounted to a swift and anachronistically sent back to scan & record the landscape of the Temple of Kali to which the mystic devotes himself. But even then I was ahead of the author, as I just knew at some stage it would end with footage of the swift being hunted and killed by a bird of prey. So for all its purported experimentalism, it was a bit too clunkily predictable in parts.
I picked up this book without knowing its subject matter, because I was undecided but intrigued enough by my first exposure to this writer. She is lauded as one of the most radical experimentalists writing in the UK today, which I now wholeheartedly disagree with on the basis of two works and not just because of her chosen subject matter. I just don't think she truly subverts narrative form at all. But to the establishment she probably does look radical by being merely unconventional.
A book about a Hindu mystic & saint, written by a Westerner who is not Hindu. A book that part relies on the Japanese form of Haiku to tell a story about India, a cultural mash-up too far in my humble opinion. It is well researched but reads inauthentically. Perhaps that's why the author opted for a non-linear 'experimental' approach, but that only erodes any notion of spirituality which is after all its quest. An attempt to describe the ineffable which is perforce ineffable, so the artifices and conceits of the adopted style show through all too readily. If anything rather than the author's intention of "a small (even pitiable) attempt to understand how faith works" she manages to be irreligious and profane and disrespectful of her subject matter through her chosen form of presenting it and I say that as an irreligious person myself with no hankering to defend the honour or dignity of any religious faith. I suppose any work of fiction asks its reader to take a leap of faith and stick with the book to see how it unfurls and reveals itself. But this book seems to ask for twin leaps of faith, that, plus one into the subject of religious faith itself which I was not prepared to do. I took the first leap of faith and stuck with it to halfway through, but then I desired no further revelation from the book (having adjudged there to be scant for my non-theistic spiritual/artistic hunger by page 163 anyway).
Now don't get me wrong, I am a fan of the experimental and especially the non-linear. But it has to be in the service of the apposite material or themes. And I can't help feeling that here it isn't. If the subject is so vaporous, a vaporous diffuse literary style is just going to further disperse the specks and grains of the character rather than condense them and bring them to light. The 'miraculous', unexplained phenomena here don't come across as holy and sacred and divine, but just as cod Magical Realism. And outside of Latin America I don't like MR (don't like it much in Latin American literature either, but at least it has a context there).
In the half that I read, the two most interesting stylistic perspectives both derived from our modern age, not from the 19th Century when this mystic lived his life. One is on a film set making the story of his life and the jaundiced, ambitious actors inhabiting the main historical characters. The other is when an imaginary camera is mounted to a swift and anachronistically sent back to scan & record the landscape of the Temple of Kali to which the mystic devotes himself. But even then I was ahead of the author, as I just knew at some stage it would end with footage of the swift being hunted and killed by a bird of prey. So for all its purported experimentalism, it was a bit too clunkily predictable in parts.
I picked up this book without knowing its subject matter, because I was undecided but intrigued enough by my first exposure to this writer. She is lauded as one of the most radical experimentalists writing in the UK today, which I now wholeheartedly disagree with on the basis of two works and not just because of her chosen subject matter. I just don't think she truly subverts narrative form at all. But to the establishment she probably does look radical by being merely unconventional.
May 10, 2017
A book that is as mischievous, erratic, slippery, charming and cringe-inducing as its main character, Sri Ramakrishna. The story is mostly told by his nephew Hridayram, his doting but long-suffering dogsbody, although we also see SR through the eyes of his patrons and entourage, and hear from Westerners who have met him (SR was a real person - the author draws from eye-witness accounts and provides a bibliography in the Afterward.) You will wonder where the cauliflower is for most of the book. And wonder more after its first appearance. If you are a fan of Rushdie's Midnight's Children, you'll find the same sense of humor here.
The madness IS the method in this book, which will either infuriate or entertain you - give it about 50 pages before you decide. The narrative jumps erratically in time over the course of SR's life, from approximately the 1840's though the late 1880's, although we dart into current times on rare and strange occasions. The author uses italics, large blocks of empty space, and occasional tiny snippets of poetry or psalms to keep the text playful and moving at a rapid clip.
Here's a tiny example, taken from somewhere in the middle of the book:
The madness IS the method in this book, which will either infuriate or entertain you - give it about 50 pages before you decide. The narrative jumps erratically in time over the course of SR's life, from approximately the 1840's though the late 1880's, although we dart into current times on rare and strange occasions. The author uses italics, large blocks of empty space, and occasional tiny snippets of poetry or psalms to keep the text playful and moving at a rapid clip.
Here's a tiny example, taken from somewhere in the middle of the book:
Oh, which of us can truly comprehend the divine play of Sri Ramakrishna? Is he man or child? Leader or follower? Masculine or feminine? Radical or conservative? Idiot or genius? A god, a god-man, or just too, too human?
Is this book a farce, a comedy, a tragedy, or a melodrama?
What is this?
Who was he?
Who the heck was Sri Ramakrishna?
Eh?
Eh?
?
!
April 29, 2016
Don't give up on this book and don't rush to judgement. After all, if you meet a man who is supposed to be a Hindu holy man you might have the same reaction; looking at one thing may horrify you, but the next might change your mind. Indian mystics are notorious for being a little beyond the average Westerners' comprehension.
But that is why Barker has written a really amazing book. You may find the author irreverent, flippant, jarring and annoyingly non linear but then consider the man she is attempting to bring to life on the pages of a book. She's actually a genius in this.
I spent the first half (or more) of this book saying to myself; 1) this author can really write but why is she doing this and 2) what a fascinating person was Sri Ramakrishna. By the end of the book I understood and appreciated that she's actually written a book very like the man himself; absurd, beautiful, a little unfathomable but on balance a thing of awe, a thing to be studied and pondered.
I think barring transporting yourself back to 1800's Calcutta and spending a lifetime observing the man, this book is as close as you will get to knowing the unknowable---that doesn't mean this author will give you the answers of the universe, it just means she will make you, drag you, Socratically FORCE you to think, to re think, and then turn all of that on its head and leave you to figure that out. Just like a good guru.
But that is why Barker has written a really amazing book. You may find the author irreverent, flippant, jarring and annoyingly non linear but then consider the man she is attempting to bring to life on the pages of a book. She's actually a genius in this.
I spent the first half (or more) of this book saying to myself; 1) this author can really write but why is she doing this and 2) what a fascinating person was Sri Ramakrishna. By the end of the book I understood and appreciated that she's actually written a book very like the man himself; absurd, beautiful, a little unfathomable but on balance a thing of awe, a thing to be studied and pondered.
I think barring transporting yourself back to 1800's Calcutta and spending a lifetime observing the man, this book is as close as you will get to knowing the unknowable---that doesn't mean this author will give you the answers of the universe, it just means she will make you, drag you, Socratically FORCE you to think, to re think, and then turn all of that on its head and leave you to figure that out. Just like a good guru.
September 17, 2016
When the supposedly encouraging blurbs from the critics on the back cover state that the book in question is both 'frustrating' and 'overlong', it's best to take heed. I am not sure what to make of this odd, sui generis book - even the author (in the afterward) claims it is not quite a novel, more of a mosaic. The book, in various vignettes, haikus, quotations from Song of Solomon, etc., presented non-chronologically, tells the biography of real life mid-19th century mystic guru Sri Ramakrishna, who was indeed quite a mystifying, eccentric character - but the stories don't really add up to much. Some are amusing, some grotesque (such as the guru licking the feces of strangers to overcome the vanity of aversion - yuck!), but it lacks narrative drive or cohesiveness, so I found myself having to force myself to continue (and from the reviews here, many gave up the journey). I'm not exactly sorry I read it, and might be interested in reading other of Barker's works (especially her three Booker nominated tomes), but this just didn't do it for me.
May 24, 2016
The Cauliflower is historical fiction completely unlike you know it (in fact I'm rather disappointed that that's how my library decided to categorise it). Barker re-imagines the story of an Indian saint in a way that completely fits with his paradoxical life. It's riotous fun and definitely achieves the author's aim, namely to "attempt to understand how faith works, how a legacy develops, how a spiritual history is written." Also, it has a further reading list at the end, and that always makes me very happy!
August 21, 2016
Sri Ramakrishna was born near Calcutta to a poor Brahmin family, however, he is arguably the best known 19th century Indian saint. His life was one of enigmas. He was sage but wouldn't read, simple and naive, intense and focused on spiritual matters, and had a child-like vision of the world. Using a historical biographical form author Nicola Barker's novel "The Cauliflower" presents snapshots of the guru's life.
Hriday, nephew of Sri Ramakrishna as narrator of the novel, describes his devotion and frustration in caring for Sri Ramakrishna. Either he is falling into an ecstatic trance to communicate with God or transforming himself into an ape by walking on all fours and throwing fruit at passing pilgrims. Sri Ramakrishna's indulgences have been made possible by the sponsorship of the Rani and her son-in-law Mathur Babu who have built a magnificent temple to Kali, a Hindu goddess.
Author Nicola Barker has made Hriday's journal very unique and enlightening. One can derive a sense of Sri Ramakrishna's true nature over his lifetime. Barker uses constant chronological changes, haikus, anecdotes and whimsy to paint the kaleidoscope of Ramakrishna's spiritual quest to be one with God.
Since I am not well versed in Hinduism I found this book to be quite challenging. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it because it was written in a non-linear form. A refreshing style of storytelling.
Thank you Henry Holt & Co. and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Cauliflower".
Hriday, nephew of Sri Ramakrishna as narrator of the novel, describes his devotion and frustration in caring for Sri Ramakrishna. Either he is falling into an ecstatic trance to communicate with God or transforming himself into an ape by walking on all fours and throwing fruit at passing pilgrims. Sri Ramakrishna's indulgences have been made possible by the sponsorship of the Rani and her son-in-law Mathur Babu who have built a magnificent temple to Kali, a Hindu goddess.
Author Nicola Barker has made Hriday's journal very unique and enlightening. One can derive a sense of Sri Ramakrishna's true nature over his lifetime. Barker uses constant chronological changes, haikus, anecdotes and whimsy to paint the kaleidoscope of Ramakrishna's spiritual quest to be one with God.
Since I am not well versed in Hinduism I found this book to be quite challenging. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it because it was written in a non-linear form. A refreshing style of storytelling.
Thank you Henry Holt & Co. and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Cauliflower".
December 31, 2016
This is not an easy book to review, not by a long shot. There are no chapters, a cast of ever-changing characters and side stories, and an almost gleeful air of frivolity. Even though I don't quite know what to think of it, I'm giving it a solid 4 because it is ingenious and wonderfully written. Following the life of the hindu guru/saint, Sri Ramakrishna told through many perspectives, stages, of life, and experiences, the story is weaved together with an omniscient narrator (ie a humorous author) and lots of fun, faith, and frivolity (again, the story is covered with it). Not for the faint of heart, but rewarding for those readers who do finish it. Not what i expected, but I'm glad I did.
May 3, 2016
I have little to say, and enclose what I do say in a virtual wrapper for those who may wish to skip it. Historically, psychologically, intriguing.
A Goodreads First Reads book received free and reviewed.
A Goodreads First Reads book received free and reviewed.
March 28, 2025
I'm exactly the right kind of weirdo for this book: I love fragmentary, mixed-form novels; I love haiku; I love an unrepentantly idiosyncratic narrative voice; and I love Sri Ramakrishna. Maybe I thought I was the only weirdo who loved all of these things, but it turns out there is at least one more...Nicola Barker!
There's a fine line between writing that is loose, uninhibited, open to all manner of hijinks, and writing that is sloppy, ill-disciplined, disjointed. I was nervous about where this novel would land, but I'm happy to report that Barker is comfortably on the right side of the line. The novel's nearly ten years old so I'm hardly on the crest of the wave, but this is some of the freshest and most interesting fiction I've read in a while.
There's a fine line between writing that is loose, uninhibited, open to all manner of hijinks, and writing that is sloppy, ill-disciplined, disjointed. I was nervous about where this novel would land, but I'm happy to report that Barker is comfortably on the right side of the line. The novel's nearly ten years old so I'm hardly on the crest of the wave, but this is some of the freshest and most interesting fiction I've read in a while.
May 25, 2017
This was a well researched book that definitely would have been a five star book if it had kept to chronological order. The way it jumped backwards and forwards in time stopped me from feeling any sense of attachment to it for the first 70 pages. After this the people and events started to fall into place. After completing the book I went back and read the first 70 pages again and this time they were fine and made sense because I had now read the rest of the book and I suspect that, because the author knew the whole story, she didn't realize how disjointed the first 70 pages felt to a new reader.
I came away from this book with a fascinating insight into 'the Rani', the lady who built the Kali temple where Ramakrishna lived throughout his life, and with an enormous amount of respect for the way she used her wealth and brains to improve social conditions and to run delightfully clever rings around the ruling British. But Ramakrishna remained an enigma, perhaps because he was just that, and I feel I will now need to consult the excellent reading list at the back of The Cauliflower in order to do so.
I came away from this book with a fascinating insight into 'the Rani', the lady who built the Kali temple where Ramakrishna lived throughout his life, and with an enormous amount of respect for the way she used her wealth and brains to improve social conditions and to run delightfully clever rings around the ruling British. But Ramakrishna remained an enigma, perhaps because he was just that, and I feel I will now need to consult the excellent reading list at the back of The Cauliflower in order to do so.
January 26, 2018
I gave it my best shot. Got about half way through before I admitted defeat. I always feel a moral obligation to finish books that I have been kindly granted by NetGalley, but on this occasion I was gradually losing the will to live. It’s all very clever, I suppose, but I just couldn’t engage with this discursive, rambling narrative about a Hindu guru. Not for me, this one.
July 16, 2021
A wildly original account of Sri Ramakrishna with a dollop of Indian history. Nicola Barker will not be to everybody's taste, but I am a HUGE fan. For my full review please go to http://thebooksmithblog.wordpress.com
April 22, 2020
Another work of genius by Nicola Barker. She makes her contemporaries look very pedestrian.
May 30, 2017
The book, a fictionalized biography of the eccentric Indian saint Sri Ramakrishna (better known to the West as the Guru of Swami Vivekananda), turns the concept of a historical novel on its head. It does away with the traditional trappings of the genre, and becomes a weird kaleidoscope instead.
One of the narrators is the writer herself, and the other is Sri Ramakrishna’s nephew, Hridayram. These two voices carry us on a random, almost stream of consciousness journey through time and space. There is no linearity–we jump from thought to thought, from character to character, from past to present within the blink of an eye. One must be a very alert reader indeed to keep up with the author.
Interspersed with the text itself are haikus, excerpts from the Song of Solomon, letters from Western visitors to Sri Ramakrishna’s ashram etc. The form and structure are fluid. While this grants the book literary merit, it makes for a confusing and painstaking reading experience. For those readers who do not mind the experimental, for whom reading is not a passive act, this book is a great choice. I certainly enjoyed this crazy, unpredictable aspect of the book.
What I do question however, is whether the author is the right person to write this book. The author’s knowledge about Sri Ramakrishna, his life, and Hinduism as a whole, comes from books (the list of which she has helpfully provided at the end), but such once-removed knowledge is hardly something that one should base a novel such as this on, especially when it is based on an actual person, and when it deals with a religion as complicated and multi-hued as Hinduism.There are indications throughout the narrative that the intended audience for this book are Non-Hindu, Western readers. I know from personal and anecdotal experience that Hinduism is a largely misunderstood religion in the West. Unfortunately, I doubt that this book will do anything to help the people reading it gain any real understanding of the religion or its practitioners. If anything, it may reinforce pre-existing ideas and prejudices.
The Cauliflower is a difficult read both in terms of form and content. It is not a book that one should pick up if one is not willing to put in the effort, both intellectually and emotionally. There is much to criticize here, but there is also much to appreciate, and it is the task of the reader to find that balance.
Full review at : http://bit.ly/Clflowr
One of the narrators is the writer herself, and the other is Sri Ramakrishna’s nephew, Hridayram. These two voices carry us on a random, almost stream of consciousness journey through time and space. There is no linearity–we jump from thought to thought, from character to character, from past to present within the blink of an eye. One must be a very alert reader indeed to keep up with the author.
Interspersed with the text itself are haikus, excerpts from the Song of Solomon, letters from Western visitors to Sri Ramakrishna’s ashram etc. The form and structure are fluid. While this grants the book literary merit, it makes for a confusing and painstaking reading experience. For those readers who do not mind the experimental, for whom reading is not a passive act, this book is a great choice. I certainly enjoyed this crazy, unpredictable aspect of the book.
What I do question however, is whether the author is the right person to write this book. The author’s knowledge about Sri Ramakrishna, his life, and Hinduism as a whole, comes from books (the list of which she has helpfully provided at the end), but such once-removed knowledge is hardly something that one should base a novel such as this on, especially when it is based on an actual person, and when it deals with a religion as complicated and multi-hued as Hinduism.There are indications throughout the narrative that the intended audience for this book are Non-Hindu, Western readers. I know from personal and anecdotal experience that Hinduism is a largely misunderstood religion in the West. Unfortunately, I doubt that this book will do anything to help the people reading it gain any real understanding of the religion or its practitioners. If anything, it may reinforce pre-existing ideas and prejudices.
The Cauliflower is a difficult read both in terms of form and content. It is not a book that one should pick up if one is not willing to put in the effort, both intellectually and emotionally. There is much to criticize here, but there is also much to appreciate, and it is the task of the reader to find that balance.
Full review at : http://bit.ly/Clflowr
June 11, 2016
“The Cauliflower” the new novel by Nicola Barker is the fictional biography of Sri Ramakrishna. This was a very entertaining book. It is bizarre at times, as is custom with Barker’s work, but I found it so funny and insightful. It jumps around a lot, but I really liked this book. If you haven’t read anything by Barker or you enjoy spirituality, Eastern Religion and or reading about India then I recommend you check out this funny, insightful wonderful novel.
August 18, 2016
Quirky, stylistically unique and varied, the author combines fact with fiction in her attempt to understand the development of spirituality, how it gains momentum and becomes a part of a culture. Barker uses the Guru, Sri Ramakrishna, as her vehicle for examining this subject. The narrative is not dry and dour, but a fresh and inventive approach to a complex issue.
March 2, 2020
I picked this up in the library as I was intrigued by the title and blurb. I know very little about Hinduism and had no idea until I got to the end that it was based on the life of an actual historical figure in that faith. In a way, that makes the book even more frustrating as there were times when I wondered whether it was a serious historical account or some sort of parody taking the pee out of religious teachers. The time-travel-type shenanigans with imaginary cameras don't help in that respect. I can deal with the different chapters jumping around in time - dates are given so I could keep in mind what was happening in each era, but the different narrators and variations in style made the book feel disjointed. And at times, the author (or some other unknown narrator) feels the need to jump in with comments and modern references, which *really* pulled me out of the story. At times, I wondered if these comments were meant to have been deleted in the drafting process.
I liked the stories of Rani and Sri Ramakrishna themselves and found it interesting to read about a religion that is not overly familiar to me. I also liked that the story looked at the different characters varying attitudes to religion and spirituality - some are genuine believers, while others are indifferent or only interested if they think they can benefit from it.
But as a whole, the book feels uneven, unsure if it's a history, comedy or something else. And if you're going to refer to transgender people, at least get them right. On p.23, there's a reference to a "transgender man" who wants to be a woman. In which case, you refer to her as a woman. That might sound like nitpicking, but as someone with transgender friends, I know that misgendering people and getting their pronouns wrong is not cool.
I liked the stories of Rani and Sri Ramakrishna themselves and found it interesting to read about a religion that is not overly familiar to me. I also liked that the story looked at the different characters varying attitudes to religion and spirituality - some are genuine believers, while others are indifferent or only interested if they think they can benefit from it.
But as a whole, the book feels uneven, unsure if it's a history, comedy or something else. And if you're going to refer to transgender people, at least get them right. On p.23, there's a reference to a "transgender man" who wants to be a woman. In which case, you refer to her as a woman. That might sound like nitpicking, but as someone with transgender friends, I know that misgendering people and getting their pronouns wrong is not cool.
August 2, 2017
This was a bizarre book, and I hesitate to call it a novel, or even much of a story. It's a collection of myths of Sri Ramakrishna, the saint of Dakshiniswar temple from the 1800s. Interspersed with the retelling of his legends are some haikus about him (that I assume are written by the author) and some quotes from Song of Solomon, and some random flights of fancy from the author (including a literal flight that goes on for TEN PAGES where she imagines she fixes a tiny camera to a swift and watches it fly around the temples of Calcutta). Oh, and she spends a lot of time ruminating about the life of Rani Rashmoni, the founder of Dakshiniswar. By the end of the book I was a little tired of the supposed cleverness of Nicola Barker, but her interpretation of India and its people made more sense to me when she admits in the afterward that she has never been to India in her life, she knows almost nothing about Hinduism (except what she's gleaned from the Krishna Consciousness), and that she basically threw all her good sense out the door to write this book. I appreciate her honesty, but this is a book clearly written (or rewritten in a sense) by a woman who doesn't know what she's talking about.
This book had a certain charm to it, nonetheless, and I might have liked it more if I was more interested in Sri Ramakrishna. I am much more fascinated by his disciple Swami Vivekananda (who is never referred to by this name in this book, but by his given name Narendra Nath Datta).
This book had a certain charm to it, nonetheless, and I might have liked it more if I was more interested in Sri Ramakrishna. I am much more fascinated by his disciple Swami Vivekananda (who is never referred to by this name in this book, but by his given name Narendra Nath Datta).
October 12, 2019
The rating here is primarily for the subject matter, which was intriguing and made me want to keep reading to know more. The style, however, did not work for me.
The story here, such as it is, is told in brief sections distinguished from each other by their headers. These sections jump back and forth in time - here we have the guru in his youth, here the dying guru - in location, and in narrator (sort of). There are interspersed question and answer sessions, haikus, excerpts from the Song of Solomon, and (my least favorite) imagination of the book as a movie production with actors, budget, and filming crew. With some books that have this type of scattered approach, there is a pay-off for the patient reader; different aspects of characters are illuminated, hinted-at scenes are fully displayed, or the seemingly disparate pieces form a coherent whole. Here, although there are tensions within and between the characters, they are not illuminated. Instead, the author is content to have snippets of interactions interspersed with bits of verses and on occasion an emoji or two. Perhaps this was intended to give the book a sense of the guru's idea of lila, or divine play, but it did not have a feeling of lightness to me. As the author herself said in the afterword, this "is truly little more than the sum of its many parts".
The story here, such as it is, is told in brief sections distinguished from each other by their headers. These sections jump back and forth in time - here we have the guru in his youth, here the dying guru - in location, and in narrator (sort of). There are interspersed question and answer sessions, haikus, excerpts from the Song of Solomon, and (my least favorite) imagination of the book as a movie production with actors, budget, and filming crew. With some books that have this type of scattered approach, there is a pay-off for the patient reader; different aspects of characters are illuminated, hinted-at scenes are fully displayed, or the seemingly disparate pieces form a coherent whole. Here, although there are tensions within and between the characters, they are not illuminated. Instead, the author is content to have snippets of interactions interspersed with bits of verses and on occasion an emoji or two. Perhaps this was intended to give the book a sense of the guru's idea of lila, or divine play, but it did not have a feeling of lightness to me. As the author herself said in the afterword, this "is truly little more than the sum of its many parts".
September 15, 2018
This book was breathtakingly brilliantly refreshing. One of the most original creative, innovative things I have read in a long time. Barker takes all the “rules” of writing a novel and turns them on their head. One of the things I loved about this book is the way it interacted with the reader and effectively made the reader a part of the story. I also loved how Barker employed so many different narrative devices to tell this extraordinary story.
I was hooked from the first line and taken on the delightful, rollicking journey of the life of the often perplexing at times endearing, and frustrating life of Sri Ramekrishna considered by some to be a great guru and by others the very incarnation of God. While he dedicates his entire life to spiritual attainment his poor nephew Hriday who adores his Uncle is left with the burden of tending to his every earthly need while oft seeming to be rather under appreciated for the effort and devotion.
I was hooked from the first line and taken on the delightful, rollicking journey of the life of the often perplexing at times endearing, and frustrating life of Sri Ramekrishna considered by some to be a great guru and by others the very incarnation of God. While he dedicates his entire life to spiritual attainment his poor nephew Hriday who adores his Uncle is left with the burden of tending to his every earthly need while oft seeming to be rather under appreciated for the effort and devotion.
June 19, 2020
Having picked this up merely because the cover interested me, I proceeded to be thoroughly confused by this book right up until the afterword. Whilst this partially may have been due to my ignorance as to who Sri Ramakrishna was prior to reading this, it certainly wasn’t helped by the erratic jumps of perspective, time and subject matter. I had barely managed grasp what was happening in one section before being plunged into something that happened 30 years prior, or was from the perspective of a swift.
Also, given that this is clearly heavily fictionalised, I felt like some of the characters were underdeveloped. I liked the Rani, but felt as if she (and most of the characters) were skimmed over. If they had been expanded and made more likeable I think the book overall would have been more enjoyable.
On a positive note, I thought the use of haikus was quite neat ( and they helped me turn the pages faster).
Also, given that this is clearly heavily fictionalised, I felt like some of the characters were underdeveloped. I liked the Rani, but felt as if she (and most of the characters) were skimmed over. If they had been expanded and made more likeable I think the book overall would have been more enjoyable.
On a positive note, I thought the use of haikus was quite neat ( and they helped me turn the pages faster).
October 28, 2019
When I was about halfway through this book I thought about giving up. Then I read the author's afterword which says that the novel is an 'attempt to understand how faith works' so I decided to press on to the end. However it was disappointing as I don't feel any more enlightened about this than when I started. I have seen this book described as a mosaic of different experiences but unlike a mosaic it doesn't amount to more than the sum of its parts.
I quite liked the style of the book - the flitting between different times, the insertion of poetry and the occasional use of the author's own voice - and at times it was witty and moving, but I felt it was style over substance: this book really has nothing to say about faith other than the rather mundane observation that it will be experienced differently by different people.
I quite liked the style of the book - the flitting between different times, the insertion of poetry and the occasional use of the author's own voice - and at times it was witty and moving, but I felt it was style over substance: this book really has nothing to say about faith other than the rather mundane observation that it will be experienced differently by different people.
Read
December 26, 2020This is a fictionalized biography of the Hindu guru Sri Ramakrishna. But what a telling. Snippets. Swoops between present and past. Even a miniature camera attached to a hapless swift investigating a temple. Passages from the Song of Solomon interspersed with often humorous haiku. Barker busts the conventions of the so called historic novel - in fact I don't even think that's what this is.
It's not easy going, especially near the end when our hapless, ambitious narrator is cast adrift and we are left wondering how he could so easily be dismissed. Nor is it easy to accept the notion of spiritual ecstasy, of God as everything, everywhere. Suspended disbelief? Suspending reason more like. And why is salt bold-faced throughout?
I did not enjoy this book, did not identify or like any of the characters, but I am glad to have read it and to witness another way of narrative.
It's not easy going, especially near the end when our hapless, ambitious narrator is cast adrift and we are left wondering how he could so easily be dismissed. Nor is it easy to accept the notion of spiritual ecstasy, of God as everything, everywhere. Suspended disbelief? Suspending reason more like. And why is salt bold-faced throughout?
I did not enjoy this book, did not identify or like any of the characters, but I am glad to have read it and to witness another way of narrative.
August 25, 2018
Uitgelezen: 'The Cauliflower®' ofwel: bloemkool, het is niet voor iedereen weggelegd.
Nicola Barker schrijft geen gewone romans en daar hou ik van, maar dit boek was zelfs voor mijn bek geen spek. En ook wie verzot is op bloemkool is eraan voor de moeite, want zelfs suiker en zout spelen een grotere rol in dit verhaal. 'The Cauliflower®' gaat wel over Sri Ramakrishna, een 19de-eeuwse Indische goeroe die geen goeroe genoemd wil worden. Er zaten wel enkele heerlijke typisch atypische Barker fragmenten in, waarin haar genie van de bladzijden spat, maar ik miste toch wel een verhaal.
Enkel voor de die-hard fans dus, de Barker leek zou ik aanraden met iets anders te beginnen.
Nicola Barker schrijft geen gewone romans en daar hou ik van, maar dit boek was zelfs voor mijn bek geen spek. En ook wie verzot is op bloemkool is eraan voor de moeite, want zelfs suiker en zout spelen een grotere rol in dit verhaal. 'The Cauliflower®' gaat wel over Sri Ramakrishna, een 19de-eeuwse Indische goeroe die geen goeroe genoemd wil worden. Er zaten wel enkele heerlijke typisch atypische Barker fragmenten in, waarin haar genie van de bladzijden spat, maar ik miste toch wel een verhaal.
Enkel voor de die-hard fans dus, de Barker leek zou ik aanraden met iets anders te beginnen.
March 25, 2020
I recently taught a Yr 6 Hinduism unit and this was a great parallel... coming at the topic from an entirely different angle and perspective as a novel for adults, but with so much history and insight woven in. It was very entertaining as well as illuminating. Quite an unusual style, with muddled up chronology (but with dates, and not hard to follow) and a mix of prose and poetry. I enjoyed the sense of getting a feel for the faith, rather than just bare facts (as per the teaching unit!).
I wonder what a committed Hindu's perspective on it would be? From the research in the reading list and respectful tone of it, I would hope favourable. I would certainly recommend.
I wonder what a committed Hindu's perspective on it would be? From the research in the reading list and respectful tone of it, I would hope favourable. I would certainly recommend.
June 15, 2017
This book was actually picked for me by somebody else. I wanted to like it, it has an interesting style, parts of it are wonderfully funny but that wasn't enough. It's been well received.
It was too choppy for me, coming across discoherent (which I'm aware is possibly the point). I struggled to stay involved with the characters and the story. I finished it as a point, more than out of enjoyment. I found it frustrating (a bit like the guru himself, no doubt)
Personally, just not for me and I wouldn't recommend it to friends.
It was too choppy for me, coming across discoherent (which I'm aware is possibly the point). I struggled to stay involved with the characters and the story. I finished it as a point, more than out of enjoyment. I found it frustrating (a bit like the guru himself, no doubt)
Personally, just not for me and I wouldn't recommend it to friends.
April 23, 2018
Fractured, joyful, dishy, spiritual fictionalized bio of the famous eccentric Bengali guru Sri Ramakrishna, in all its contradictions. Barker reminds me of Nabokov in her playfulness. The book is full of haiku (why?) and juicy biographical detail. The author is a white woman writing about a Bengali mystic and I’m sure parts are wrong, but it came not to bother me. I enjoyed the storytelling enough that it didn’t matter.
January 30, 2017
This book started out so strongly, but I struggled to finish it and honestly was just skimming by the end. The interesting characters and nonlinear style carried me halfway through, but the lack of coherent plot ultimately made this book a disappointment. Still, Kali Ma as a major character? I'm going to call that a win.
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