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Brothers: A Novel
The story of Tapti Gaina is intimately linked with the lives of two men, her husband and his brother. Exploring caste, student politics, the freedom struggle and the Emergency, Brothers traces the history of the Gaina family, beginning with their village origins across the emerging metropolis of Ajmer and ending at the height of political power in Jaipur. It is a masterful portrayal of ambition, desire, betrayal and anguish, enacted against the shifting terrain of family dynamics.
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2016
8 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Manju Kapur
19 books215 followersManju Kapur is the author of four novels. Her first, Difficult Daughters, won the Commonwealth Prize for First Novels (Eurasia Section) and was a number one bestseller in India. Her second novel A Married Woman was called 'fluent and witty' in the Independent, while her third, Home, was described as 'glistening with detail and emotional acuity' in the Sunday Times. Her most recent novel, The Immigrant, has been longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. She lives in New Delhi.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 19, 2018
Week 51 Book 90
Brothers: A Novel by Manju Kapur
Rating: 3/5
I've been a fan of Manju Kapur's novels, which usually revolve around female protagonists in a variety of settings. It was obvious I'd pick this one up (don't know how I missed it all these years), and though her writing style, characters, or plotline didn't disappoint me, the ending was kinda anti-climactic.
Brothers is a saga of the Gaina family over a period of 70 odd years. It starts around partition and describes the ups and downs of two sets of brothers and their families.
The novel describes how the Gaina men look for their purpose in life, in the village or in the city. In business or in politics. How they succeed,sometimes by hook and sometimes by crook. And how they fail, not just in front of others, but most importantly, in their own eyes. And how they treat their women, from mothers to wives, to sisters-in-law, to daughters.
Even though the novel is titled brothers, it actually is a lot about the female protagonist Tapti Gaina. A woman who comes from a simple background, however is anything but. She takes active interest in business and politics, determines to study and become an IAS officer, takes charge of her body and reproductive rights, isn't afraid to express her sexuality/desires, and isn't bogged down by gender stereotypes - she is the master of her life, her home, her family and she is proud of it.
As always, I loved the way the author described each character and setting and the events - her prose is beautiful yet simple to understand. She depicted convoluted familial relationships with panache, and builds the story and the mystery behind the opening chapter twist.
The only reason why I rated it low was the ending... The last few chapters seemed hurried and while the ending was as expected, it seemed too simplified and sudden. It left me unsatisfied, and longing for more. I wish the final events leading to the opening chapter were more nuanced and some epilogue was given, for closure.
Nevertheless, I'd recommend this book for those looking for an engaging indian novel, and all Manju Kapur fans.
Brothers: A Novel by Manju Kapur
Rating: 3/5
I've been a fan of Manju Kapur's novels, which usually revolve around female protagonists in a variety of settings. It was obvious I'd pick this one up (don't know how I missed it all these years), and though her writing style, characters, or plotline didn't disappoint me, the ending was kinda anti-climactic.
Brothers is a saga of the Gaina family over a period of 70 odd years. It starts around partition and describes the ups and downs of two sets of brothers and their families.
The novel describes how the Gaina men look for their purpose in life, in the village or in the city. In business or in politics. How they succeed,sometimes by hook and sometimes by crook. And how they fail, not just in front of others, but most importantly, in their own eyes. And how they treat their women, from mothers to wives, to sisters-in-law, to daughters.
Even though the novel is titled brothers, it actually is a lot about the female protagonist Tapti Gaina. A woman who comes from a simple background, however is anything but. She takes active interest in business and politics, determines to study and become an IAS officer, takes charge of her body and reproductive rights, isn't afraid to express her sexuality/desires, and isn't bogged down by gender stereotypes - she is the master of her life, her home, her family and she is proud of it.
As always, I loved the way the author described each character and setting and the events - her prose is beautiful yet simple to understand. She depicted convoluted familial relationships with panache, and builds the story and the mystery behind the opening chapter twist.
The only reason why I rated it low was the ending... The last few chapters seemed hurried and while the ending was as expected, it seemed too simplified and sudden. It left me unsatisfied, and longing for more. I wish the final events leading to the opening chapter were more nuanced and some epilogue was given, for closure.
Nevertheless, I'd recommend this book for those looking for an engaging indian novel, and all Manju Kapur fans.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2024
Book : Brothers A Novel
Writer : Manju Kapur
Publisher : Penguin books
Pages : 377
Shop : Lock the Box
💫 A worst book I read ever. The story starts from the period of Indian freedom struggle. And the practice in the village like child marriage etc...
💫 The story revolves around two brothers of a family, who see women as a child bearing machine. Both have extra marital affairs. And they both are very big red flag. The elder brother have an affair with his younger brother's wife Tapti. One day the younger brother found out the extra marital affair between his brother and his wife and he shot his brother.
💫 In short , this book is about male chauvinism and extra marital affairs. Do me a favour and kindly don't pick up this book ever.
புத்தகங்களை படிப்போம் , பயன் பெறுவோம்,
புத்தகங்களால் இணைவோம் ,
பல வேடிக்கை மனிதரைப் போலே ,
நான் வீழ்வேனென்று நினைத்தாயோ – மகாகவி .
சுபஸ்ரீனீ முத்துப்பாண்டி
வாசிப்பை நேசிப்போம்
Writer : Manju Kapur
Publisher : Penguin books
Pages : 377
Shop : Lock the Box
💫 A worst book I read ever. The story starts from the period of Indian freedom struggle. And the practice in the village like child marriage etc...
💫 The story revolves around two brothers of a family, who see women as a child bearing machine. Both have extra marital affairs. And they both are very big red flag. The elder brother have an affair with his younger brother's wife Tapti. One day the younger brother found out the extra marital affair between his brother and his wife and he shot his brother.
💫 In short , this book is about male chauvinism and extra marital affairs. Do me a favour and kindly don't pick up this book ever.
புத்தகங்களை படிப்போம் , பயன் பெறுவோம்,
புத்தகங்களால் இணைவோம் ,
பல வேடிக்கை மனிதரைப் போலே ,
நான் வீழ்வேனென்று நினைத்தாயோ – மகாகவி .
சுபஸ்ரீனீ முத்துப்பாண்டி
வாசிப்பை நேசிப்போம்
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2021
An ordinary story presented like an epic or a saga, which doesn't fulfill any pointers of a good plot.
The story is of two brothers who start their life as farmers and end up in the city. The elder brother rises in politics anf becomes a chief minister with the other brother trying his hand in business and failing miserably. How the relationship between the brothers go sour and how the rift increases forms the major story idea.
Thr plot is predictable with nothing new in the story or presentation. The story drags at many places and looks like a Hindi film of the 80's.
Overall the language is good but the story and it's treatment is old and boring.
The story is of two brothers who start their life as farmers and end up in the city. The elder brother rises in politics anf becomes a chief minister with the other brother trying his hand in business and failing miserably. How the relationship between the brothers go sour and how the rift increases forms the major story idea.
Thr plot is predictable with nothing new in the story or presentation. The story drags at many places and looks like a Hindi film of the 80's.
Overall the language is good but the story and it's treatment is old and boring.
January 26, 2021
As compared to her other books this book is less captivating. A story has been built around some real events and some fictional, overall a mediocre book
June 15, 2021
Great storytelling
May 26, 2019
A 2.5 read.
About the Book:
#Brothers is a novel about assassination of Himmat Singh Gaina, chief minister of the province of Rajasthan, by his younger brother, Mangal. Tapti, the wife of Mangal and a lover of Himmat. The novel slowly unfolds itself and makes the reader realise the complexly intertwined lives of the family members. The novel beautifully tells the story of previous generations (Which also revolves around story of two brothers, being father and uncle of Himmat and Mangal) and the events that ultimately lead to the predictable end. The novel is written to keep the reader engaged till very end but get really slow paced with part 3. You’ll feel like skipping a few pages altogether but this surely makes up for a good one time read. .
The first part was very well written, the author lost the plot and the pace midway and just hurried in the end. Some pages and paras even the scenarios seemed so repetitive. The women have been stereotyped of course and the relationships have been created like a cobweb which reader finds hard to get out of after a while. I really skipped paras and skimmed through some pages to finally end it.
Fault lines and loopholes in the writing were nearly successful in portraying fault Iines and loopholes in the relationships in the book though. But it is just a one time read.
About the Book:
#Brothers is a novel about assassination of Himmat Singh Gaina, chief minister of the province of Rajasthan, by his younger brother, Mangal. Tapti, the wife of Mangal and a lover of Himmat. The novel slowly unfolds itself and makes the reader realise the complexly intertwined lives of the family members. The novel beautifully tells the story of previous generations (Which also revolves around story of two brothers, being father and uncle of Himmat and Mangal) and the events that ultimately lead to the predictable end. The novel is written to keep the reader engaged till very end but get really slow paced with part 3. You’ll feel like skipping a few pages altogether but this surely makes up for a good one time read. .
The first part was very well written, the author lost the plot and the pace midway and just hurried in the end. Some pages and paras even the scenarios seemed so repetitive. The women have been stereotyped of course and the relationships have been created like a cobweb which reader finds hard to get out of after a while. I really skipped paras and skimmed through some pages to finally end it.
Fault lines and loopholes in the writing were nearly successful in portraying fault Iines and loopholes in the relationships in the book though. But it is just a one time read.
July 15, 2017
Review of the novel..Brothers by Manju Kapur
'But it was absurd to think that everyone in the family was created equal" thinks Tapti Gaina , the female protagonist in the novel. Although its a story revolving around the two brothers, Himmat and Mangal, jats of the rustic Rajasthan, Tapti remains the essence of the novel.
The book bears close resemblance to the Pramod Mahajan murder case that shook the nation in 2006, where he was assassinated by his own brother over petty domestic conflicts and years of oppression as he claimed them to be. The narrative of this novel bears the same undertones. Two siblings related by blood yet separated by fate.
This is writer Manju Kapur s sixth novel. Written well it transgresses lot of aspects like student politics, sibling rivalry, the jat rajput conflict, casteism, feminism, child marriage.
The book starts with Himmat Singh Gaina, CM of the state being shot by his own sibling, the lesser known Mangal at a peoples meet. Tapti, Mangal s wife condones the crime and reflects on her past and the incidents that lead into the making of a crime. Events of the past thirteen years have been recounted.
The young Tapti a college student is besotted by the piquant politician Himmat Singh Gaina to marry his younger brother Mangal who is no match for the calm, poised and qualified Tapti . She belongs to a family with reasonable means and they get swayed by the money and power that will dicate the boundaries of the relationship. The coaxing and persistence pays off and the marriage is solemnised.
Somehwere in the past Virpal, Himmat s uncle escapes from his native village of Lalbanga to live an illusive life of a city dweller and to be part of the freedom struggle. Living as a waif, he is picked by the considerate Gaur Sahib. After rising and shining big in the city Virpal brings his nephew Himmat in the city.
Himmat bred in his city ways is quite adored by his younger brother Mangal who wants to be close to him and live the charmed life akin to his politically astute brother.
Ambition becomes the core conflict between the two brothers. Himmat s rise and shine in politics creates the want in Mangat to follow his footsteps but at every step he is dissuaded. Although he is helped by Himmat at many fronts but he gets so consummated by greed that he starts expecting more and more.
This want when not fulfilled creates animosity that keeps on building and harbouring a deep disgust for his own blood. The discovery of a secret liaison between his wife and brother adds to the final straw. He feels betrayed in love and kinship and shoots him.
Tapti is the assiduous wife who is at the whims and fancies of her mercurial husband. A strong character in the novel she stand tall and prevails upon the customs and traditions of times to follow her own heart.
The story is narrated in the past after the incident of fratricide. Its predictable and the end is foreseeable.
'But it was absurd to think that everyone in the family was created equal" thinks Tapti Gaina , the female protagonist in the novel. Although its a story revolving around the two brothers, Himmat and Mangal, jats of the rustic Rajasthan, Tapti remains the essence of the novel.
The book bears close resemblance to the Pramod Mahajan murder case that shook the nation in 2006, where he was assassinated by his own brother over petty domestic conflicts and years of oppression as he claimed them to be. The narrative of this novel bears the same undertones. Two siblings related by blood yet separated by fate.
This is writer Manju Kapur s sixth novel. Written well it transgresses lot of aspects like student politics, sibling rivalry, the jat rajput conflict, casteism, feminism, child marriage.
The book starts with Himmat Singh Gaina, CM of the state being shot by his own sibling, the lesser known Mangal at a peoples meet. Tapti, Mangal s wife condones the crime and reflects on her past and the incidents that lead into the making of a crime. Events of the past thirteen years have been recounted.
The young Tapti a college student is besotted by the piquant politician Himmat Singh Gaina to marry his younger brother Mangal who is no match for the calm, poised and qualified Tapti . She belongs to a family with reasonable means and they get swayed by the money and power that will dicate the boundaries of the relationship. The coaxing and persistence pays off and the marriage is solemnised.
Somehwere in the past Virpal, Himmat s uncle escapes from his native village of Lalbanga to live an illusive life of a city dweller and to be part of the freedom struggle. Living as a waif, he is picked by the considerate Gaur Sahib. After rising and shining big in the city Virpal brings his nephew Himmat in the city.
Himmat bred in his city ways is quite adored by his younger brother Mangal who wants to be close to him and live the charmed life akin to his politically astute brother.
Ambition becomes the core conflict between the two brothers. Himmat s rise and shine in politics creates the want in Mangat to follow his footsteps but at every step he is dissuaded. Although he is helped by Himmat at many fronts but he gets so consummated by greed that he starts expecting more and more.
This want when not fulfilled creates animosity that keeps on building and harbouring a deep disgust for his own blood. The discovery of a secret liaison between his wife and brother adds to the final straw. He feels betrayed in love and kinship and shoots him.
Tapti is the assiduous wife who is at the whims and fancies of her mercurial husband. A strong character in the novel she stand tall and prevails upon the customs and traditions of times to follow her own heart.
The story is narrated in the past after the incident of fratricide. Its predictable and the end is foreseeable.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews