From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

A Passage to India

E.M. Forster,

Oliver Stallybrass (Editor),

Pankaj Mishra (Introduction)

Start date: September 1, 2016

Finish date: September 30, 2016

Discussion: Classics Book Group Read

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Showing 2 of 41 topics — 1,109 comments total

Classics Book Group Read

The Enchanted April - Nov-Dec 2018
By Lauren · 43 posts · 28 views

last updated Dec 01, 2018 11:23AM

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Impromptu "light" fiction read to close out 2018
By Lauren · 23 posts · 36 views

last updated Nov 13, 2018 08:12AM

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What Members Thought

Mar 01, 2010 El rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-centurylit-early, 1001-books-list, india, modern-library-list-top-100-fiction, wanderlust

I'm not sure why I chose this book as my first Forster experience, but it certainly delivered.

The story takes place in fictional Chandrapore in India during the British colonial invasion. Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore are both British visitors who desire a more hands-on experience in India. This curiosity and eagerness changed their lives forever. Fielding is a British headmaster at a government run Indian college who has befriended Indian Dr. Aziz. Aziz takes it upon himself to show the ladies a ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 14, 2023 Wendy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-books, classics, culture-clash, blooms-western-canon, 2023

Not what I expected. Better. The sequence at the Marabar Caves struck me as eerily similar to the hallucinatory Picnic at Hanging Rock (my favorite read from last year) -- what is it about wild, rocky terrain that inspires a kind of madness in us? The characters' actions may be hard to follow logically, but there's an emotional truthfulness that's hard for me to articulate. This story of culture clash starts off deceivingly small -- a chance meeting at a mosque, a polo practice, an awkward party ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 14, 2016 Pamela rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: guardian-1000-read, boxall-1001-read, india

Adela Quested arrives in India with Mrs Moore -Adela is considering marriage to Mrs Moore's son Ronnie. Both are struck by the contrasts between life back in England and that led by the Anglo Indian community. They are befriended by the Muslim doctor Aziz who offers to show them the Marabar caves. It is there that a strange incident occurs, bringing the conflict between the British and the Indian inhabitants into the open, and shattering many illusions.

Forster skilfully shows the tension seethin ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

May 19, 2023 Lori rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, literature, zy-own, z-reviewed, britain, pre-1950, zy-calibre, zy-text, z-read-2023

Generally a very good book in the style Forster is famous for. He's great at showing the Anglo-Indians and surprisingly good at the few Hindus but his depiction of the Muslims is just a bit off. His Muslim characters generally think only of the moment, which is a bit too reminiscent of the happy-go-lucky native for me. Otherwise an insightful depiction of a complicated society and, of course, a very good story. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 24, 2013 Alasse marked it as pause · review of another edition

Shelves: novel-of-manners, 1001-books, victorians-and-friends

I bought this one out of desperation because "A Thousand Splendid Suns" was lasting way less than it was supposed to. (Note to self: do not travel without my ebook. ever. again.)

Now I need to figure out where to fit this into the challenge or it's going to bug me so much I'm going to end up hating it. Not the mindset you want to be in when diving into a new book right? #neurotic #endwhine ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 17, 2021 Jenny rated it really liked it

Shelves: 100-best-of-20th-century, guardian-1000-state-of-the-nation

“Only connect!” That is the advise Forster gives in Howard’s End but in A Passage to India he creates a world where there are no connections.
- from Roger Ebert’s review of the movie version

It seems Forster’s experience during the Great War which intruded between the writing of each book made him question whether our modern world was capable of true human connections.

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 07, 2010 Sera rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, own, literary-fiction, kindle, classics

This book provides a nice social commentary on Indian-English relations during England's occupied rule of India. However, the story was much too slow in my opinion. I can tell that this was Forster's last work. I'm glad that I gave him a try, but it will be awhile before I read him again. ...more

1 like · Like · see review