Clear Light of Day in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 03, 2010 Laura (booksnob) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: humanities-reading-list, book-club, literature, 2010

This is the second book I have read by Anita Desai. I am not sure what it is but we don't seem to make a good author/reader connection. While I liked this story, I just wasn't riveted nor did I see the broader connection to India's history probably because the author didn't give me enough information. Darn it, I really tried to like it but she just didn't have me at hello like other books do.
...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2015 Bogdan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: asian-flavor

Some books have a slow start, like a diesel engine. But after they warm up a little bit, they unveil what they really are. This is the case of this novel, that I was tempted to abandon in the first 90 pages. Once I got beyond Part 1 (that has in my edition around 90 pages), I really knew I found a good book.

Marketed by the editors as a story about family, forgiving and forgetting, I thought it could be a soap opera. But after checking that it was shortlisted for Man Booker Prize, I was certain i Some books have a slow start, like a diesel engine. But after they warm up a little bit, they unveil what they really are. This is the case of this novel, that I was tempted to abandon in the first 90 pages. Once I got beyond Part 1 (that has in my edition around 90 pages), I really knew I found a good book.

Marketed by the editors as a story about family, forgiving and forgetting, I thought it could be a soap opera. But after checking that it was shortlisted for Man Booker Prize, I was certain it is not at all a soap opera. Indeed it is about family, it is about forgiveness, but it is all in a totally different league. There are no superfluous conflicts, no melodrama. But let's focus instead more on what it is, rather that what it is not. It really liked the blurp from the 1st Mariner books edition (2000): "While the primary theme is the importance of family, other predominant themes include the importance of forgiveness, the power of childhood, and the status of women, particularly their role as mothers and caretakers, in modern day India." Very interesting, but in my humble opinion, a little bit too sensitive for the logical brain I have, so I'll give it a 4 for premise.

Regarding the form, I really struggled in the first 90 pages where almost nothing happened, except for two sisters talking to each other about events from their past and family. And even those events where not really too easy to understand as it focused on creating the background. Secondly there is quite a lot of poetry in it. Due to the fact that my copy was translated, I usually was not able to enjoy too much of them. On the good side, after the first part was over, it started to pick up and using the background information the reader already had, it started to unveil the story. After that point it was clear that it is a gifted writer. Despite that, I cannot get over the 90 arid pages, so I'll give it a 3 for form.

In terms of originality, there are a lot of other novels centered on family. Others have childhood or how this shapes the human as a central theme. And obviously there are others that are dealing with forgiveness. But this one has them all. I don't think I have read another one like it, but many others similar with parts of it. Then I will give it a 4 for the level of originality.

On the characters, this is the strong point of this novel. Anita creates vivid characters, very well individualized and realistic, that you imagine you could have met them. And this is very hard to do, when you have a story centered on a family with so bizarre fate. I only wished I could create such characters and this is the reasons why I will give it a 5 for characters.

Regarding the complexity and difficulty, there are no very subtle techniques or philosophical concepts that are hard to understand. It speaks about day to day concepts, like family, forgiveness or childhood, although not in a trivial manner. Nevertheless it is about things all of us have at least thought of, so that's why I will rate it with a 4 for complexity and difficulty.

In terms of credibility, it is a strange situation that despite each character uncommon destiny, the credibility of the novel has little to suffer. Perhaps because the characters are so well created, the reader can accept so many exceptional destinies. For this mastery my rating for credibility is 4.

The last criteria is edition. I liked the translation that made it look like it was not a translated novel. The cover seemed to be a little bit too simplistic and did not tell too much about it. Lastly, the format is interesting, an uncommon hard cover of pocket size or slightly bigger. It is a nice edition, so I'll give it a 4.

To summarize, I reached my objective by reading this novel, as I hoped I could learn more about Indian society and about the place of woman in it. All in all, my final rating for it is 4.00, which requires no rounding on Goodreads system.


+--------------------------+-----------------+
| Criteria | Rating |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Premise | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Form | 3 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Originality | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Characters | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Difficulty/Complexity | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Credibility | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Edition | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Total | 4.00 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+