We That Are Young - Parts 4 to 6 and Whole Book (Spoilers) (Oct 2018)

[Hugh]

This is the spoiler thread from part 4 (Jeet) to the end of the book. Part 4 explains what happened to Jeet after his mysterious disappearance - he reinvents himself as Rudra the Naph. This is in some ways the most interesting part of the novel, as it is the only one not focused on India's rich elite. In the short part 5 we finally meet Sita, and the final part brings everything together.

[Hugh]

OK, we have reached the planned end date for this discussion, but as always it will remain open, and I hope that more of you will read this book - it is worth it!!

[Marc]

I had a pretty negative reaction to this book, so I've been reluctant to comment lest I cast a dark cloud over the discussion. I will say that if anything this book is even bleaker than King Lear, which is no small thing to pull off. It did inspire me to take a break halfway through and read the original play for the first time, which made me remember just how much Shakespeare relies on pure dialogue (especially, when read instead of viewed as a performance).

[Whitney]

Okay, I did it, I finished! This was horrible timing for me and this book. I've been in a reading slump, largely due to work related commitments, and this was not a great one to read in 10 minute chunks at bedtime. That being said, I really did like it, with some reservations.

I missed a lot of the depth by not being more familiar with many of the references, and with Indian social and religious life in general. I noted several references to the Ramayana and Mahabharata, but lack the in-depth knowledge to really understand what Taneja intended with them. Same with locations such as Amritsar and Kashmir, places that will have far more emotional resonance with those who grew up with their religious and political implications.

I really liked the interplay and politicking among the siblings, and the representations of different stereotypes played out by the sisters. The limitations and expectations placed on all of them were there to see, but handled with a light touch rather than a lecture. What happened to Sita was absolutely horrendous.

Jeet's section was interesting, and largely unexpected. I'm interested to hear how other people read Taneja's portrayal of the dregs of the city. Especially their eagerness to embrace Devraj as a hero (but only at a distance), and that Jeet's time among them made him made him more intolerant, misogynistic, and ultimately homophobic. Was Taneja making a point about the hypocrisy of religious enlightenment?

In the end, it seems that those who are young and female are destroyed, and those that are young and male go on to outdo their elders in corruption and repression.