Cracking India
EUR 9,39
Stunning novel by one of Pakistan s premier novelists. - Bapsi Sidhwa s Cracking India will expand and alter your view of India, Pakistan, and the British Raj. Using a child-narrator, a literary device over-employed and often unsuccessful, this author has found the perfect vehicle for conveying the heart-breaking story of the Partition of India in l947, without being coy and without descending into bathos. Lenny, as the child of a Parsee family, is part of no ethnic majority, and as a result, she roams freely through the Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, and Parsee society of her household and neighborhood in Lahore. Because she is lame and receiving private schooling, she is at home when momentous events and important conversations occur, and because she is very young and has no ethnic biases, she observes the disintegration of her society with the puzzlement of an outsider. An active, loving person, Lenny makes us see the personal and emotional costs of the founding of Pakistan, especially to women and children. Whether your interest is historical, literary, or feminist, Cracking India will illuminate the dangers and tragedies of creating artificial geographical boundaries.
Interesting - I found the book to be stark and honest, consistent with a child s point of view. I did not think she showed preference for one group over another, rather she sheds light on human nature in such difficult circumstances. If anyone seems to blame for the attrocities, it is the irresponsible leadership, out of touch with the realities on the ground, where their decisions exploded. Showing us the before and after-math of the ill-placed trust, Sidwa gives us a personal window into the wreckage.As a criticism, I found the use of so many non-English words and phrases in the text to be distracting. I m sure they added a lot for some readers, but they only served to distance me from the time and place, to remind me I was reading a book. The effect was almost like the theatre elements used by Berthold Brecht to jar his audience back to themselves and away from the story. Since I feel that the power in this story is in trying to see where we ourselves might be within it all, this effect was a negative. A version with notes or a glossary might help.On the positive side, it was WONDERFUL to read a story with so many, varied, strong women as characters, and to show girls and women at different stages of their lives all in one snapshot. Lots for discussion. This book would make a fine addition to a lit class.
poopy - THis booke was poopey poopy poop. It is a peice of poop
Moving, but not indepth about partition - The partition is being explained through the eyes of Lenny, but it is not complete. But I liked the way of explaining the uneasiness of the coutry is being divided through Ayah s friends. It is crisp. Too much of documenting about Lenny s world, slows down the pace. After finishing the book, you wouldn t want to be a leader of a nation, who decides the fate. For that effect itself, this book is worth reading. Also, I like the author s writing, putting down the naked truth, the history always reveals.
Wonderful book on Partition told from the feminine viewpoint - I first read this book several years ago and was thrilled that it was finally made into a movie by Deepa Mehta. Earth is a great film but I don t think even it can do do justice to this amazing book. My mother s family is from Lahore and came to the Indian side of the border as refugees in 1947 so this book has a very personal meaning for me. It is a wonderful depiction of growing up as a child in Lahore and very authentic. I thought the love story between Ayah and Ice Candy Man was incredibly sad. Ultimately, she was unable to return his love and unable to forgive him for kidnapping her and forcing her to work as a dancing girl before marrying her. My grandparents told me that there were many such sad stories of women who were abducted and never seen by their families again. Unfortunately in times of conflict, it s always the women and children who suffer the most. To me, the most intruiging aspect of the book is that it is written from the girl child s viewpoint and Sidhwa really does try to capture the viewpoint of an 8-year old, although some of the observations were probably too mature for that age. What is amazing is how comic scenes are interspersed with scenes of horrifying brutality. I must disagree with some of the previous reviewers who felt the book was biased towards Pakistan - at no point does Sidhwa blame one community more than another, rather she feels that all communities were to blame for the atrocities that were committed all all sides during Partition to more or less the same extent. If you are interested in reading more fiction that is set against the backdrop of Partition, I would recommend Manohar Malgaonkar s A Bend in the Ganges. Again, this is a story told from the feminine viewpoint, except that it is an adult woman, Sundari, who is at the center of the story. It may be hard to get hold of in the U.S. but it s well worth the effort!