I’d love to go to India some day. After reading this book and Beneath a Marble Sky in February, I’m ready. Does anyone want to pay for my flight? Before my trip, I’ll first review the book by Vikas Swarup, and then I’ll talk about the movie and some of the differences between the two.
I really like how this book was structured. In the opening chapter, we find Ram Mohammed Thomas in jail for cheating on a quiz show. Did he cheat or was he just lucky? How could an orphan from the slums answer every question correctly? Then, the following chapters go through each question and tell us a story of how Ram Mohammed Thomas might know the answer.
What kind of name is Ram Mohammed Thomas anyway? He was actually named that to represent the three main religions of India. I thought it was funny how he used only one of his three names depending on the situation he was in. I enjoyed each story, but there were some horrific ones. Children should not have to go through such horrible acts.
One of my favorite quotes from the book:
The sight of all this opulence makes me uneasy. In Mumbai, Salim and I would gate-crash the weddings of the rich for free food, but we never grudged them their wealth. But seeing these rich college boys spending money like paper, I am gripped by a totally new sense of inadequacy. The contrast with my own imperfect life pinches me with the force of a physical hurt. Not surprisingly, my hunger just shrivels up and dies despite the mounds of tempting dishes lying on my table. I realize then that I have changed. And I wonder what it feels like to have no desires left becuase you have satisfied them all, smothered them with money even before they are born. Is an existence without desire very desirable? And is the poverty of desire better than rank poverty itself? I think about these questions but do not arrive at any satisfactory answers.
Then, the movie was already at the cheap theatre, so I went to see it for $1.50. This was on a Wednesday. If I’d seen it a day earlier, it would have only been 50 cents. 50 CENTS!! I really liked the movie. The sights and sounds of India were just absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, the slum scenes were also particularly effective.
One of the biggest changes from the book is that in the movie, Salim and Jamal (they changed his name) are brothers instead of just friends. I could see why that might make things easier, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about the character difference in Salim. I do think I prefer the relationship the two boys had in the book rather than the movie, but it didn’t stop my enjoyment of the film at all.
In the book, the quiz show winnings are $1 billion rupees, and in the movie, it’s only 20 million rupees. I’m not sure why they felt the need to change the prize and the title of the quiz show, but whatever. In addition, some of the quiz questions were changed to fit the plot of the movie rather than the book. I did miss the Australian chapter and the story about his lifeline call, but I do realize there was absolutely no way to fit everything into the movie. I enjoyed the movie for ‘the movie experience’ and seeing the sights and sounds of India, but I do think I preferred the plot of the book.
I finished this book two days ago, and I still don’t know how I feel about it. Loved some of it, hated some of it, and was confused by the ending (particularly the second to last chapter; did they ?). I am reading this with my Book Awards group in September, and I have many things I’d like to talk about and discuss with them first before I write any kind of formal review.
I guess I will write one later. Lay Ter. (If you’ve read this book, you know what this means!)
Caveat! I didn’t like the book much. I’m giving it a ’4′ because of the brilliant writing.
Subtitled One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, Elizabeth Gilbert’s book about “finding herself” after a divorce is, well, interesting to say the least. She is frank, candid, brutally honest, and bares all in this travel memoir. I do give her this: she is a brilliant writer and narrator (I listened to the audio CD). The problem was, though, that after finishing the book, I found I really didn’t like it much. It is an easy read/listen, with a little ‘too much information’ sometimes, if you know what I mean. I also didn’t agree with almost any of her decisions or with her conclusions about God and spirituality, though I’m sure she’s not asking me to, either! Still, I rated it a ’4′ because I want to recognize her writing talents.
She goes through a messy divorce and travels through the three “I” countries listed above. She learns Italian and eats a lot of pasta in Italy (the Eat in the title), she “finds God” in India (the Pray), and she finds love (the Love in the title) in Indonesia. She makes it all very interesting, that’s for sure. I do recommend this book because it is always fascinating to take a peak at other women’s lives and their viewpoints, and as I said, the writing is excellent. In some ways, though, books like these always reinforce my own beliefs and viewspoints as well.
Lisa – May 5, 2007
I am sad that you didn’t like this! I loved it so much. It was so easy to read and just flowed for me. I am dying to go to Italy, so that may be part of my love.
Bybee – May 30, 2007
I’m going to try this book because I really enjoyed her first one, The Last American Man.
While this book has garnered much critical acclaim, I found it very difficult to complete. It took me over two months to get through it. Once I put it down, I just wasn’t compelled to pick it up again. It sort of felt like a school assignment. Luckily, the last 1/3 of the book went by much faster than the first 2/3. Before reading, I would highly recommend doing a little research if you are ignorant (like I was) of Indian culture or history. One link that shed a little light on the subject for me was here.
There are two settings for the book–America and Kalimpong. Sai lives with her grandfather, a former judge, at the foothills of the Himalayas. She falls in love with Gyan, her tutor, who is sympathetic to the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF). The clash of ideals between the Indians who want change and those who wish to retain aspects of British colonialism is one of the two main conflicts in the novel.
The other conflict is that of the Indians who emigrate to the United States and the conditions of their lives once they live there. Biju, who is the son of the Judge’s cook, is one of the lucky few who get a visa to go to America. But once he is there, is he really better off? The novel asks the question — how much does each person care about their individual culture, nationality, and family. What does our “inheritance” mean to us?
While I appreciate these themes and do think the writing was brilliant at times, I wouldn’t recommend this book for most readers.
Carl V. – April 26, 2007
Beautiful title, beautiful cover art, but just not something that sounds appealing to me for some reason. Maybe because it looks like too much work. That doesn’t sound very literary of me, but most of the times I don’t want to have to slog through a book.Lisa – April 26, 2007I am really really struggling to finish this. I can’t make myself pick it up again. When I’m actually reading it I enjoy it, but it does not inspire me to return to it. Some recent discussion has made me curious about what happens with the Judge, but not so much as to keep reading.
I do think it’s a beautiful book, and I even like the writing.
3M – April 26, 2007
Carl–I almost always finish books I don’t like all the way to the end. I wouldn’t have finished this one, though, if it wasnn’t our April read for BookAwards.Lisa–I really struggled, too. I felt exactly the same way. I’m glad I finished it, but it took me about 2 months! The last 1/3 goes by a lot faster if you’re that far. I think it is about page 200 or so.
Framed – April 29, 2007
I have read similar comments about this book. It’s always nice to find a book I simply don’t “have to” read. There’s so many that I do.
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145:18-19, ESV)
I’d love to go to India some day. After reading this book and Beneath a Marble Sky in February, I’m ready. Does anyone want to pay for my flight? Before my trip, I’ll first review the book by Vikas Swarup, and then I’ll talk about the movie and some of the differences between the two.
Then, the movie was already at the cheap theatre, so I went to see it for $1.50. This was on a Wednesday. If I’d seen it a day earlier, it would have only been 50 cents. 50 CENTS!! I really liked the movie. The sights and sounds of India were just absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, the slum scenes were also particularly effective.
The God of Small Things
