Book Review- The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
I had read this book a few months back, but am writing the review now!!I bought this book after Kiran Desai had won the Booker Prize, so I decided to read her latest bestselling book. The story is set in Kalimpong, and is based on the backdrop of the Gorkha Insurgency Movement, and how different people and families coped with the situation. The book has many diverse characters, and somehow I could instantly relate to all of them, bar one, the Judge. All the characters are very thoughtfully chosen, and actually represent the kind of people we have met or may meet in the future. And the author’s description is very vivid, hence the reader can instantly form a picture of the hills, and the people inhabiting them.
The story has a number of sub-plots, which can be boring and tend to digress from the main story. At a point of time, it feels that the author has tried to tackle too many issues at the same time. There’s the main issue of Gorkhas fighting for Gorkhaland, and how people from other places have come and settled at Kalimpong, but treat the natives of the place as their servants, and while they enjoy a comfortable standard of living with elitist tastes like imported liquor and books, the natives live in poverty and detest the people who have come to settle at Kalimpong. In between we get to see the past of the Judge, and the reasons for his eccentric ways, and I found this part of the book to be the most boring, and frankly disgusting. The relationship between the Judge and his wife has been shown in too much detail, and in these parts I found the writing of the author to be rather crude, something one doesn’t always expect from a female author. I had to skip and read some of these pages. Then there’s the sub-plot of the Judge’s servant’s son-Biju, who is an illegal immigrant to the United States, and how he leads a very inhuman and deplorable existence, yet sends letters saying he is having a good time and moving up in life. The sub-plot is a very relevant issue these days, but could have been omitted. The most interesting and poignant part of the story is the relationship between Sai and her tutor who comes to her home to teach her, Gyan. He is a Gorkha native, and is in love with Sai. He is constant conflict with himself, whether he should join his Gorkha friends in the Liberation Movement, or stay safe with Sai. This part brings out the best in the author, and she handles the emotions of the both of them with aplomb, and the reader can actually visualize the way their relationship unfolds.
The best part about the book is that the characters are all very real, and not like plastic actors in some novels whom one finds it difficult to relate to. The author describes the natural surroundings beautifully, and the picture of the hills is still fresh in my mind. And the relationships between the characters are very well thought of.
On the flipside, the subplots can get boring and disturbing. And the book is great in the initial and middle phases, but the ending is very vague. Some readers may like that style, but I don’t. And the language is a turn-off in certain situations.
At the end of it, its an enjoyable read. Definitely worth buying.
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This entry was posted on August 26, 2007 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: Book Review, Booker Award, Indian Authors, Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai, Modern Fiction
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August 27, 2007 at 3:43 pm
The most striking feature of d book is d name itself..”The inheritance of loss”…paradox to the extent of a paradox, yet it haz so mch reality in it.The review is brutally honest and well written highlighting d main features.Would like to read d description of nature…seems it can b better dan d real thng itself:).It seems dat arnav haz particularly enjoyed d subplots,actually it happens wid al of us bt den its d mark of every great writer dat dey emphasize too much on it….really dont knw wat type of science goes into dat.Anywz arnav dis review actually goes to say dat ur vry well placed to hav anoder career option..just dat u need to b a little more diplomatic!
August 30, 2007 at 9:52 am
I’d got an oral book review from you long back..nicer to see it on your blog.
Well written, with a balanced approach.
Rest I can comment only after reading the book myself.
July 22, 2009 at 8:34 pm
the name of the book, the charecters, the vocabulary and the author kiran desai herself is a marvel.
it all fasinates the small hearts of the reader of the readers greatly