This one took me ages to finish, but the effort was, for the most part, well rewarded.
Two families, three generations, destinies interlocked for over fifty years. The characters stay with you - the fanatical Hortense, the urbane Magid, his twin, the delinquent and then fanatical Millat, the ridiculous Joyce Chalfen, her husband the impractical but brilliant biogeneticist Marcus, the mutilated and ancestor-worshipping, backward looking Samad Iqbal - and there are sections where there is a laugh on every page. The very young author has been compared to Dickens, and the comparison is a fair one, with her gift for characterisation and ear for idiosyncratic dialogue. The characters, among other things, symbolise a clash of cultures, a conflict between fundamentalism and science and ways old and new.
The climax of the novel - well, actually, the confluence of events at the end, was a bit confusing and I think I must have missed something, which is why the book doesn't get a higher score. But if you want something with unforgettable characters, and laugh out loud, omnisicient comments on every page, this one is for you.
Rating: 7 out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment