Tagore was the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was Bengali, with roots in what are now #India and #Bangladesh. Gitanjali is a collection of spiritual poems written in Bengali, and translated by the author himself into a style of English that takes some getting used to, but it is worth it.
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pick“Astha was brought up properly, as befits a woman, with large supplements of fear. One slip might find her alone, vulnerable and unprotected. The infinite ways in which she could be harmed were not specified, but Astha absorbed them through her skin, and ever after was drawn to the safe and secure.”This excellent opening paragraph just gets more excellent.Can't recommend enough.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7083955636
I‘ve really fallen behind in logging my reads - again! Enjoyed this window into a place, time, situation.. I really hope their journey to the big city worked out, but I suspect it won‘t be all fame and money. Val was so frustrating!
pickA long look at the mixture of cultural elements in lawyer‘s family in some unspecified village outside Dehli. And then a depressing parallel in Massachusetts. The 1st hundred pages are vibrant and dynamic and I truly loved reading them. The fun fades and purpose is curious. But I enjoyed the book overall.
pickWhen Bimila is encouraged by her husband Nikhil to exercise more freedom than is usual for a woman of her status in Bengal in the first decade of the 20th century, she comes under the influence of Nikhil's friend Sandip, a charismatic radical nationalist.
Although I found it a bit heavy-going at times, especially in the more rhetorical passages, I kept reading, fascinated to see how events would play out.
so-soA dark novel about two newlyweds who are spurned by the rural villagers because of the caste difference. Very disturbing as a portrayal of the caste system discrimination, narrow-mindedness & violence. The city which welcomes all is a haven by contrast. But I also found the marriage controlling (he ignores her plea to go home). The effect was a horrifying book told in a fairytale style with villains, a complicit groom & a damsel in distress.
so-soThis one is not my favorite of “Tookies short perfect novels” that I have read so far, but I do see why it‘s on the list. The end did quite literally take my breath away.
Also tagging @TheBookHippie, just in case. (edited) 2w