About this title: In Forster's beautifully written novel about British India at the turn of the century, a simple misunderstanding erupts into hostility. The plot centers on Aziz, a young doctor who is initially tolerant of the British presence in India. However, when he takes a group of Americans to the Caves of Marabar and an American woman accuses him of raping her, his attitude changes. Imprisoned and then released when the woman recants, Aziz becomes thoroughly disillusioned and a proponent of a Hindi-Muslim alliance against the British.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Ex-Library Usual library markings. Marr on back cover from sticker removal. Light wear for x lib. Text clean and unmarked. read more
Description: Fair. B000BK5YFA Binding square and tight, with spine creasing. Front hinge crease. Significant staining on back cover and bottom corner page block, fairly minor staining on front cover. Pages clean and unmarked except for minor smudge on bottom of first 6 pages. Small tears at bottom back and front top spine edges. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & World, New York
Date Published: 1952
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Highlighting/underlining. Signed by previous owner. 322 p. : 20 cm. Harcourt Brace modern classic.. "HBMC" read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Reader's Digest Association
ISBN-13:9780895773340ISBN:0895773341
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
I remember seeing the film adaptation as a child at Christmas and it really challenging my existing template for India garnered from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"... weren't the brown people supposed to be the bad ones? Back then, I found the climatic court scenes indescribably exciting - not just for the way they portrayed the clash of cultures, but also how they showed the triumph of the justice system.
Settling down to the printed word this week, I charged through the first couple of hundred pages. Forster is an easier read than many of his contemporaries - it's all played with a pretty straight bat for a novel published around the same time as Ulysses and Mrs Dalloway. Forster is a dab hand at inhabiting the consciousness of different characters, whether Indian or British, while seamlessly moving the narrative along. I didn't find the portrayal of Aziz patronising - in fact, I found the combination of resentment and needy ingratiation just about right for how I tend to act around people with power over me!
After the mysterious incident at the caves, I found the denouement satisfying if a touch underwhelming. I felt that more could have been made of the court scenes - perhaps Harper Lee felt the same way before she penned the wildly successful Mockingbird along these lines. Even so, a worthwhile read with many memorable moments and some wonderful period colour too. Recommended."
"It's beautiful and strange, and I guess it may be one of the greatest books I've ever read. It actually manages to capture that impossible feeling of trying to communicate with foreigners in a foreign land, and to show the dangers and the misunderstandings that inevitably accompany such a gulf of human experience. I can't remember another book that manages to make another country seem so impossibly different and at the same time so plausible and real. It's even more impressive because Forster also manages to take the typical Indian spiritual journey narrative and turn it into something more concrete. He focuses on the everyday problems, the social slights and the picayune annoyances, yet he manages to draw out of them a real spiritual meaning and even glory.
I might hold back a little enthusiasm because many of the characters can be pretty sharply and roughly drawn, but a few others (surprisingly, mainly Indians such as Aziz) are some of the best I've read. Like any older British writer the book can be plodding too, often going chapters without any real action or movement, but the language makes up for it. I would especially recommend it to anyone traveling. It's worthwhile anywhere and anytime."
"A classic story about learning to understand our fellow man and the social barriers that obstruct that understanding. Almost a century after "A Passage to India" was published, the book remains as timely as ever. Our country is currently at war and while it has been described as a War on Terror, it is more correctly characterized as a War of Ideas. Today there is a fundamental lack of appreciation for how the other half lives. This book addresses a similar conflict - illustrating how even open-minded people are prone to bias and how national identity informs thinking.
More than anything, though, it's just a good story with well-written characters and a vivid backdrop. Thanks for the rec, Kjersti!"
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
