Book Review- Mrs. Dalloway

Title               Mrs. Dalloway

Author          Virginia Woolf

Pages             208

ISBN              978-81-7599-421-8

MRP              Rs 150

Publisher    F!ngerprint!  Classics

Rating          2/5 Stars

So finally, I am done reading ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ (1925) by this overhyped, Indo-phobic, semicolon fanatic goddess of incoherent writing known as Virginia Woolf.

This is a circadian novel thus traces the lives of all characters over a single day. Set in early 1900s, this 200 page convoluted work revolves around a 52 years old high-society English woman named Clarissa Dalloway, the wife of a politician in England. As she is constantly disappointed by her reclusive teenage daughter Elizabeth and her ever busy husband Richard, she busies herself in preparing for a party at her house because she has nothing better to do, even though out of some illness, she has turned weak and pale.

That morning, she goes to the market to ‘buy the flowers herself’ for her party in the evening and philosophizes pointlessly on everything around. This novel also describes the insane adulation masses had for the Royal family; everybody in the market goes nuts when a royal car stops for a second before passing by. Another character, a clinically depressed solider, Septimus Warren Smith, is busy conversing with the dead and imagining weird things while strolling in a park with his distressed Italian hat-maker wife. Yet another major character, Peter Walsh, Clarissa’s old lover is back, after serving five years in India’s ‘heat and dust’, to the life civilization and society of London and every woman, ‘even in rags’, seems pretty to him. Woolf’s writing degrades India and its people to dirt and many times, the book put me off. Walsh is staying at a hotel and broods constantly. He goes to meet Clarissa and she invites him to her party which he attends as he could not stop himself from loving her passionately.

Some major themes emerge-

1.  English Culture- The frivolity, snobbery and idiosyncrasies as well as the typical English shrewdness of characters comes to surface very clearly. Clarissa herself is shown as a very worldly, class-conscious and cold.

2.  Clinical Depression- It is one major theme that takes up much space. Described through Smith, Woolf throws much light upon the malfunctioning of a depressed mind. She herself suffered from it and had committed suicide just as Smith in this novel.

3.  Same-Sex Love- The very undertone of Clarrisa’s undying love for Sally, a wild and carefree friend of hers suggests the same.

4.  One-sided Love- This theme is described through Peter Walsh who is helplessly in love with Clarissa and remains unmarried and bitter when she rejects him for a far more successful Richard Dalloway.

5.  Hatred for India- India is described as a grimy land of uncouth barbarians after which London seems like heaven. The author also expresses sympathy for those who served in India while she exalts her country England as the epitome of civilization. By the way, Woolf was sexually abused for a long time by a ‘civilized’ English gentleman named George Duckworth who was her first cousin. Her fatal depression was a direct result of that exploitation. England is the harbinger of apartheid and this work shows many incidences betraying this outlook.

6.  Class Clash- Firstly, Clarissa is perceived as a spoilt, dumb, and wretched woman by her daughter’s underprivileged but erudite History teacher, Miss Kilman. On the other hand, Clarissa detests Miss Kilman for being independent, ugly, poor and single. Secondly, this occurs when Elizabeth feels ashamed of riding an omnibus in market. And lastly, Clarissa maltreats her ‘very poor’ cousin, Ellie Henderson and is shown to be ‘really very hard on her’.

The story describes the lives of people across all classes and sections of post World War- I England, especially focusing on war’s psychological effects. However, the writing is very knotty with truckloads of commas and semicolons, page long sentences, prolonged descriptions of minor characters, never ending musings and pointless philosophies. The outcome is a jumbled maze that annoys for most part. Some parts are good though.

The story ends with an unhappy, lonely and ill Mrs. Dalloway, despite being married and wealthy, drifting towards Peter Walsh, who despite being single and independent, is feeling sad and empty too, just like her.

PS- No more Virginia Woolf for me!

Book Review- Crime and Punishment

Title               Crime and Punishment

Author           Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Translator     Constance Garnett

Pages              584

ISBN              978-93-8653-805-5

MRP              Rs 250

Publisher       F!ngerprint!  Classics

Rating            4/5 Stars

Exactly a month back when I started reading this intense psychological thriller by the famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) little did I know that this work will recast my notions about crime as well as punishment. As the name suggests, the novel revolves around the very concept of crime and the consequent punishment imparted for it. Without superfluous tracks in typical Dostoyevskian style, it questions a very basic thing- if one kills an epitome of the evil, a vile vermin to save hundreds of innocents, how can it be called a crime and who can decide the befitting punishment for the same?

The protagonist Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov is a tall and handsome 23 year old former university student who lives in a suffocating cupboard-like rented room in St. Petersberg, Russia. He publishes an article describing his theory on crime along with a hypothesis relating crime and a high fever. Months later, he shockingly finds himself compelled to brutally murder an old pawnbroker who he considers to be a den of iniquity and a venomous insect. Despite poverty, fever and dilemmas, he comes out unscathed and manages to duck everyone. From police to his intellectual best friend, Razhumihin and from his shrewd landlady to his over-analytical doctor, everyone believes him to be innocent. However, it is his own conscience that he relentlessly grapples with. One day at a cheap tavern, his path entwines with that of a bankrupt alcoholic clerk Marmeladov and later with his dignified but consumptive second wife Katrina Ivanovna (she has three children from a previous defunct marriage) and his religious and timid twenty year old daughter Sonia from his late first wife. When Sonia destroys herself in providing for her starving step-siblings, he bows at her feet, much to the shock of everyone.

The novel also has other important characters like Svidrigailov, a 50 year old pedophile all set to marry a 15 year old, Luzhin, a devious narcissist and Dounia, the erudite and charming older sister of the protagonist, fighting her own demons. Raskiolnikov, till the end stays clear and unsuspected yet it is his inner voice that constantly bothers him and he ends up taking odd decisions in order to run away from his own crumbling self. His way of perceiving things is complex yet he manages to convince the reader into agreeing with him. Twists and turns keep the reader on the edge and the ending gives a nice closure to this powerful work. This novel also throws much light on the then Russian society and culture.

Not just another run-of-the-mill fiction, ‘Crime and Punishment’ requires contemplation on the reader’s part. It takes one inside the frenzied but brilliant mind of Raskolnikov and argues upon the fundamentals such as of crime, what defines it, who can be called a criminal, what the meaning of punishment is, who actually deserves how much of it in any society, in an era and who deserves to rule the masses. This book breaks old moulds of notions and makes one reflect, that too profoundly. It undoubtedly is a timeless classic.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

PS-

*I found this translation to be a bit confusing and messed up at many places hence it is better to get another one from the many available ones.

*The scene of Katrina Ivanovna’s depressing death later in the story, literally shook me up and made me cry.

Book Review- The Little Monk and Other Stories

Title:          The Little Monk and Other Stories

Author:      Gaurahari Das

Publisher:  Rupa & Co.

ISBN:        978-81-291-1699-4

MRP:         Rs 95/-

Reading this book was akin to a pleasant journey to Odisha and a very fulfilling experience in exploring the state’s culture and traditions. The stories throw a lot of light on the life and customs of the state, the rural one in particular. Gaurahari Das is a well known name in Oriya literature. This prolific writer and a recipient of ‘Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award’, has till date authored over 40 titles!

Coming to this book, it is an anthology of 14 stories that were originally written in author’s mother tongue and have been translated beautifully in English. The translation is simple and easy on mind and is free of clichés, grammatical mistakes and irritatingly long sentences. Characters are portrayed well and one can relate to them effortlessly.

Five stories revolve around the elderly and their feelings. The title story, ‘The Little Monk’ is a heart touching account of a child forced to become a monk, his miserable conditions and sordid feelings towards the suffocating sanctuary. ‘Father’, which describes the mixed feelings of an educated but jobless man praying for the early death of his father, shows the deplorable effects of unemployment and poverty. ‘Settling Scores’ is yet another sixer from the author! A high rank government official is given a befitting reply by his ex girlfriend and is shown his real place. While ‘The Glass Puppet’ can literally move one to tears, ‘The illusive Tree’ is easy and comic. Apart from being powerful in concept and narrative, stories like ‘Ahalya’s Wedding’ and Urmila’ reveal a lot and can swirl your emotions.

To state that I loved every bit of this title would not be an exaggeration! 

Book Review - Neither Night Nor Day

Title:          Neither Night Nor Day

Edited By:  Rakhshanda Jalil

Publisher:   Harper Collins India

ISBN:        978-81-7223-691-5

MRP:         Rs 250/-

‘Unputdownable’, ‘awesome’ and ‘shaking’, these are some of the adjectives I would use to describe my latest read, ‘Neither Night Nor Day’. It is an anthology of 13 short stories by women writers from Pakistan. However, the collection is edited by our very own Rakhshanda Jalil, the Media and Cultural Coordinator of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

These short stories basically deal with the lives of women in Pakistan. This book had been short listed for 'The Commonwealth Writers Prize 2008'. Pakistan’s image for most of us is that of a society very conservative and stifling, suffocating for women in general, but this work dispels that impression. Women now have opportunities to write and to express opinions on a much wider and larger platform .

The first story ‘Plans in Pink’ was not so interesting, but was a good read anyway.

The second, story, ‘The Tongue’ is set in a fictional land where everyone is mute for their tongues are cut as per the orders of the ruler but who fails to sever the will of the people.

The third one ‘She Who Went Looking For Butterflies’ is set within a time frame of a few hours when a lady waits for her execution. Somber and well written, it will definitely touch you somewhere.

The next story, ‘Leaves’ talks about the reunion of childhood buddies in their old age, and is a nice read.

Then comes the story from which the title of the book is taken, ‘Neither Night Nor Day’. This is my favorite as well. Amazingly written, this tells the story of a Paki immigrant in London and her deep set feelings of insecurity and identity crisis. This is a must read.

'The Breast’ talks about the brutality towards women in a Pakistani village. This story will definitely make you feel blessed and you will never curse your family or society again!

The next story is actually an excerpt form a novel by Sorayya Khan. The story ‘Five Queen’s Street’ is set in the time of partition. It is about the abduction of a Hindu woman by Muslim men, witnessed by a Muslim girl and her dilemma and outrage towards her own community.

The next in line is ‘A Brief Acquaintance’, I found personally boring and confusing. It is about Ron, a soldier from USA who dies near Waziristan.

Then comes another favorite of mine, ‘The Job Application’. This story describes the situation we all frequently deal with. It tells the story of a widow who applies for a job vacancy and the great pains she takes to make it up to interview, only to find that the job was not to be given to her, and shows in fine details the how a single unprofessional move by a company creates mess and flutter in her life and upsets her daily routine. You will love this too!

The ghost story, ‘The Sandstone Past’ is the next. This talks about a ghost in the elevator and a girls’ night out party. Basically, the story seeks to describe the cordial Hindu-Muslim relations in old Karachi.

The next story about honor killing can move many readers. In ‘The Wedding of Sundari’, a Sindhi teenage bride gets killed on the very day of her marriage for a very trivial issue, or rather non-issue. This is also one of my favorites.

In ‘The Goonga’, a disabled father dies craving for his son who is too embarrassed to accept him in public. This story literally made me cry and most of the readers will feel the same way.

The story ‘The Heathen Air’ is also immensely readable. This story is about the English ways of a rich lawyer and his wife’s silent suffering when he goes too far in his angreziat!

There is a solid reason behind using the first adjective to describe this book; I finished it within two days of purchase!

PS: I found it much better than the recently published book ‘Urban Shots’ which is also a collection of short stories.