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Loading... The romantics : a novel (original 2000; edition 2000)by Pankaj MishraThis one was a bit tedious to be honest. Samar, a young Indian man falls in with a bunch of foreigners in Banares who are exploring the esoteric orient. They do most of the talking while he reflects on their relationships and then he gets involved in one himself. Banares, Hinduism’s most holy city, is a typical place for Westerners to run away to in search of themselves, so it’s not without irony that Samar ends up running away from Banares and his own issues. I found it all a bit unreal and very self-absorbed. I came away with little idea of what Mishra is trying to convey unless it’s that we can all get hung up on things in life. Not something that we really need reminding of too strongly. There are no real conclusions or resolution. Everyone just kind of ambles on in an ethereal and ephemeral way… bit like India really. And, just like my two long stints in India, it all got a bit much in the end and I was happy to move on to something else. - Really remarkable in its confidence and maturity; there are cracks in narrative and literary capacity, but maybe not more than a regular author - Read as PM's biography, given what I know about his history from other books - All the seeds of discontents/enchantments are there, that come up later - I usually get tired of the 'samaa bandhna' in fiction, but PM's descriptions are apt and concise, and often, beautiful - opposite of Rushdie, I could compare PM to Rohinton Mistry The "romantics" referenced in this novel's title are the expatriate Europeans living in Benares, India, but also the young Indian men who have fallen in with this group. Our narrator, Samar, is a Brahman (thanks to Google, I learned that this term refers to a member of the highest Hindu caste, that of the priesthood) student who has moved to the holy city of Benares to study for the Civil Service Exam. He spends his days reading nineteenth century European novels in the library (such as [b:The World as Will and Idea: Abridged in 1 Vol|537365|The World as Will and Idea Abridged in 1 Vol|Arthur Schopenhauer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388203951s/537365.jpg|41113740], [b:The Torrents of Spring, First Love, and Mumu|5254229|The Torrents of Spring, First Love, and Mumu|Ivan Turgenev|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328303410s/5254229.jpg|1298622], and [b:Sentimental Education|2183|Sentimental Education|Gustave Flaubert|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327788473s/2183.jpg|314156]). Before reading this book, I had only a vague understanding of the caste system in India and the lingering effects of colonialism, and I was moved by Samar's fascination with these books and how he and his friend Rajesh were able to identify so deeply with Flaubert. Every young Indian wants to pass the Civil Service Exam and gain a coveted government job, but the pool of hopeful applicants is far larger than the job market. Many students languish for years, studying for and fruitlessly taking the exam, before giving up, dejected, and moving on. In this post-colonial setting, members of Samar's caste have no outlet other than the Civil Service Exam and a government job. Samar's father is a member of an older generation whose way of life is a thing of the distant past. There is a disconnect between the Brahman's traditional societal role and what is left in this new India. Samar, through his British neighbor, Miss West, meets a group of young European expatriates. The two members of this group he is most taken with are Miss West herself and her French friend Catherine. I kept getting these two women confused; their personalities are largely interchangeable. Regardless, they have a profound effect on Samar. Their "freedom," their aimlessness, their "romance" is alien to him. In one memorable scene, Catherine asks Samar if he had ever been in love before. He did not know how to answer her; in Samar's mind, marriage came first and love came afterwards; love before or without marriage was pointless. The plot of this book is not action driven. Mishra is writing about caste and class in post-colonial India. I was deeply moved by this novel although it took me a while to get into the book. This is a gentle look at a young Indian mans coming of age as he drifts through his education in Varanasi, meeting English and French people living in India for their own reasons, and Indian people from different backgrounds to his own. The narrator has very little agency for most of the novel, he learns from books and is a friend and observer of other people, while being quite naive himself. There's not much in the way of dramatic plot but it's a lovely read describing his personal growth as his life unfolds. Here is a summary of what the book is about. Perfect for fans of Lauren Myracle and Rainbow Rowell, The Romantics will charm readers of all ages. Gael Brennan is about to have his heart broken when his first big relationship crumbles on the heels of his parents' painful separation. Love intervenes with the intention of setting things right- but she doesn't anticipate the intrusion of her dreaded nemesis: the Rebound. Love's plans for Gael are sidetracked by Cara, Gael's hot- sauce- wielding " dream girl." The more Love meddles, the further Gael drifts from the one girl who can help him mend his heart. Soon Love starts breaking all her own rules- and in order to set Gael's fate back on course, she has to make some tough decisions about what it means to truly care. I found this book very interesting because it is not narrated by a person. The story is told by a feeling. Yes you heard me right the story is told by Love. I absolutely loved this book. I felt a little silly because I never knew what Rom- Com stood for until this book. Do you guy's know what it means? I will tell you Rom- Com is short for Romantic Comedy. I would recommend this book. You guy's will fall in love with it. Looking forward to reading more books by this author. Happy Reading Everyone! This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I won this audio on LibraryThing and thank you! Gael is at a crossroads in his senior year in high school. Confronted with family, girlfriend, friend problems "Love" (the narrator) decides to intervene. This was read by Amanda Leigh Cobb, who did a very good job with all the voices and it was a pleasure to listen to her. This optimistic story will appeal to 8th grade and up. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. The Romantics by Leah Konen is a very cute depiction of teenage romance. The story is narrated by Love who is trying to make sure the main character, Gael Brennan, finds the right girl to love. Gael is reeling from his parent's divorce and his own recent breakup with a girlfriend when he sets his sights on Cara, his dream girl. Love knows better however and spends the bulk of the book steering him towards the girl who's been there all along. While there are no surprises in this book it's still a fun, easy romance that ends happily and definitely made me smile. I listened to this book on audio and I thought the narration was well done and didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the book. All in all this is a solid YA romance. I received an audio copy of the this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review through the Early Reviewers program. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. A cute novel of modern day romance told in the voice of cupid-like "Love." The chapters and tracks on the CD are short and move the book along quickly. The idea of love being handled from an outside source or a possible angelic being is the premise of this story. I became invested in the characters about half way through and especially enjoyed the peak on the last disk. My biggest hesitation and why I gave this book 3.5 stars instead of 4 comes from the overuse of the word vehemently. I wish the language used was a bit more rich and varied. As an adult I can appreciate the adorableness of "The Romantics", but I would say teenagers and college students would be the best audience. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Gael Brennan is a true romantic. Love, herself, has her hands full with this one. The in-love senior just had the second worst day of his life: The one-month long relationship with girlfriend Anaka ended. What’s the first worst day of his life? The day his parents told him and his little sister they were separating just a few months earlier. With all that has happened, this romantic’s heart is severely shaken, leaving him vulnerable to The Rebound. The Rebound is interfering with Love’s work to connect Gael to the girl he’s supposed to be with. Will Love prevail?This is interesting because I have to review both the book’s content and the audiobook quality/suitableness to be converted into an audiobook. Let’s do it! Okay, so first what I liked and what worked about the book: I like this genre Rom-Com, a label I am familiar with in movies but never thought to of in books. I love Rom-Com movies and this book is just as I could imagine on a big screen. I also like that I knew Love was the narrator. Knowing that gave the narrator personality and motive, which drives the story along. She even addresses the reader/listener to say she messed up. I also like how when an important new label comes up – Romantic, Dreamer, Loyalist, etc. – Love tells us the definition. I have to pick up a hard copy of the book to be sure but I bet these moments of clarification are little footnotes on the bottom of the page which could throw off the flow of reading. But these little interruptions work in the audiobook. The characters and their personalities are very interesting. It has the tropes of a Rom-Com and they play out nicely in the novel. I also like how all the couples in the story don’t get the happily ever after. Despite Love as the narrator, the book could have made love look so awesome and infallible, but I’m glad it didn’t. Love is flawed even in this story. Not letting all the love stories and couples come out on top made it more realistic. The audio quality, of course, is great and the seven-disk set (7.5 hours of recording) didn’t seem too long for a book. For the things that didn’t work: I could not stand Gael and Mason’s voice. They sounded more like a freshman in high school rather than seniors. I give that a negative for the audiobook. Obviously, I wouldn’t have had that distraction with the book. As for the story, I didn’t like how much cursing was a part of the dialogue. This criticism surprised me because I don’t usually care about stuff like that but the kids in the story are the ones doing all of the cursings. It gets grating and overdone after a little while. Another thing I didn’t like about Gael, the main character, is that he is having a harder time with his parents’ separation than his much younger sister. Eventually, his attitude about it becomes annoying beyond the idea that this is his character. I honestly didn’t listen for two days because I couldn’t deal with his attitude about the separation. This was only made worse by his voice. Goodness! I didn’t like his voice. But to end this review on a good note, I did like this book/audiobook. I found myself looking at the track number when I was on disk seven, worried the two main characters wouldn’t get together before the disk ended. It was just a nice sweet and yet panicky anticipation of the end. And it ended just as Rom Coms do: PDA with no summation what happens next; very fairy tale in nature. I love it. I recommend this book. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I received The Romantics in CD format from LibraryThing as an early reviewer (thank you, LT!). It was a pleasant read, though quite predictable. I'm well beyond the target audience (in fact, even my children are older than Gael); but, I enjoy reading different genres. I don't have any strong feelings about Love as the narrator. My favorite character was Gael's little sister, Piper. The ending was cute. Worth the read, if you're looking for some light YA. This book is really cute, and I did enjoy it. However, I found it to be one of the most predictable books I had ever read. I knew exactly what was going to happen, and everything I predicted happened in the exact way I thought it would! So I must say that was quite disappointing :( and I also thought Love would play a bigger part of this book then they actually did, which was also disappointing. Nonetheless, the characters were quite cute, and the story was very lighthearted and amusing. It's a cute book, but not one that stands out as being that amazing all in all. I don't regret reading it, I just wish it had been a bit more unpredictable. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Told by an omniscient narrator, Love, this book shares the story of Gael as he navigates through the ups and downs of romantic and family life. Our story begins with Gael proclaiming his love for Annika, who responds a few days later by kissing Gael's best friend Mason - more than just a kiss, they're in a relationship. Gael is heartbroken by their betrayal, but also by his parents' divorce, which appears to have been caused by his father cheating on his mother. Much to Love's dismay, Gael rebounds with Cara, who puts their relationship on hold because she promised herself she'd spend some time not dating after her last breakup - seems Cara is a Serial Monogamist, and is trying to break out of the mold of always needing a boyfriend. Then there's Sammy, Gael's sister's French tutor and babysitter. Gael keeps thinking about her, talking with her, hanging out with her - could there be more there than just friendship? Love certainly hopes so.This romantic comedy was cute, but not really a standout. The narrator did a nice job but didn't have much differentiation between character voices. It was a bit slow paced - I found myself getting distracted at times while listening to it. I'd recommend this to fans of Stephanie Perkins or Meg Cabot. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. After his parents got divorced, he though he'd found love again. That is, until his girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend, Now Gael Brennan is starting to give up on love. Love, the all-seeing narrator, decides to try everything she can to inspire Gael to not give up on it. When her arch-nemesis Rebound happens, however, Love tries everything to push Gael in another direction, toward a girl he's known for year, but didn't know he liked. Can Love prevail? Is Rebound really just that, a rebound?Narrator, Amanda Leigh Cobb is a unique, memorable narrator that easily draws readers into Gael's world. She does a great job of bringing the characters to life with her distinct voices. She easily transitions between the different point of view without missing a beat. Her snarkiness adds a lot of character to the novel and really personalizes Love. The plot is well written, engaging, and does a great job of painting a unique position of love. Fans of romance with supernatural elements will enjoy listening to this book. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I have received The Romantics by Leah Konen from Librarything.com early review for a honest review. I received The Romantic in audiobook form. I really love this book!!!! I found it to be funny and enjoyable. I love the characters. I found it cool that love was the one telling the story. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. This was a cute, sweet Romantic Comedy come to life. This book had the unique aspect of being told by the perspective of "Love". Love is not perfect, but she does try hard! The story was, of course, predictable as all Rom-Coms are, but it was a fun journey with the main character Gael and his missteps in love on the way to finding who he was truly meant to be with. One of the secondary characters, Piper, Gael's little sister stole my heart and was a favorite of mine from the beginning. I enjoyed listening to this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves a light hearted story. Perfect for February and Valentine's month! Thank you to LibraryThing and Recorded Books for an early Audio copy of this book to listen to and review. In a world filled with cookie cutter creative works sometimes innovation doesn’t make it to the forefront. So imagine my delighted surprise at encountering The Romantics by Leah Konen, which identifies itself as: “a rom-com about love, told by Love.” Yes, “Love,” which I’ve mentally just categorized as a smart-ass cupid narrates this story of a senior high school boy, Gael, as he wanders through the pitfalls of love as a “romantic.” “Love” takes us for a trip, sometimes through time so that we can see why things are the way they are, and sometimes just down the street. The narration is quirky, funny, and insightful. read more: https://saschadarlington.me/2016/10/11/review-of-the-romantics/ I was quite pleasantly surprised by this: most of the unknown (to me) books I've read from the 1001 Books... book have been a bit tough going. I was beginning to think the editors and I were never going to have anything in common! This was very well written, and it was fascinating seeing the white spiritual tourist in India from an indian point of view. I don't think we came across as particularly nice people. At the very least, quite insular and non-understanding of different societies/cultures, while believing ourselves to be "in touch". I found the way Miss West & Catherine used our narrator as just a blank canvas to project their own thoughts/desires onto quite interesting. Although I felt sorry for our narrator! (And did we get his name before page 210? Or did I just forget he was called Samar?) Interesting as well the way we hardly ever got any dialogue from him: he was a blank canvas to us as well sometimes! Maybe that's why I forgot his name... Loved the descriptions of the Himalayas. I've never been to India, but if I ever do make it, I want to go there. Or star in a Bollywood movie, I'm not terribly fussy. I must go and find copies of Hesse's Siddartha and Flaubert's A Sentimental Education now. And they're both 1001 Books too! ;) This is a book about a young Indian, Samar, who moves to Benares after a life spent in small towns. Quite naive and inexperienced, in Benares he meets people - Indian and Western - whose backgrounds and experiences are alien to him. He is drifting through life, with no clear drive or direction, often dislocated from his surroundings - and his encounters with these new people exacerbate these tendencies in him. The book touches on several themes. One is about detachment - from life, emotions, friends, family - and its opposite, human connections (and love). Do human connections just lock us into a world of illusion, which we are unable to give up? or is detachment simply a sterile refusal to engage with the world and with other people? Another is about choice. Samar is astounded by the way that the Europeans and Americans talk about their lives - the choices that they feel open to them - choosing to live in another country, choosing to convert to another religion, choosing what their life will be to fit their self-image. Ultimately the book concludes that the Westerners are privileged, more than anything else, because they have these choices - and their impact on the people they meet in India is compounded by their inability to understand that other people don't have these choices. Another, minor, theme is about misunderstandings, particularly between cultures: the tendency to exoticise other cultures, and the way it feels to be the subject of this, is brilliantly highlighted in a conversation between an American and a European, where the American enthuses about the lack of inhibitions in European fiction and films - and the Frenchwoman responds rather tetchily that she's missing the point. At the same time, Mishra suggests that human nature is not all that different - comparing the lives of young men moving to the big city of Benares to the characters in Flaubert's Sentimental Education - "the small, unnoticed tragedies of thwarted hopes and ideals". (I appreciated the way that the foreigners were portrayed. The book highlights the ironies of their life in India, but does so - unusually for the subject - without any sneering. The contradictions are inherent in their situation rather than arising from any lack of good will on their part.) There were a lot of things I really liked about this book. Firstly, the descriptions of India are simple, but very evocative - whether Mishra is talking about the cities, the countryside or the mountains. Try this description of a rickshaw ride in the rain: "The rain flowed down the windscreen, which the driver kept wiping with a rag that lay on the dashboard. Gleamingly vivid for one moment, the streets dissolved into smudgy fluorescent colours the next. Passing scooters and autorickshaws kept spraying thick jets of muddy water from the waterlogged road into the back seat". The descriptions, and Samar's drifting, introspective nature, make this a book that you need to read slowly and savour. I did have one problem with it, though, which is that there were a lot of incidents which seemed as if they ought to be significant, and yet I couldn't figure out what that significance was. Take the title, for example - which of the characters are the romantics? Still, I would certainly like to read the book again, and maybe next time I will have more answers. The Romantics by Pankaj Mishra, is story about desire of first intimate but short-lived affair and narration of East meeting West & temptations which comes with that encounter of cultures more @ http://toogood2read.blogspot.com/2007/08/romantics-by-pankaj-mishra.html |
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