Such a Long Journey (1991)

I just finished and plan to read another Mistry book soon. More soon. ( )

Another beautiful novel from Rohinton Mistry.

"Such a Long Journey" does not quite match the sheer scale and awesome majesty of his subsequent novel "A Fine Balance", but that is the only even vaguely negative comment that I can bring myself to offer about it.
The main protagonist is Gustad Noble, a devout Parsi living in early 1970s Bombay (long before the West had learned to call it Mumbai) with his wife Dilnavaz, his two sons Sohrab and Darius, and his nine year old daughter Roshan. Gustad work as a senior clerk in a large bank where he is respected for his piety and application. As the novel opens Gustad is delighted to learn that Sohrab has earned a place at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), and he and his wife almost literally can't stop talking about it, blissfully telling all of their friends and neighbours.

Meanwhile Gustad receives a letter from Major Bilimoria, until recently a neighbour and very close friend, who had suddenly moved away to live in Dehli. This letter asks Gustad for a favour. Gustad, initially angry that his friend could leave without a word and then, out of the blue, ask him to undertake strange errands on his behalf. After some deliberation Gustad decides to help, and complies with the Major's requests. At this point Gustad's hitherto ordered and fairly comfortable life starts to fall apart. Sohrab, grappling with customary teenage angst, becomes annoyed with all of the fuss and starts to argue, interminably, and increasingly bitterly with Gustad. This culminates with him foreswearing his place at ITT and then moving out of the family home, much to his parents' distress (though Gustad is too stubborn to admit this, even to himself).

Even more distressingly, Roshan falls prey to a mysterious illness, leading Gustad to try a variety of medical treatments while Dilnavaz resorts to more mystical remedies.

The novel is set in the early 1970s against the backdrop of Mrs Indira Gandhi's premiership as India inches towards war with Pakistan. Bombay is in a constant state of unrest, with police brutality, rampant political corruption and religious tensions evident all around. Mistry weaves a vivid tapestry, merging numerous threads to deliver a pellucid account of how all these worries combine to beset a good man, and how he battles to overcome them.

Gustad is a heroic figure - he has moments of doubt and weakness, but he remains true to his family and friends, and struggles always to do the right thing. Despite the multiplicity of plots and sub-plots, Mistry never loses track of them, and never relaxes his control. In addition to a marvellous plot peopled by colourful and extremely credible characters, Mistry gives a fascinating insight into this period of Indian history. He also sprinkles the book with scenes of complete humour that enliven, but never compromise the novel.

Read it! ( )

Great reread. I live my Indian life through these books. ( )

Rohinton Mistry’s Such a Long Journey is one of those remarkable confluences of astonishingly beautiful writing, tightly crafted plot, and fully-developed characterization. The work is neither pretentious nor formulaic. And although there is no major crisis that takes place, no earth-shattering destruction of place or person, there is a sustained tension throughout the novel that keeps you reading, that draws you into the life of the main protagonist, Gustad Noble.

The novel is set during the rule of Indira Gandhi, and is a damning indictment of both her government and American foreign policy of the time. The journey is both a physical and metaphorical one, of Gustad’s bedside visitation of a friend he thought had betrayed him, and of Gustad’s eventual realization that there are few absolutes in life beyond that of death, that for every face there are a myriad of facets.

There are several subtle but poignant metaphors woven throughout this narrative, the most memorable being the character of Tehmul, who is a physically and mentally disabled man with the character of a boy, and it is this pull of the innocent versus the carnal that mirrors much of the political and social turmoil of the novel.
Although short-listed for the 1991 Booker Prize, Such a Long Journey was pulled from the University of Mumbai’s English curriculum because of protests from the family of Hindu nationalist, Bal Thackeray – yet one more example in the world of unenlightened people nurturing fear-mongering.

I’d urge you to read Such a Long Journey. It is a story that will nestle in your psyche and remain. ( )

This is human drama of the most poignant variety. It starts as a family drama but then gradually encompasses the neighborhood and, you can say, the whole country. As a family drama, it is sure to resonate with any family in any country, one could relate to it on a very personal level. As a sociopolitical drama, it brings to harsh light the inadequacies and faults of Indian politics and society. When I was in India in 1970s (the time described in the book) I saw things from a very different perspective - politically and socially, plus I was too young to understand anything in a proper way. So this novel opened my eyes on a lot of things.

The story begins with the protagonist Gustad Noble, a Parsi (a minority in India), finding himself in such emotional turmoil that the saying "When it rains in pours" would be perfect to describe the situation. The turmoil escalates with every page and reaches a powerful denouement at the end of the book - a climax that is not just a family drama any more but something much, much larger. Rohinton Mistry is a very talented writer whose other novel, "A Fine Balance" made an great impression on me. "Such a Long Journey" may not be of the same caliber, but it's still a very worthy read. ( )