Mulk Raj Anand (1905–2004)

A day in the life of a single Dalit and the ways in which he secures food and tries to accommodate his mixture of yearning and resignation with those of his family and those of the castes above him.

Feels much more modern than what I expected from a 1930s book. Beautifully written. Concerned with the plight of the Dalit and their slave-like existence on the periphery of Hindu society, but does so not through melodrama or preachiness, but by presenting their lives as-is. Attitudes and show more viewpoints are contrasted, not by setting up straw characters to serve as mouthpieces for political views, but by having nuanced characters clash in nuanced ways. Life as she is lived makes an excellent case for change, better than authorial filibustering ever could. The one speech that does make it into the book is admittedly anvilicious, but even that is tempered by how its effects on the main character are different from the ones intended. Even so, the book left me wonderfully conflicted. Nicely done! show less

Munoo is a young boy who leaves his far North India hill village in the belief that life will be better somewhere else. Anywhere else. In the process of discovering the world, he goes from town to town and, eventually, to Bombay and Simla, working in inevitably menial positions everywhere. His youth (and concomitant naivete) keep prompting the reader to want to grab him and tell him “No! Don’t do it,” but that is a measure of how convincingly Anand has drawn both the characters and the show more circumstances. Munoo’s endless struggle just to survive is a heart-rending picture of life among the poorest classes in 1940s India. Anand’s depiction calls Dickens to mind in showing how the poorest live and, even more powerfully, the way they disappear, unremarked by virtually anyone. He is particularly effective at making clear the life of a day with its routine insults and humiliations, the place (and impact) of both faith and fatalism and the power of racism—not just of the English but of the caste system itself. Sadly, I cannot help but wonder how much has changed. show less

Bakha is a young Untouchable, at an age where passion and reason battle fiercely and rebellion is difficult to contain. Through the adventures of a day, we see the contrasts of his life - his social condition, his familial predicament, his precious humanity. Anand thus walks us through all the emotions from servility to righteous anger, as this young man navigates life's unfairness.
The conclusion is a hopeful one: Gandhi, who preaches unity and independence, and modernity which is knocking show more at India's door both carried by the heavy gusts of wind, lead us to believe that Bakha can have a better future... the question that remains is, will he (Bakha) have the enduring courage to see it through. show less

A decline and fall story for the eponymous character told by his personal physician who needs to cover his training expenses and likes the comforts of his court position. As the prince has no real judgement or connection to realities and is utterly emotionally absorbed by his unfaithful mistress, the clear absence of hope for him is demonstrated by clumsy, backfiring efforts to save his rule based almost entirely on utter fantasy. For the physician there may be hope, but there isn't a lot show more that he will follow his better intentions. Long, without much in the way of flow, I suspect it was (self-righteous) prurient interest, not much satisfied, that gave this what popularity it had, but it is a portrait of life in an utterly corrupt and reality deficient administration and how it exhausts any positive intention. show less