A Sin of Color

"At least it is a sin of colour, she says, at least it is a sin of colour, a sin of proper beauty and not some mean thing."

A Sin of Colour by Sunetra Gupta was a 2000 Orange Prize Longlist and is a beautiful, captivating story that follows the lives and thoughts of three generations of the Roy family and their relationship with the British colonial house in Calcutta called Mandalay. Mandalay passes to the hands of the Roy family when the Partition of Bengal occurs and the wealthy Roy family, built from Burmese teak interests, settles in Calcutta.

This story, while focused on second son Debendranath Roy and his mysterious disappearance one day when he takes a punt out on the Cherwell in Oxford, England and the punt returns without him, show more really goes beyond that. It is a multi-faceted story, similar to a fine cut precious gemstone, one that radiates warmth and brilliance with each new facet cut. Each chapter in the story is named after a colour. The narrative flows from voice to voice and it is with time, and patience, that the full story emerges.

If I have to describe this story in only one word, I would describe it as 'beautiful'. Everything about the story - its languid yet sublime flow, its mesmorizing prose, its eloquent descriptions - all carried me into the lives of the characters and to a place and time that really was, for me, timeless. It is not just a story about Debendranath's disappearance and the mystery surrounding that disappearance. It is a story about three generations of love, including misplaced, misguided and unrequited love. It is also a story about friendships, wavering family fortunes and the great cultural divide when a foreigner enters the family through marriage. I found myself slowing down as I got closer and closer to the end, because this is a story I didn't want to see end. The ending was stunningly beautiful and I am going to sit back and savor this experience before I dive into my next book.

The brief quote on the cover of my copy states 'A young, true heir to Virignia Woolf." I have only read one book so far by Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, so while I cannot comment on this in comparison to Woolf's works overall, I can say that I did see some similarities in the writing style and story telling in line with my reading experience of Mrs. Dalloway. Both books are gems in my eyes. show less

This was a 4 or 5 star book until the last three pages. I really, really want to talk to someone else who's read it. I'm not sure if I've missed something, the very end is that annoying, or if I'm just a philistine who can't appreciate the majesty of it.