- Paperback: 768 pages
- Publisher: Sceptre (6 Mar 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340899727
- ISBN-13: 978-0340899724
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 563,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'The story is teeming with life. Saraf's incredible attention to detail brings the sights, sounds and smells of Delhi right off the page...a fascinating read'
(Lianne Kolirin, Daily Express )'Wonderful...Bleak and shocking as well as entertaining and comical, Sujit Saraf's intelligent novel is a remarkable feat.'
(Angela McGee, Sunday Express )'One of the best novels I have read this year'
(Tabish Khair, New Statesman )'Gives a more truthful picture of twenty-first-century India than anything in the earnest pages of the Wall Street Journal...a terrific read'
(Chandak Sengoopta, Independent )'Every self-interested acquaintance, every class and caste, all are pinned down and exposed by Saraf's prose. He has a gift for getting under the skin of a vast range of humanity...highly entertaining'
(Kevin Rushby, Guardian )'Teems with memorable characters and historical figures, plots and subplots...Saraf's rambunctious commentary on the nature of greed and mendacity is enthralling, but it's the lives of the ordinary people that provide the real drama'
(Eithne Farry, Daily Mail )'His cast of characters is large, various and skilfully drawn, and the chaotic life of the city is brilliantly evoked'
(Lindy Burleigh, Daily Telegraph )'the ambitious scope of his epic is remarkable' (The Observer )
Independent
'Gives a more truthful picture of twenty-first-century India than anything in the earnest pages of the Wall Street Journal...terrific'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The reviews and description make it obvious that this is a long book, however it is a relatively quick read. The pacing is uneven and some parts of the latter third do get bogged down a bit, but overall I felt that getting through it was entirely worthwhile . The author also has a penchant for long lists of things - like spices, grains, characters etc. - that gets a bit annoying, almost like he's trying too hard to prove that he knows his subject matter. A lot of that can be safely skipped in the interests of time and comprehension too - the reader's appreciation of the plot is only diminished by wading through them and most listed items are not included in the glossary anyway. There is a glossary and it is neither here nor there - its presence is probably a concession to the book's intended customer base but it is nowhere near as comprehensive as it should be.
Now that the nitpicky stuff is out of the way, the book itself is a finely detailed study in evolution. Saraf has the eye of a naturalist. In the teeming ecosystem of Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk his characters are shaped by their environment, their interactions with others around them and their place in the pecking order. Some reviewers have complained about the lack of any redeeming characteristics in the cast and the general cynicism in the book, but all of his characters are recognizable (the corrupt policeman, the local hoodlum-turned-politician, the urchin, the out-of-touch NGO rep etc.) and very much creatures of their milieu. That they may seem somehow lacking in finer attributes has more to do with what they are up against rather than any darkness in the author's soul. Saraf does a fine job of developing each character at length and deftly (in most cases) tracing their interactions and the intertwining of their lives over time.
Every so often, the great storms that shook India in the last couple of decades, like assassinations and communal riots, blow through the teacup of Chandni Chowk (some iconic events actually took place on its periphery) and stir things up. For some at the bottom of the pyramid, like the protagonist - an illiterate tea seller, they just make life more inconvenient. For others, they are opportunities to be exploited for local gain. It's a well-known plot device, this interweaving of reality and fiction, and for the most part Saraf pulls it off convincingly.
For the non-Indian, this book may well be like a Discovery Channel or David Attenborough feature: vivid, educational and yet, in some ways, confirming all their misgivings about red-in-tooth-and-claw India. For the Indian, once they get past the usual gut reaction against yet another NRI seeming to write about the worst in India, it can be an eye-opener peopled with very familiar characters. However, despite its intimidating heft and epic sweep, both sets of readers will probably find it funny, absurd in parts and generally entertaining - a great "timepass" book, as they say in India.
Now that the nitpicky stuff is out of the way, the book itself is a finely detailed study in evolution. Saraf has the eye of a naturalist. In the teeming ecosystem of Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk his characters are shaped by their environment, their interactions with others around them and their place in the pecking order. Some reviewers have complained about the lack of any redeeming characteristics in the cast and the general cynicism in the book, but all of his characters are recognizable (the corrupt policeman, the local hoodlum-turned-politician, the urchin, the out-of-touch NGO rep etc.) and very much creatures of their milieu. That they may seem somehow lacking in finer attributes has more to do with what they are up against rather than any darkness in the author's soul. Saraf does a fine job of developing each character at length and deftly (in most cases) tracing their interactions and the intertwining of their lives over time.
Every so often, the great storms that shook India in the last couple of decades, like assassinations and communal riots, blow through the teacup of Chandni Chowk (some iconic events actually took place on its periphery) and stir things up. For some at the bottom of the pyramid, like the protagonist - an illiterate tea seller, they just make life more inconvenient. For others, they are opportunities to be exploited for local gain. It's a well-known plot device, this interweaving of reality and fiction, and for the most part Saraf pulls it off convincingly.
For the non-Indian, this book may well be like a Discovery Channel or David Attenborough feature: vivid, educational and yet, in some ways, confirming all their misgivings about red-in-tooth-and-claw India. For the Indian, once they get past the usual gut reaction against yet another NRI seeming to write about the worst in India, it can be an eye-opener peopled with very familiar characters. However, despite its intimidating heft and epic sweep, both sets of readers will probably find it funny, absurd in parts and generally entertaining - a great "timepass" book, as they say in India.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If there is one book you want to read as India turns 60, read this one.
Nothing written by "Indian" authors captures the contradictions about modern India as well as this does. Toward the end, on being asked which
ministry he would be interested in, the "chaivala" looks down at his feet and says "i will take a decision that benefits the people of Chandni Chowk" (or some such thing), I burst out laughing, having heard this so many times from so many Indian politicians. This is a long novel, but make time for it and you won't regret it.
Nothing written by "Indian" authors captures the contradictions about modern India as well as this does. Toward the end, on being asked which
ministry he would be interested in, the "chaivala" looks down at his feet and says "i will take a decision that benefits the people of Chandni Chowk" (or some such thing), I burst out laughing, having heard this so many times from so many Indian politicians. This is a long novel, but make time for it and you won't regret it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A monolith of a book but so very worth the read. Though a fictional work, Saraf has produced one of the most accurate portraits of Hindu-Muslim relationships in India today. Rather strangely the text on the front flap of the book details a very small part of the story indeed. Whilst some of the book is about Gopal, our bumbling chai seller, whose meteoric political rise continues despite his best intentions he makes up no more of the book than the other characters who seem mentioned almost as an after thought on the front flap. We have the Bangladeshi street urchin, who alternates between Hindu and Muslim identities, between urinating of the statue of Ghandi and demolishing Babri Mosque. We have the prostitutes of GB road who set up their NGO, the upper class college girl with `modern' ideas and a career, the religious politicians and the king maker, Ramivalas as well as a plethora of other characters who dance across the pages, sometimes for hundreds of pages, going on their way to glory, destruction and occasionally even immolation.
The story tells of the battle for the heart of Delhi, Chandi Chowk, its moonlight market. We have both the Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists, the Conngress and thrust into the limelight we have also Gopal Pandy. We see the changes wrought from the death on Indria in 1984 to 1998, along the way we witness the reaction to the destruction of Babri Mosque and other political events. The storyline is perhaps the least important part of the book, whilst entertaining it pales in significant to the communal and religious relationships exposed, to the motives of politicians and the troubles of the man of the street we're able to glimpse. I cannot recommend this book enough.
The story tells of the battle for the heart of Delhi, Chandi Chowk, its moonlight market. We have both the Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists, the Conngress and thrust into the limelight we have also Gopal Pandy. We see the changes wrought from the death on Indria in 1984 to 1998, along the way we witness the reaction to the destruction of Babri Mosque and other political events. The storyline is perhaps the least important part of the book, whilst entertaining it pales in significant to the communal and religious relationships exposed, to the motives of politicians and the troubles of the man of the street we're able to glimpse. I cannot recommend this book enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Long winded
I bought this book on holiday in France where the selection of English books was limited. Having visited Delhi a few times, I could easily picture the scenes and the characters,... Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2009 by ambitious
A raw - a very raw - slice of Indian life
"Looks deep into the soul of modern India" says one of the blurbs on the back of the book. If so, the picture of that soul does no credit to India. Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2008 by Ralph Blumenau
Needs a longer glossary
If only the author had written the book entirely in English rather than rely on so many references in Hindi. Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2008 by Farouq Taj
Peacocks and lesser fowl
The title 'Peacock Throne' hints at cinematic royal melodrama, and what is printed on the cover of my paperback might make one expect a racy, fast-paced thriller. Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2008 by baroquemaniac
Boring
I gave it my best shot--more than 100 pages--but I tired easily of the caricatures. Frankly, I'm amazed by the excellent reviews. Read more
Published on 6 Sep 2008 by expatina
The author has talent but is not master of his craft
What interested me about this book was the `promise' that it would throw light on contemporary India and provide insights into the dispossessed who have not benefited from the... Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2008 by Parvati P.
Very enjoyable
I am an India lover and I have been reading a lot about this country in the last years: novels, essays, etc. I have also been there 3 times already. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2007 by Lori Chat
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