All day, the colors had been those of dusk, mist moving like
a water creature across the great flanks of mountains possessed of ocean
shadows and depths. Briefly, visible above the vapor, Kanchenjunga was a far
peak whittled out of ice, gathering the last of the light, a plume of snow
blown high by the storms at its summit.
The book, The inheritance of Loss, starts with these lines.
The beauty of the description had me hooked immediately. I knew this story was
not going to be a light one, but rather an educational journey where the writer
throws across complex ideas and thoughts that is bound to provoke the reader’s
mind. I was not disappointed.
Taken from Wikipedia-
The major theme
running throughout is one closely related to colonialism
and the effects of post-colonialism: the loss of identity and the way
it travels through generations as a sense of loss. Individuals within the text
show snobbery at those who embody the Indian way of life and vice versa, with
characters displaying an anger at the English Indians who have lost their
traditions.'
The main characters in the story are – Sai, Biju, Jemubhai Patel, and his cook.
He story revolves around Sai, a teenager who is living with
her paternal grandfather Jemubhai Patel, former Justice. They live in the foot
of Mount Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas in an old manor named Cho Oyu. The house
inspite of its great history is now in a crumbling state, the termites eating
the place down. Sai was brought up in India in a convent. After the death of
her parents she was sent to her grandfather. Here, it is the cook who really
looks after the girl. Her grandfather isn’t very concerned. Because of lack of
finance he is unable to send her to a good school. Hence, tutors are hired to
teach her the basics. This is how she meets Gyan, her physics teacher. He isn’t
much older to her and Sai and Gyan fall in love with each other.
Jemubhai Patel, her grandfather, doesn’t really step up to
this role. He hates anything that connects him to his family. The judge was
educated in England. Since the initiation of his studies, he had always wanted
to cut his Indian roots and embrace the west. In spite of him trying, the
British don’t accept him as one of their own nor do the Indians. Desai shows us
the brutal side to the judge. We see him recalling incidents where he looks
down upon his uneducated family, rapes his wife, beats her up, sends her back
to her parents house, ignores his child. It seems that the only person the judge
loves is his dog Mutt.
The Judge’s words after his dog goes missing-
“A man wasn't equal to an animal, not one particle of him.
Human life was stinking corrupt, and meanwhile there were beautiful creatures
who lived with delicacy on the earth without doing anyone harm. "We should
be dying." the judge almost wept.”
―
Kiran Desai,
The Inheritance of
Loss
Desai switches narration between Sai and Biju. Biju is the
son of the judge’s cook who stays in America. The story takes place post-colonialism
hence there are still much influence of the British on the Indians and their
mind set towards anything foreign. Biju travels to US by illegal means and is
staying in the place without legal documents. He works in different restaurants
and meets varied people. Contrary to what his father thinks, Biju is not living
a life of luxury. Desai uses satire to show many aspects of human behavior.
Biju sees Indians coming to the restaurants he works and ordering beef. Cow is
considered sacred to Hindus hence Biju is unable to hide his disgust for these
Indians.
Gyan, Sai’s lover/tutor, is a Nepali. The Gorkhaland
movement is used as a historic backdrop of the novel. The Gorkhaland movement
involves the revolt of the Nepalies against the Indian government and against
those who have embraced a western life. Gyan in search of an identity joins the
Gorkhas and this leads to a break in relation between Sai and Gyan.
Overall,
The inhertitance of loss is not a book that involves around
one central theme. It deals with life and the different faces in one’s life.
Dealing heavily on human perception and their decisions, Kiran Desia’s words
have a way of finding their way to a certain part of the reader’s mind where
one can chew over it. There is a conflict between the beautiful scenic setting
the story is set in and the human wars. Many might find the story a bit of a
drag and boring. However, the amazing thing about the book is that it captures
true life in all its ugly and pretty shades.
“A journey once begun, has no end”
The book ends true to these words. There is no definite “happily
ever after” end to this story. It ends on a note of hope.
Favourite parts-
The satire- this is done so well- not a bit more or a bit
less.
The writing – Kiran Desai has beautiful writing that paints vivid
pictures.
The humor – Though most of the humor is centered on sarcasm there
is the right sprinkle of humor.
Another book that I read this week is Girls In Trucks by
Katie Crouch. I picked the book from the shelf because I was drawn by the
amazing book cover and I am all about supporting debut novels. The story was
disappointing. Sarah, the protagonist is not very lovable. The writing is poor.
To make it interesting the writer switches around with first person narrative,
second person narrative and third person. It gets tiring.The book gets 6/10 from me.
What book have you read lately?
I’ve read many good books. Some of them have blown me away
with the words they carry. The Little Prince holds the trophy for me. Rather, held. It had to make way for The
Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. This book is considered to the bible for creative
people. I didn’t know about the fame that followed the book until after I had
read it. So, my opinion is completely unbiased when I say The Fountainhead is
one of the most amazing book ever written.
