Nom de Plume

I am so, so far behind on book reviews that I am only posting things I remember.

So. Mukherjee’s The Tree Bride. Found this in the new books section in the library and pounced on it immediately. I have loved each and every one of Mukherjee’s books (with the possible exception of Leave it to Me). I opened it with a great sigh of pleasure when I got home thinking that, more than anything, I want to be Bharati Mukherjee. She does that difficult thing of melding past and present, East and West–and in the most improbable, metaphysical ways. This is what I want to do with Razia, this is what I aspire to.

But two chapters in, I found myself puzzled.

It was the same story as The Keeper of the World. Yeah, sure, different characters, different storylines. But ultimately, the same themes: modern character in search of truth from the past, technical innovation as part of religion. With every page I read, echoes of Keeper resounded in my head. I found myself thinking, “Ah yes, here is the historical figure,” or “Okay, here’s the technical slant.”

And so it was with a great sense of disappointment that I put the novel down and I never quite got around to picking it up again.

Let me say, though, that I’ve been insanely busy lately, and most of my reading material has been light and frothy–and my thoughts could really be a reflection on my state of mind at the time. So, considering that I think Mukherjee is one of the best writers of our time, I will check this out again and try again.

At some point, when my head is less fuzzy.