tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post503773466705535455..comments2023-09-20T17:55:43.908-05:00Comments on BookLust: Review: Operation MonsoonAartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-43768480848756697862010-08-05T20:39:13.194-05:002010-08-05T20:39:13.194-05:00Jodie- I could definitely see that! I think New Y...Jodie- I could definitely see that! I think New York is similar in the US, though since we have other big cities now, maybe to a lesser extent. But your comment is noted, and I feel for you.<br /><br />Valerie- No, I am not Bengali. Yes, Bengal is a geographic region, but India is pretty distinct with cultures as well, geographically, as the country wasn't united until the British came in. So there are variations in culture and most particularly language from one region of India to another. I don't think it's really stereotypes, though. I just think that Jhumpa Lahiri makes a big deal about the "Bengali" experience, rather than the "Indian" experience, even though when you're an Indian immigrant to another country... your experience is much the same as any other Indian's (IMO), whereas if you were Bengali IN India, your experience might be very different than another Indian's IN India.Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-54034464496865826342010-08-05T18:18:12.564-05:002010-08-05T18:18:12.564-05:00So, does this mean you are not from a Bengali back...So, does this mean you are not from a Bengali background? I like Lahiri a lot, but I assumed that all her mention of "Bengali" was along the lines of geography. After all, knowing that a character is from NYC would help the reader picture the character -- as compared to a Californian. Yes, I know there are stereotypes for New Yorkers and for California, so perhaps this is a case of falling into Bengali stereotypes? Interesting thought.Valeriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10401551604933163595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-13394496291308884252010-07-28T06:13:01.409-05:002010-07-28T06:13:01.409-05:00Horrible generalisation coming up: Bengali authors...Horrible generalisation coming up: Bengali authors sound similar to a lot of London authors - they always write about London and some days I feel like I will scream if I see another book set in London (especially set during WWII - the rest of the country was still there y'know publishers and authors, Coventry was bombed out as well). <br /><br />I don't know if it's the same in India, but I always assume it's because the big publishing industry is in London so more authors have to move to London to make contacts/more publishers want to publish fiction set in London because that's where they live. And of course I'm being horribly biased against London here, but sometimes it is so frustrating.<br /><br />Shame this collection didn't work for you, because the premises of the stories sound intriguing. Ah well, can't win them all.Jodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-4642286338765082572010-07-26T21:10:57.140-05:002010-07-26T21:10:57.140-05:00I have Lahiri on my self ... I'll definitely b...I have Lahiri on my self ... I'll definitely be tuned into the nuances of Indian/Bengali identity. if you hadn't pointed it out, I would completely miss it.Stephaniehttp://laughingstars.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-65025556502051065222010-07-26T17:56:10.846-05:002010-07-26T17:56:10.846-05:00Not relevant to this post, but I thought you'd...Not relevant to this post, but I thought you'd like to know that I've reviewed Wish Her Safe At Home ;-)<br />SimonStuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-16429775752969530882010-07-26T15:01:14.678-05:002010-07-26T15:01:14.678-05:00Chris- It definitely did hit on those!
Blodeuedd-...Chris- It definitely did hit on those!<br /><br />Blodeuedd- Well, if you ever read Lahiri... watch for it!<br /><br />Kathleen- Yes, it gets very aggravating!<br /><br />Amy- Some of them were somewhat compelling, but for the most part... no.<br /><br />Iris- Haha, I understood exactly what you meant!<br /><br />Zibilee- I felt the same way! I think because I am not so into poetry...<br /><br />Sudha- I knew you'd be with me on that one ;-)<br /><br />Trisha- I bet if you read Lahiri now, you'd notice she always says Bengali, not Indian!<br /><br />Kari- I am SO GLAD you feel that way! I can't tell you how many times people have told me about how they understand Indians so much more now after reading that book. Um... no.Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-12561389107595674502010-07-26T14:36:17.653-05:002010-07-26T14:36:17.653-05:00Great point about short stories needing to be abou...Great point about short stories needing to be about the characters. If you can't feel for them, chances are you're not going to enjoy the story.<br /><br />And I am CERTAINLY there with you on The Namesake (as you mentioned in a previous comment). I love world literature but I can't stand novels that scream, "Hey! I am world literature!" I am not Indian, so I do not know if the novel was an accurate representation of the "Indian experience" or not, but it drove me crazy that it defined itself as "THE Indian experience."Karihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03858788786888440257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-74336586404491370252010-07-26T13:37:27.988-05:002010-07-26T13:37:27.988-05:00I'm definitely not familiar enough with Indian...I'm definitely not familiar enough with Indian Lit for the Bengali v. Indian issue, but I can definitely see how that would be annoying.Trishahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13917705393662132891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-35738385205275332362010-07-26T09:13:13.470-05:002010-07-26T09:13:13.470-05:00Oh girl, I am so there with you on the whole Benga...Oh girl, I am so there with you on the whole Bengali authors = intellectual snobbery/feeling of superiority over the rest of India. I put it down to residual and awkward colonial pride over Calcutta being the original capital of the the Raj and then I move on to another book.Sudhanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17460038649078956103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-24046675876117091082010-07-26T08:22:31.816-05:002010-07-26T08:22:31.816-05:00I usually love short stories set in India, but the...I usually love short stories set in India, but the fact that you had such trouble connecting to the characters really concerns me about this book. I agree with you about the feeling that characters in short stories must be really fleshed out and compelling for the story to work. I think the short story form is really all about characterization. I think I might skip this one. It's funny, when I went over to look at Greywolf's website, I had a really hard time finding a book that looked good to me. In the end, I am sad to say, I couldn't find anything that I thought I would really like.Zibileehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05857638467064749190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-71287038978928152982010-07-26T05:28:41.511-05:002010-07-26T05:28:41.511-05:00I'm sorry to hear this didn't work for you...I'm sorry to hear this didn't work for you. It looks like even though you expected not to like this you disliked it not only because of your expectations. Um, sorry, I couldn't formulate that better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-26283889323037800362010-07-25T14:10:42.337-05:002010-07-25T14:10:42.337-05:00I think you are right that with short stories it i...I think you are right that with short stories it is really all about the characters. I'm sorry to hear that these characters didn't work for you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-45032724937598458772010-07-25T11:46:36.433-05:002010-07-25T11:46:36.433-05:00Sorry you didn't enjoy this collection more. ...Sorry you didn't enjoy this collection more. We all have our reading likes and dislikes and this book seems to have hit on a pet peeve of yours. I don't think I would have much patience with wealthy characters that are complaining about how difficult their lives are either!Kathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01739982274914536036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-42776150553012814502010-07-25T10:50:38.066-05:002010-07-25T10:50:38.066-05:00I can't say this one speaks to me, and I am no...I can't say this one speaks to me, and I am not that fond of short stories either.<br />Interesting about Bengal though, didn't know abut writers from thereBlodeueddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03435479623560871881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-17485494422195034292010-07-25T09:45:22.056-05:002010-07-25T09:45:22.056-05:00I think we all have our reading pet peeves and thi...I think we all have our reading pet peeves and this book seems like it hit on yours. Sorry this one didn't work for you.Chrisbookaramahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11972547663609480210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-80179783120055422632010-07-25T09:32:01.942-05:002010-07-25T09:32:01.942-05:00Amanda- I don't think someone who is not India...Amanda- I don't think someone who is not Indian would really notice that something was "Bengali" instead of "Indian." Basically, where most authors would use the word "Indian," Lahiri uses the word "Bengali," to differentiate that her characters are from a specific region. Not sure if that makes sense to you- but it does annoy me!<br /><br />Stu- I am not sure that they are so VERY similar as I really liked Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, but did not like The Namesake at all.Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-42040073991788936942010-07-25T09:06:40.117-05:002010-07-25T09:06:40.117-05:00seems a interesting read ,can see why amanda thoug...seems a interesting read ,can see why amanda thought Jhumpa ,they seem similar types of writers ,may pick it up if I see iy in library not 100% sure who is uk publisher if it is punblished here ,all the best stuAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-65492944276256367692010-07-25T08:55:34.570-05:002010-07-25T08:55:34.570-05:00I've never read Jhumpa Lahiri (she intimidates...I've never read Jhumpa Lahiri (she intimidates me for some reason), and I have no idea if I've ever read anything you would classify as Bengali-experience literature. I haven't read enough and don't know enough to have a clue what lit from different parts of India sound like. I'm sorry that the collection didn't work for you. (and if the rest of this comment made it sound like I thought the author of this collection was Lahiri, my apologies - I don't, that's just the first thing I thought of when reading your post).Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07026099426503180472noreply@blogger.com