Summary · PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook ☆ Upamanyu Chatterjee
A fascinating portrayal of life in an Indian middle-class family by the best-selling author of English, August
Upamanyu Chatterjee’s second novel brilliantly recreates life in an average Indian family at the end of the twentieth century. Jamun, the central character, is a young man, unmarried, adrift. He stays away from his family, which comprises his parents, Urmila and Shyamanand, his elder brother, Burfi, his sister-in-law, Joyce, his two nephews and the children’s ayah.
Jamun returns to the family when his mother is hospitalized. Once there, he decides to stay on until one of his ailing parent dies. He barely admits to himself that there is another, probably stronger, reason for his extended stay in the family home—an old friend Kasturi, now married and pregnant, who has returned to the city (that she associates with Jamun).
Flitting back and forth in time and space, and writing in a language of unsurpassed richness and power, Upamanyu Chatterjee presents a funny, bitterly accurate and vivid portrait of the awesome burden of family ties The Last Burden
I really struggled through the first forty pages after which this book was a breeze.
It is a very relatable story of two brothers and their parents who are in their twilight years. Human relationships are something that make us a little likeable despite all our flaws.
I am sure this book will not have as many takers but I am sure if people gave it a chance, they’d really love it.
And UC was perhaps the original ST! ;-) 0140236252 I do not remember why did I choose to read UC! May be because I heard a lot about his pompous prose. In any case, this was my first UC and had I not bought three more of his books at the same time, it would have been my last. The book doesn't have a single sentence that could be underlined or marked out. Perfect trash!
The book is a very slow paced narrative which takes up an infinite momentum in the last chapter of the book. Almost everything is revealed in the last chapter and if you are being lazy, then reading just the last chapter will tell you everything about the book. Do not waste your time with this. Just know what characters are what and read the last chapter. I will help you with the characters:
1) Jamun - the protaganist
2) Barfi - Jamun's elder brother (4 years senior)
3) Shyamanand - Jamun's Dad
4) Urmila - Jamun's Mom
5) Pista and Doom - Barfi's sons
6) Joyce - Barfi's wife
7) Kasturi - Jamun's bae
8) Chhana - Shyamanand's niece
9) Hagiste - Jamun's colleague and neighbour
10) Kasibai - Jamun's maid and her floosie (along with her husband)
11) Vaman - Kasibai's son
Only one more thing that one needs to know before starting out is: that Jamun's is a family of great discord. More often they will be found bickering among themselves with terms unsuitable even with your besties. Besides, his is a family with a heavy kink and perversity. With this you are set. Just read the last chapter. And whoa, you haven't missed a single letter! 0140236252 The author has a tortured style of writing where he seems to delight in using an unnecessarily archaic and outdated vocabulary to describe situations and settings that are superfluous to the main theme at hand at any moment. Additionally, the protagonist seems to be obsessed with all things sexual in nature (most normal people would call him a creep) and various references to sexual anatomies keep cropping up unnecessarily throughout the book in describing his thoughts. Overall it is a torture to sit through the language and the slow moving hazy plot. This is one book which I would not recommend for the joy of reading nor for the understanding of anything. 0140236252 The story is a portrayal of a dysfunctional middle class family, not just connected by blood but also their nastiness towards each other. I felt the storytelling is honest, so honest that it starts to feel brutal. Do pick it up if you like reading verbose descriptions in prose. I feel it could have been better if the timeline was stretched a bit pre and post the defining event. The flourishing overblown language is overshadowing the characters, so one can't connect and feel much for the characters. The book left me wanting to know more about the lead characters, Jamun, Urmila, Burfi and Shyamanand. Overall 3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐1/2 0140236252 A Bengali family - Shyamanand and Urmila - sons Barfi and Jamun and their grandsons also named after sweets. The story is simple, family ties and how they relate to each other. Realistic though. Chatterjee is great with funny, laughter-provoking dialogs and also capturing the mother-son relationship, particularly after the mother's death. Chatterjee's irreverence to everything - traditions, customs, is refreshing. 0140236252
I have read many stories about Indian families from Indian authors. This story lacked heart. Maybe because it wasn't as tragic as stories from Rohinton Mistry or Jhumpa Lahiri, maybe because of the way it was written, the vocabulary got in the way of the story. Not bad but not a favorite. 0140236252 middle class existence ! 0140236252 A verbose rendition of a typical Indian middle class... description of a generation by the generation's greatest author... 0140236252