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Liked It “With just two books, Adiga has become one of my favorite authors. He creates memorable (often funny or tragic) characters that serve as a guide to India. In fact, in this book a fictional seaside Indian town is the main character. The book is built on slightly connected short stories set in Kittur.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “I didn't enjoy reading this book. It seems the only reason I picked his second book is that it's a book by prize winning author. I was not impressed by his writing in White Tiger. Read it just because it's a prize winner. I certainly don't like his cynical tone. It's not that I'm a hypocrite and...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“With just two books, Adiga has become one of my favorite authors. He creates memorable (often funny or tragic) characters that serve as a guide to India. In fact, in this book a fictional seaside Indian town is the main character. The book is built on slightly connected short stories set in Kittur. ”
Dan G wrote this review Saturday, November 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Filthy, But true state of this state.”
justin j wrote this review Wednesday, November 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Between the Assassinations is a book of short stories set in the south Indian area of Kittur during the time period between the deaths of the two Indian prime ministers Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi.Through the perspectives of people of all ages, sexes, genders and castes, Adiga gives the readers an idea of what it would be like to live in Kittur during that time. He beautifully displays the general feel of poverty, corruption, and prejudice- between castes as well as between hindus and muslims, that dominated the daily lives of the people living in that area.
Manal K wrote this review Tuesday, September 22 2009. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Although Between the Assassinations was beautifully written, I found Adiga's first novel the White Tiger much more captivating. This novel was a bit slower, a little less hard hitting, and did not leave a truly lasting message. I would also not recommend this book to people who are not extremely familiar to the Indian culture as it would be hard to understand the depths of each story. Overall, Between the Assassinations was a slightly disappointing second book after Adiga's gripping first novel- The White Tiger.”“Really liked it. Even better than The White Tiger. Very dark again but very true. He conveys the utter helplessness, poverty, inequality, discrimination in small town India with ruthless honesty.”
Anjana N wrote this review Tuesday, September 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“An unrelentingly bleak but strangely cathartic read. Very much a companion work to THE WHITE TIGER (and actually written prior to it). ”
Barry S wrote this review Monday, August 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“More insightful pictures of modern (not modern by our standards) India by Adiga. The dude is talented.”
Jenn Boyd wrote this review Monday, August 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“excellent.”
Gandara wrote this review Friday, July 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I didn't enjoy reading this book. It seems the only reason I picked his second book is that it's a book by prize winning author. I was not impressed by his writing in White Tiger. Read it just because it's a prize winner. I certainly don't like his cynical tone. It's not that I'm a hypocrite and avert my eyes and ears to harsh reality.. some other authors expose the unpleasant truths too.. but somehow Aravind's style is just too cynical. I can't say anything more.. except that reading this book was really a pain..”
Sireesha A wrote this review Wednesday, July 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“If you enjoyed Adiga's White Tiger, winner of the Man Booker Prize last year, then you will probably like his new collection of gritty short stories. They are set in the Indian southwestern coastal city of Kittur, during the time period bracketed by Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984 and the assassination of her son, Rajiv Gandhi, in 1991.
Lindy P wrote this review Friday, July 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Caste and social class continue to play an important role in modern India. These stories are mostly about the underdogs of society, the hard-working (and sometimes not-so-hard-working) poor, and all but two of them focus on men rather than women or girls.
I discovered that, even though I prefer (in general) reading about the lives of women, my very favourite story is "The Sultan's Battery," in which a snake oil salesman goes out of his way to help a young man who has no one else to whom he can turn.”
