The acclaimed author of ‘The Calcutta Chromosome’ and ‘The Shadow Lines’ has burst out on to the big stage with a major saga on that hidden country, Burma.
Rajkumar is only another boy, helping on a market stall in the dusty square outside the royal palace, when the British force the Burmese king, queen and all the court into exile. He is rescued by the far-seeing Chinese merchant, and with him builds up a logging business in upper Burma. But haunted by his vision of the royal family, he journeys to the obscure town in India where they have been exiled.
The picture of the tension between the Burmese, the Indian and the British, is excellent. Among the great range of characters are one of the court ladies, Miss Dolly, whom he marries; and the redoubtable Jonakin, part of the British-educated Indian colony, who with her husband has been put in charge of the Burmese exiled court.
The story follows the fortunes – rubber estates in Malaya, businesses in Singapore, estates in Burma – which Rajkumar, with his Chinese, British and Burmese relations, friends and associates, builds up – from 1870 through World War II to the scattering of the extended family to New York and Thailand, London and Hong Kong in the post-war years.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
With each generation the characters' lives and personalities contrast and intertwine according to the rise and fall of the countries'--and the world's--politics. Rajkumar, the Indian peasant who makes a fortune through teak and his wife Dolly, the breathtakingly beautiful maid of the Burmese royal family, contrast to Uma the Indian widow who becomes a champion for Indian independence after her liberating time in the USA and the Americanised Matthew who makes a life in his half-native Malaya as a rubber plantation owner, while Uma's Bengali nieces and nephew contrast to Rajkumar and Dolly's newly wealthy sons. Yet they all suffer in the Second World War, whether as a soldier, refugee or evacuee discriminated against because of their skin colour. Ghosh's focus on the war in Burma, from the viewpoint of Indian officers in the British army, who have been imbued through their regimental history to believe in their allegiance to "their" country (i.e. Britain and not India), reveals a side of both world wars that is rarely told. The struggle these British subjects experience, as to whether colonial or fascist masters are better, is not something that shaped the general European knowledge of the Second World War, where "good" and "evil" seemed much clearer.
However, The Glass Palace is not only about war; and the full circle it travels, from one glass palace in the lush and rich 19th-century Burma to another glass palace in repressed and impoverished Myanmar is, seemingly with ease from the lush and rich prose, satisfying and informative. It is a novel in which the characters will always go on living, and whose ideals will never die. --Olivia Dickinson
‘A distinctive voice, polished and profound.’ TLS
‘Ambitious, multigenerational, “The Glass Palace” is akin to a 19th-century Russian novel...a rich, layered epic that probes the meaning of identity and homeland.’ LA Times
‘An absorbing story of a world in transition, brought to life through characters who love and suffer with equal intensity.’ J.M. Coetzee
‘A “Doctor Zhivago” for the Far East.’ Independent
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
£ 2.14
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 1369735-n
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. Seller Inventory # 000651409X-2-1
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk000651409Xxvz189zvxnew
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780006514091
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780006514091
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. The International Bestseller from the Man Booker Prize shortlisted author'An absorbing story of a world in transition JM Coetzee'A Doctor Zhivago for the Far East' The Independent Rajkumar is only another boy, helping on a market stall in the dusty square outside the royal palace, when the British force the Burmese King, Queen and all the Court into exile. He is rescued by the far-seeing Chinese merchant, and with him builds up a logging business in upper Burma. But haunted by his vision of the Royal Family, he journeys to the obscure town in India where they have been exiled.The story follows the fortunes rubber estates in Malaya, businesses in Singapore, estates in Burma which Rajkumar, with his Chinese, British and Burmese relations, friends and associates, builds up from 1870 through the Second World War to the scattering of the extended family to New York and Thailand, London and Hong Kong in the post-war years. Rajkumar is helping on a market stall outside the palace, when the British force the Burmese King, Queen and all the Court into exile. He is rescued by the Chinese merchant, and with him builds up a logging business in upper Burma. But haunted by his vision of the Royal Family, he journeys to India where they have been exiled. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780006514091
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-000651409X-new
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # DADAX000651409X
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. BRAND NEW ** SUPER FAST SHIPPING FROM UK WAREHOUSE ** 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. Seller Inventory # 9780006514091-GDR
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 560 pages. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __000651409X