The Silver Castle - Softcover

James, Clive

3.82

113 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330353896 ISBN 13: 9780330353892

Publisher: Picador, 1997

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A dark fairy tale by one of Britain's wittiest and most popular personalities that plays to the fascination with India. Imagine Voltaire writing Candide in Calcutta in 1997.In this magical novel, which has been acclaimed as his finest fiction to date, James tells the heartbreaking yet hysterically funny story of a young Indian boy named Sanjay who escapes from the world of abject poverty and cons his way into India's lavish and decadent film scene. James appeals to all emotions in an affectionate, sexy, and ultimately tragic comedy written with his trademark dry wit. The Silver Castle is both entertaining and perceptive. He touches on the heartfelt issues in modern-day India, such as class and the clash between the traditional and the secular."The most gripping, entertaining, funny and moving novel I've read for a long time...a novel which held me in tears and laughter and back again to tears, throughtout its pages". -- Sunday Telegraph (London)"There is much to enjoy here, flair, colour, a real feel for the country...We all know about Clive James the great wit. This book confirms the wit has a sensitive heart". -- Daily Express (London)

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From the Publisher:

Tragi-comic story of growing up in Bombay
A brilliant celebration of the Indian film world, this is the tragi-comic story of Sanjay, a Bombay pavement child, who grows up fascinated by Bollywood and its stars and whose lifelong dream is to join them in their silver castle. Sanjay learns to charm and outwit tourists and uses his sex appeal and hard-won ability to speak English to get jobs guiding film crews on the 'poverty trail'. He even manages to become a stunt man and begins a career in films himself, until his world collapses and he loses everything, ending up more or less in the gutter where he started. "Often hilarious and always ironic, this is James's best novel" Independent; "The most gripping, entertaining, funny and moving novel I've read for a long time...a novel which held me, in tears and laughter and back again to tears, throughout its pages" Sunday Telegraph; "There is much to enjoy here, flair, colour, a real feel for the country...We all know about Clive James the great wit. This book confirms the wit has a sensitive heart" Meera Syal, Daily Express; "Extremely affecting...skilful and eloquent. What we care about is Sanjay, his hopeless position and his misery" Mail on Sunday

Synopsis:

Sanjay is a pavement child in Bombay who becomes fascinated with the "Bollywood" film industry. He manages to become a stunt man and begin a career in films himself, until his world collapses and he loses everything, ending up more or less in the gutter where he started.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.