The Siege of Krishnapur

Farrell, J. G.

ISBN 10: 0786704845 / ISBN 13: 9780786704842

Published by Carroll & Graf Pub, 1997

Seller Inventory # BSM.13XZG

Synopsis:

Victorian life in India - the clash between two great civilizations, a cauldron of human drama - was perhaps the most deeply romantic expression of life in all the modern age. We are forever fascinated.
This award-winning novel concerns the events surrounding the Sepoy uprising of 1857. A young Englishman becomes an unlikely hero when he finds himself at the center of a political whirlwind. By turns caustic and compassionate, written with sardonic wit but displaying a passionate sympathy, this novel of splendid characters and emotionally charged events fully deserves its reputation as a masterpiece.

Review:

"The first sign of trouble at Krishnapur came with a mysterious distribution of chapatis, made of coarse flour and about the size and thickness of a biscuit; towards the end of February 1857, they swept the countryside like an epidemic."

Students of history will recognise 1857 as the year of the Sepoy rebellion in India--an uprising of native soldiers against the British, brought on by Hindu and Muslim recruits' belief that the rifle cartridges with which they were provided had been greased with pig or cow fat. This seminal event in Anglo-Indian relations provides the backdrop for J.G. Farrell's Booker Prize- winning exploration of race, culture and class, The Siege of Krishnapur.

Like the mysteriously appearing chapatis, life in British India seems, on the surface, innocuous enough. Farrell introduces us gradually to a large cast of characters as he paints a vivid portrait of the Victorians' daily routines that are accompanied by heat, boredom, class-consciousness and the pursuit of genteel pastimes intended for cooler climates. Even the siege begins slowly, with disquieting news of massacres in cities far away. When Krishnapur itself is finally attacked, the Europeans withdraw inside the grounds of the Residency where very soon conditions begin to deteriorate: food and water run out, disease is rampant, people begin to go a little mad. Soon the very proper British are reduced to eating insects and consorting across class lines. Farrell's descriptions of life inside the Residency are simultaneously horrifying and blackly humorous. The siege, for example, is conducted under the avid eyes of the local populace, who clearly anticipate an enjoyable massacre and thus arrive every morning laden with picnic lunches (plainly visible to the starving Europeans). By turns witty and compassionate, The Siege of Krishnapur comprises the best of all fictional worlds: unforgettable characters, an epic adventure and at its heart a cultural clash for the ages. --Alix Wilber

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Siege of Krishnapur
Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub
Publication Date: 1997
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: very_good
Edition: 2nd Edition