Customer Reviews

Afternoon Raag

5 star:		(2)
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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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If Oxford isn't your alma-mater, chances are you may not get exactly ecstatic about this one. This is the kind of stuff that can send an Oxford alumnus into nostalgic raptures, but to others, it's just a crash-course on life at Oxford and some Indian customs.

Chaudhuri's style is delightfully simple and elaborate at the same time. He tries to weave a story around life at Oxford. However, the desire to sketch Oxford and life therein has been so overwhelming that the story seems sometimes incomplete, sometimes irrelevant, and sometimes redundant.

At 133 pages, this novel (or "a collection of poetic musings" as Aamer Hussain of Times Literary Supplement called it) doesn't demand much of your time. Reading it may not be the best way to spend your afternoon, but if you are a sucker for elegant prose, go ahead. And if you ever had any academic connections with Oxford, this could very well be one of the best ways to spend your afternoon.

This book is beautiful, wonderful to read, hauntingly poetic, and one of my favorites. I have never read anything like this before, and I can bet that you haven't either. Sit with it on a rainy day with a hot cup of tea on your favorite couch when you have nothing else on your mind, and get lost in the reverie.

This book is not very large but it packs a big punch! It is esentially the reminescences of an Indian student in Oxford. The power and beauty of the book lies in the wonderful descriptions contained herein. I grew up in Oxford (and it is where I enjoy being the most even now) and Chaudhuri captures the essence of the town beautifully. His free-flowing, beautiful writing is what makes this book such a delightful read and it is an wonderful way of losing oneself in memories of one of the prettiest places in the world to live in. In addition the author intermixes his experiences of Oxford with his memories of India and especially of his time with his music teacher. A delight.

In this story of an Indian boy at Oxford, Amit Chaudhuri exhibits a wonderful and compelling talent for writing, but leaves something to be desired with his choice of topic. The main character is in love with two different girls, neither of whom we ever really meet, and the book is essentially his thoughts about them and his childhood in India. Good writing, good insights and ideas, but rather bland as a novel.