The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian (New York Review Books Classics) [Paperback]

Nirad C. Chaudhuri (Author), Ian Jack (Author)

Book Description

Series: New York Review Books Classics | Publication Date: September 30, 2001

The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian is an astonishing work of self-discovery and the revelation of a peerless and provocative sensibility. Describing his childhood in the Bengali countryside and his youth in Calcutta—and telling the story of modern India from his own fiercely independent viewpoint—Chaudhuri fashions a book of deep conviction, charm, and intimacy that is also a masterpiece of the writer's art.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Intensely rational, Chaudhuri, a Bengali and author of Thy Hand, Great Anarch! , describes his native country with the intent that "one part of this world may still retain some curiosity about the combination of man and geography which has worn out the British Empire." The autobiography yields a dense, absorbing account of Hindu boyhood (he was born in 1897) in a small village in what is now Bangladesh. Careful observations illuminate a waning culture: "A Hindu . . . accepts the first wail of birth as the leitmotiv of existence and manages . . . to lead a mock-turtle's life during the whole of it." Chaudhuri concludes with intricate analyses of the intellectual history of India before independence, seen in the context of its political and social history (from the Dravidians through the Raj); its religion--the "reformed" Hinduism of Swami Vivekananda; and Bengali literature. Chaudhuri's judgments, often surprising, are those of a world citizen; his scholarliness is humbling.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

NIRAD C. CHAUDHURI (1897–1999) was born in the town of Kishorganj in East Bengal in the year of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. His first book, The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, was published in 1951 and was followed by many others, including The Continent of Circe, for which he won the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize, and Thy Hand Great Anarch!, a second volume of memoirs. Chaudhuri moved to England in 1970. In 1992 Queen Elizabeth II conferred upon him the title of Honorary Commander of the British Empire.

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: NYRB Classics (September 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094032282X
• ISBN-13: 978-0940322820
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 1.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #819,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting perspective from an era gone by....., August 8, 2001

By 

Kersi Von Zerububbel "Kersi" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Autobiography of an Unknown Indian (Paperback)

This book will give you a perspective that was quite common amongst the "educated Indians" during the waning days of the Raj. The writing is somewhat turgid though quite colorful in parts. I read this book in small doses just to savor and reflect upon an era long gone. The descriptions of family life and personalities are delightful and vivid.

This however, is not a easy read. If you expect a fast-paced juicy narrative then you will be disappointed. If you enjoy a meaty jaunt through late 19th and early 20th century India then by all means get it. A word of caution. When reading the author's opinions please realize the times from whence they spring.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NCC's Masterpiece, April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian (Paperback)

This is a must book for all those who've seen Rural Bengal/Bangladesh in its true form with its summers, rainy season and winters with the human face. Description is vivid and also the dreams about Foreign Land (Bilet). NCC with one of his best novels however, with his usual opinionated and often judgemental perception which is so typically Nirad-babu. The maestro puts his experience of yesteryears with the accuracy of present day. Insights and the minute details is what makes him one of the greatest prolific writers of all time. One needs to look at the world of Nirad-babu to fully appreciate his work without marring your thoughts without your prejudices. If anyone, wants to get lost in the laid-back life of Bengal, this is where your quest should end. I wish he could have more writings in English so that more people could appreciate the master.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Weighty, worthy, and entertaining (but a bit of a bore), July 6, 2003

By 

Jay Dickson (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)

Nirad Chaudhuri was often unfairly dismissed in his lifetime as a 20th-century equivalent to the notorious mimic men evoked in Macaulay's infamous "Minute on Indian Education": he adopts the attitudes of the British ruling class during the Raj so thoroughly he might at a casual glance be dismissed as such. But Chaudhuri's fierce and iconoclastic intelligence makes him far much more: a singular and independent thinker, and in truth a true original. This book, his masterpiece, is a brilliant semi-autobiographical study of the political situation of the first half of the Indian twentieth century. It works best in the lovely and lyrical opening hundred pages, which give a very evocative sense of his Bengali childhood. Unfortunately later, when Chaudhuri surrenders reminiscence for political analysis, he becomes more tedious than illuminating (you get the suspicion that, were you to visit him as Ian Jack , who provided the book's fine introduction, you would have been compelled despite yourself to check your watch discreetly during one of Chaudhuri's lengthy and self-satisfied tirades).