Customer Reviews

East Into Upper East: Plain Tales from New York and New Delhi

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I hesitate to write about this extremely rich and powerful collection of stories, because my review cannot do justice to the book, but the other review on this page must not remain the only one. Let's get it right from the start: THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! The author of these stories obviously knows what love is and can convey it in all its horror and its glory. However, these are plain tales not only in that they are told in a completely unpretentious way; Ruth Prawer Jhabvala likes to tell stories which are not outwardly spectacular; she hardly ever mentions the word "love" - maybe the love she describes feels too contorted to call itself love, and yet it is a lot closer to true love than what we know from usual love stories.

These narratives manage to tell complete life stories, they show that time always brings pain to people who love: There is the successful Indian businessman who sees his beloved youngest brother turn into a killer; there is the New York real estate agent who never admits that she is in love with her strange flatmate who almost ruins her life; one of my favourites is the young woman in "A Summer by the Sea" whose highly ambiguous -unfulfilled?- marriage nobody understands. Most of the characters in these stories would be regarded as failures by most people, and most of them would themselves agree that they are. They are not even happy. Yet they cannot help being what they are. This is a beautiful book and a wise one. Read it!!

The dichotomy between two cultures and countries couldn't be revealed more subtlety than as written by this author ... Her stories have unusual themes and are written matter-of-factly .. yet they possess great depth and understanding which is camouflaged in plain words, simple rhetoric. Do *not* let the "apparent" simplicity ...fool you. As the saying goes, 'still waters run deep' ... These stories are immensely rich and deep.

The book is divided into two sections, the first, called "East" has six stories from India. The other, called, "Upper East" is devoted to stories from New York and the East coast of the USA. The following are two summaries of stories from India. In the "Expiation", the reader is introduced to a family who were poor but who lived in a developing region of India. Their standard of living improved tremendously as they prospered after starting a business. The older brother tells us his story, how he loved and cared for his younger sibling ... whose pet name is "Bablu". As the baby of the family, Bablu is spoiled and eventually becomes reckless. We find out to what depths brotherly love prevails *despite* the irresponsible behavior of the younger sibling. "Farid and Farida" is my favorite story in this section. This happily married successful young Indian couple move to the UK to fulfill their dreams. However, life in London does not meet their high expectations. After 15 years, they live in a shabby apartment and are still 'just making it'. They rely on 'loans" from a prosperous Indian friend who was from their hometown in India. Although this male friend was unpopular when growing up at 'home' ... in the UK he becomes a wealthy man. Farida can no longer tolerate their squalid living conditions, so she returns to India without her husuband. After 20 years of separation, her husband Farid searches for his wife. To his astonishment, he discovers her at an ashram, a mountain retreat, where she is receiving visitors from all over the world, providing them wisdom and peace. She accepts her husband's visit serenely ... as if they were never apart. Next, the Indian business friend from the UK discovers Farida's successful venture and tempts her with an offer -- find out what it is. The conclusion to the story is worth reading.

Section two, "Upper East" is filled with eight highly diverse human interest stories. The author tells each story simply and elegantly. After rading each story in this section, this reader felt as if struck by lightening. The message in each story leaves a huge unexpected impact. Each story has layers and layers of undiscovered meaning. There are no "warning danger ahead" signs to reveal the paths taken by the people in these stories. Just as well, the warnings would not be followed anyway ... In this section, my favorite story is "The Temptress". Briefly, two former college roommates meet an Indian lady who sees to be an ordinairy person. These two friends are seeking meaning and enlightenment in their lives. "Ma", the Indian lady, seems to possess extraordinairy powers to reveal illness, past lives, and predict the future. One of the young ladies provides Ma a room in her apartment. Ma develops a strong following as she lectures to people about "life". The neighbors flock to this 'spiritual' lady. One needs to read the story to find out how this story ends.

In summary, Ms Ruth Prawer Jhabvala possesses an unusual ability to tell highly complex stories with elegant simplicity. Her talents are dazzling. People's lives are revealed so gradually that only *after* the reader is finished does the full impact of the unique perspective strike the reader. Even then, it takes several hours to penetrate and realize how deep and penetrating the meaning is and what was actually revealed. This book receives my highest praise. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

This is an enjoyable book that is easily read. You do not have to be Indian to get the symbolism or the culturalisms in this collection of stories. The second half of the book was a true let down. It centers around the lives of New Yorkers who are all seeking something and inevitably dissappointed. For some reason most of the characters in the second half were gay which had nothing to do with India or any discernible association with Indian culture. It's not a bad book its just not very good. If your looking for something to read on the way to work, or something that you will be able to walk away from for a few days without feeling like you've got to find out what happened- this is the book your looking for.

I honestly don't know what all the fuss is about this book. I was bored from the moment I opened it, but of course, I had to finish what I started. The characters had no depth and the storylines went nowhere. It was just like walking in on someone's life for a day or two and realizing that there was nothing special about it. Maybe that was the point, but I was pretty disappointed with the stories.