Customer Reviews

The Householder: A Novel

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THE HOUSEHOLDER is one of Ruth Prawar Jhabvala's earlier efforts, and with her early novels AMRITA and THE NATURE OF PASSION, it is the story of an India that is no more.

Like India in 1960, Prem, the hero of THE HOUSEHOLDER, is young, idealistic--and in over his head. His family is growing, he is married to a woman he hardly knows, and his mother, whom he idealizes in many ways, is no longer the caretaker he once had. The carefree life of a dependent is to be given up for the responsibilities of a young adult--ready or not.

THE HOUSEHOLDER is on one level a comedy of manners, a fun and funny look at middle-class Indian life. On another level, it is a wonderful metaphor for a new republic's coming of age--and worth thinking about as India struggles with her current challenges.

This is my favorite novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (although I haven't read all her works). The characters are realistic and engaging, and while the story is not terribly dramatic, I did want to know what happened to these characters. I read it many years ago and I still think of it fondly.

The Householder is by no means a boring book... nor is it an unitelligent one. It certainly studies the thought processes of its protagonist, Prem, deeply and acutely. Its light and entertaining in its own way.

However, I could not in the end understand what the story was all about, neither could I relate it to the present times. Perhaps it was a great story of its time, its just that its not so relevant any more.
Througout the book, the thought processes of Prem (a newly wed, newly independent, school teacher trying to establish his identity as a family man and a house holder) are studied. Its about his personal emotional and mental struggle over his new identity, no doubt the entire dicussion is light, funny and amusing but I don't think its a topic strong enough to read or write a whole book about

I look forward to watching the movie though, it sounds more impressive and entertaining than the book itself.

I have been a Jhabwala fan for a long time and have read and thoroughly enjoyed many of her books like Amrita, Poet and Dancer, In Search of Love and Beauty, The Nature of Passion etc. I really like her style of writing and the beautiful light hearted way in which she tells her stories simply yet involving intense characters. I haven't come across any other author who can tell stories in the same style as she can. This book stands no where near her other masterpieces. Or like I said earlier, maybe I just missed the point.

I was fascinated with the challenge the author faced in writing about a culture she only knows from the outside. The story is not complex, the characters are not either. But they are entertaining!