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The Last Burden [Hardcover]

Upamanyu Chatterjee (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)


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Book Description

August 16, 1993
Jamun is a young man, adrift. His father, Shymanand, is old and his mother, Ursula, on her deathbed. As the novel opens, the family are gathering together for the inevitable parting. Tracking backwards and forwards in time and space, the book unfolds a picture of Jamun and his family.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber Ltd (August 16, 1993)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0571168256
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571168255
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,797,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Serious yet funny. A masterpiece, July 16, 1999
This review is from: The last burden
I liked "The Last burden" better than English August and I liked English August very much. I discussed the book with one of my friends who had read it and remarked to him "This book should get a booker." He said "It will be a million years before they give bookers to books like these". He was absolutely right. It's not the material that bookers are made up of. It transcends that. For one its shockingly vulgar. Even more than The Liar(Stephen Fry) and English August. However I think Chatterjee loves to show off. Every other page there was a word that I had seen for the first time. I can't recommend this book to you or otherwise because I don't know what sort of books you like. I can only speak for myself and I liked the book very much.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars No holds barred look at the dark side of family life, August 2, 2006
This review is from: Last Burden (Paperback)
If we are to believe mainstream cinema, family life is all gung-ho where everybody loves everybody. Anyone with half-a-brain knows that this glosses over the real complexities of blood-relationships all of us experience.

'The Last Burden' gives sharp insight into middle-class Indian family life (albeit in an acerbic manner) and partly explains why the majority of populace abandoned the traditional joint family structure in favor of a nuclear one. All the intricacies that inhabit this world be it financial pressure, lost love, unwanted but unavoidable obligations are all given a free rein.

IMO, this book is an unsung classic of Indian literature in English and I highly recommend it if you are in the mood for a serious and real-life subject.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars It's all in the family!, October 29, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The last burden
When it comes to imagination and relativity,Upamanyu Chatterjee takes the cake along with the bakery.The grip that he maintains over the readers is really fascinating and I have to admit,at times,disturbing.The characters written by him are so real,that you could easily bump into them on your way to work or to the shop around the corner.They start living inside you as you turn the pages. English,August was excellent,this one tops that. His characters really make me think and look around myself as like me,most of the Indians grow up in similar family environments.It really becomes hard to understand,where you draw the line.The book makes you think,it makes you reconsider the way in which most of us take life for granted,and it does that with wit and satire,Chatterjee's most powerful weapons which he is aware of and knows perfectly where and how to use them. India is a country where family is given top priority,not that it is a bad thing,but most of the people do not get the right meaning of the word family and the responsibilities that come with it.If you look closely enough,you will find one 'Burfi'in almost every house,making similar choices and decisions,with a 'Jamun'by his side.Chatterjee makes it a point that his readers should be at ease with characters and also tries to makes them sympathise with the situations he puts them in.Which works just fine.It is really hard for me to say which is my favourite character in the whole book as all of them manage to touch you deep down,in some way or the other.This book is the stuff Bookers are made for.But it would be eons before any Indian author gets something he really deserves.Upamanyu Chatterjee displays genius beyond the recognition of an award or a prize.His characters are the best award any author could dream of. The Last Burden,definitely worth reading,is a classic novel by a great author of our time.Upamanyu Chatterjee has got my expectations raised to the peak towards his third novel,but with talent like his,rest assured.
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