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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A stunning novel of life in Bulgaria, October 18, 2009
This review is from: Solo (Hardcover)
"Solo" was selected by readers of the Guardian's Books page as the inaugural winner of the paper's "Not the Booker" prize, for the best book that was not nominated for this year's Booker Prize. This captivating novel is divided into two distinct and minimally related parts, or movements In the first movement, 'Dream', we are introduced to Ulrich as he approaches his 100th birthday in his home town of Sofia, the Bulgarian capital. He is childless and nearly penniless, and he despairs that his life's work has been meaningless. Ulrich reviews his life from early youth, and uncovers the multiple external disappointments and personal failures and that characterized his early life. His father throws his beloved violin in the fire, destroying his dream of becoming a classical musician, and he is forced to give up his university studies in Berlin before obtaining his degree, and to say goodbye to the love of his life. He returns to mid-1920s Sofia, where brutal government suppression of dissidents leads to personal tragedy. The country is devastated by World War II and its aftermath, as the communist regime strips Ulrich and his mother of dignity and freedom. He is able to use his chemistry background to eke out a meager living, but unscrupulous apparatchiks thwart and destroy his best efforts. He is given a pittance of a pension, and only the grudging generosity of his neighbors prevents him from homelessness.
The second movement, 'Daydreams', is initially set in post-communist Bulgaria at the turn of the century, and features three young people eager to make their mark: Khatuna, a beautiful and ruthless woman who uses powerful men and her own considerable wit and skill to climb out of poverty; her brother Irakli, a sensitive and troubled poet; and Boris, a farm boy and talented violinist whose discovery by an American popular music producer leads to a meteoric rise that threatens to engulf and destroy all three in a post-9/11 America that is both welcoming and fearful of their culture. Toward the end of this movement Ulrich makes several appearances, which provide a linkage to the first movement as this symphonic novel closes.
This novel manages to cover a lot of territory for its relatively short length of just over 350 pages, with rich portrayals of its main and secondary characters. The differences between the first and second movements are quite striking, and it took me quite awhile to get used to the flow of the second half. Once I did, the novel regained its hold on me. This would have been a worthy nominee for the Booker Prize, and it would have made my shortlist had it been selected. Highly recommended.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
well deserving of the Commonwealth Prize, March 26, 2010
This review is from: Solo (Hardcover)
The fabulous breadth of Rana Dasgupta's first book of stories, Tokyo Canceled, is in full swing in his novel Solo, plus an incredible depth of history and characterisation. Ulrich is 100 years old, a failed musician and chemist and lover in Bulgaria. While I found both parts of the book (life and daydreams) gorgeously written and riotously paced, the second part appeared more like a series of linked short stories - beautiful and fascinating in themselves, but not tied to Ulrich's narrative in a way that held the book together (sometimes I even forgot that this book had been about Ulrich). Altogether, the daydreams present a background, foreground, and coincident picture of Ulrich's century on earth, but if they had somehow been interleaved or integrated with his actual life happenings, I think I might have felt them more connected and connective.
That said, Solo is a marvelous book - displaying a kind of virtuoso skill that made me marvel countless times. The language alone makes it worthy, almost every sentence precise and beguiling. Take this passage describing Ulrich's first glimpse of the madness that is Times Square:
"He comes in under the marvellous light, and stops to watch. Dazzling screens wrap polyp towers, which spire against the orange sky. His white hair reflects the logos, and turns harlequin."
How utterly stunning and perfect. Well deserving of the Commonwealth Prize. I look forward to his next book.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book, April 20, 2010
This review is from: Solo (Hardcover)
This is the best work by an Indian writer that I have ever had a chance to read. This is indeed a proud moment for all Indians as the writer veers away from India-specific topics and descends to a place Indians hardly think about ( unless as a stepping stone to illegally immigrate to UK). The protagonist is a century old man and as he awaits his death, he thinks it fit to go through his entire life from his childhood in Ottoman Empire, to Bulgaria's first whiff as a free democratic country, the World War and the rigid boredom of Communism. What shook my soul is the way the old man remembers his parents - for all their faults, theirs is the only purest love we ALL will ever know, thus extending this book from mere words to what our futures will be or even present for that matter. Masterpiece....lyrical and uncluttered prose...reads like a beautiful poem...top-notch editing...
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