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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Story of the Indian Diaspora in the East, August 31, 2000
Amitava Ghosh is an outstanding member of the new genre of writers of Indian literature in English. His niche is combining history with fiction. In his previous books he focused on India's longstanding ties with Arabia. In the Glass Palace he moves to the East: Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia & Singapore. Through his story he highlights a number of important but neglected historical issues: slavery in the East - poor Indians shipped to plantations in the Far East; racism in the British Indian Army & the moral dilemma of Indian soldiers confronted with the Indian National Army fighting for India's freedom; treatment of the Burmese royalty when they came in the way of the English colonial trade in teak; and finally the enterprise of the businessmen of the Indian Diaspora. All through these events, he creates wonderful characters that we can feel and touch. The story line starts at a gentle pace but in the end is gripping, and the book is difficult to put down. It is also laced with erotica ala Indian style for the first time in his books. The only problem is the Indian publisher printed so few copies of the first edition that bookshops were out of stock before the reviews could hit the press.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3 Stars with an extra star for satisfaction and texture, March 6, 2002
I have the feeling that _The Glass Palace_ is in some ways a better history book than novel. It is nearly impossible not to admire it as an achievement-- the richness of the detail is astonishing as is the mood that the detail manages to create. We follow a family through three generations as they try to negotiate identity in both the colonial and post-colonial worlds. Unfortunately, the structure and characterization in the novel do not live up to the quality of the historic and atmospheric detail. The book follows a fairly standard rags-to-riches story format, and in many cases the characters lack the complexity that Ghosh is able to bring to the surrounding environment. It's a disappointing lack in an otherwise stunning work. It's worth saying as well that I found _The Glass Palace_ an incredibly *satisfying* read. I literally had a really hard time putting it down, and kept it in my purse to read on my lunch breaks and while waiting in lines. I suppose that's a fairly high recommendation in and of itself.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
History was never made so beautiful, April 10, 2001
Writing a semi-fiction, rather, a piece of literature whose many characters and incidences are by no means fictitious, is an arduous task, but Ghosh manages to accomplish it with a rare aplomb. Technically Ghosh is superb, painting a vivid picture of the period and the different cultures (Burmese and Bengali in particular) and their evolution. He maintains a delicate balance between the evolution of the historical, 'non-fictitious', characters and events and those which are the produce of his imaginations. I can't help admiring Ghosh for his ability to create characters who seem so so real that makes me feel as if I have personal acquintance with them, and this feat he manages to achieve in all his books, The Circle of Reasons, The Shadow Lines (my eternal favourite) and also Calcutta Chromosomes. I had picked up this book with apprehension that he won't be able to live up to the promise that he has created himself through his previous works, but by the time I reached halfway I realised that my apprehensions were grossly misplaced. Each character is subtly crafted out in detail and their evolution couldn't be more natural. It's definitely a very good read.
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