There are a few books which do not fit into the confines of a genre. Although the tag of fiction does not entirely work for them, they have a mood and an aura which makes them look like a work of fiction. John Lang’s “Wanderings in Hindostan” written in 1860, belongs to such a category….
Adventure novels are a distinct category which needs a special mention in my series of posts about the novel. My first foray into the world of fiction as I have mentioned earlier was with the novel “Round the World in 80 days” by Jules Verne. A roller coaster ride about a meticulous person, Phileas Fogg,…
The journey of my engagement with fiction compels me to acknowledge some of the influences and other factors in that journey. On this account this post takes a little personal turn. Reading is an addictive habit. “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than…
This post is about the novel The Tin Drum by Nobel prize winning novelist Gunter Grass. I have read only one of his novels but have preserved a very strong impression of the novel’s style and narrative structure. The Tin Drum is the life of Oskar Matzerath. Oskar Matzerath’s companion through life is his drum…
This week’s post about the novel is about the Post modernist American novel by Ralph Ellison Invisible Man – A novel that examines several questions of the African-American identity and individuality from a perspective that was radically different from novels written until then, this novel has been regarded as the American picaresque novel which does…
Figurative expression as an aspect of the novel found in the novels of D.H.Lawrence and Thomas Hardy: Both the novelists engaged intensely with their subject and were also poets. Poems of D.H. Lawrence like ‘ The Snake’ and ‘Ship Of Death’ have a vitality and ardour which can be observed to a greater extent in…
What a delightful novel! What an astounding array of characters. It is remarkable how Dickens does not leave out even one strand unraveled or no character rounded off towards the end. When I finished the novel, I felt I had had a repast. Dickens is truly at the height of his powers; be it the…
This week’s post on fiction is about two novels which occupy an important place in the history of 18th century fiction and are the earliest examples of ingenious skill and mastery of the craft of fiction. Both the novels belong to the picaresque tradition of which ‘Don Quixote’ is the most famous example. Humphrey Clinker…
andom reflections on the novel (Part-24) This week my reflections are about one of the most profound novels that I have read –“Brothers Karamazov” In the world not everything is rational. If everything in the world was rational, nothing would happen. So, it would be unwise or foolish to look for solutions, logical outcomes as…
andom reflections on the novel- (Part-23) Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle maintenance. Robert.M.Pirsig Culture and Science or more precisely Art and Science shape different visions in each individual. What dominates our thought is what determines our world vision. Can people make quick adjustments between these two narrative veins: Art which is more about…