Saturday, June 30, 2012

A Passage to India, Conclusion


The plot of this story continues to seem elusive, even up to the end.  Events will seem to be leading us to some predictable outcome, only to veer rather sharply in unexpected directions.  To readers who have been jaded by the predictability of books they have been reading lately, this may be a refreshing change.  I tend to like a certain amount of what I call “quirkiness” in an author’s approach anyway.  The only thing that bothers me here is that I can’t tell whether Forster is doing it on purpose – whether it is a stylistic device he employs that is best viewed as a mark of his originality – or whether it’s just plain sloppiness! 

Most of the books I enjoy work from a premise.  Like the “Situation” of a “Situation Comedy” (sit-com, if you please), we know up front what the story is “about” from the premise we began with.  People who read exclusively Mysteries, for example, always know what they’re getting and expect it.  In Passage, the premise, such as it is, exists almost as a backdrop over which to drape the theme.  And the theme – the inevitability of a clash of cultures and races when they mix, especially in a colonial environment – is not really presented as The Theme, as such, until this last segment.

Aziz has decided that he will have no more to do with Englishmen (and even less with English women, after his ordeal with the false accusations!).  He even includes in this vow the one Englishman – Fielding – who had always stood by him through his difficulties.  But when Fielding comes to visit him in his new environment and position, we see a triumph of friendship over racism after all.  The quote, “Racism rarely survives familiarity” comes to mind.  [As a side note: could the author – now known to have been gay in a time and place when it was much less accepted than here and now – have had sexual inclination in mind as well as racism?]

Throughout the book, the author has blended passages of dialog with passages of description as adroitly as any author, better than most.  Perhaps to set apart the last division of this book, he suddenly begins to use long descriptive passages, including some very long single paragraphs.  It even appears, at times, that the author is merely showing off the depth of his knowledge regarding Hindu religious ceremonies.  These paragraphs are just interesting enough to a mature reader to hold his interest, but not much more.

It is, however, the most colorfully written section of the book by far, creating an atmosphere of foreignness that the reader is probably hoping for in a work like this.  What dialog there is continues to be first rate, defining the characters – even the new and rather odd young relative of Fielding – as they speak.  Again, there are “events” that take place to keep the story moving forward; which would almost seem to be their only function.  But the events aren’t the story.  Tom Clancy readers (even Tolkien readers?) might not give this book many stars on Amazon because of this.  They would be missing the point.  As for me, I will definitely be reading more Forster, and soon!

Special thanks again to Susan K.-C. for recommending July's book of the month, "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A Passage to India, Chapters 17-26

So, it seems that Adela did indeed make her way down the mountainside, and in such a panic that she blindly scrambled through patches of cactus and had to be treated for that on her return to “civilization” (which subsequently becomes much less civilized!).  This is one of several “blind alleys” that the author has led us into, plot-wise, that might be intended to add suspense; but that leave me feeling merely disconcerted instead.  It doesn’t make me less likely to read more of his works – I’m still greatly entertained – but it does give me the impression that the plot line wasn’t clearly worked out in advance or, worse, was altered mid-stream, either through the whims of a dictatorial editor, or the author’s own prevarications.

At one point, I thought we were about to be treated to an intriguing re-telling of To Kill a Mockingbird, complete with a long, dramatic court scene.  Having the accuser recant almost at the beginning of the trial hurtles us into new territory, as has similarly taken place already in this tale.  Personally, I don’t find that objectionable, but I think many readers would. 

But a lot of the action that takes place here is revealed to us after the fact, through a character’s Oh-By-The-Way remark to another character.  Again, this is not objectionable to me, but it seems to indicate sloppy plot construction, and one wonders again if we’re seeing the hand of an over-bearing editor.  Was the original manuscript two or three times as long?  Looking at other works by this author, we see that this is one of the longer ones, as it is.

The central characters, as well as many of the secondary characters, continue to be well-defined and well-developed, with perhaps the exception of Adela herself.  At times flighty and even scatter-brained, or otherwise thoughtful and discerning, we get the impression there’s something loose rolling around upstairs.  That may have been a necessary plot device to give us the drama of the recanting on the witness stand, but it’s hard to feel any sympathy for her, and her function in this story makes it necessary that we relate to her in some meaningful way. 

Earlier, I wondered whether the author understands the Indian Mind as well as he thinks he does.  Now I’m having similar doubts about his understanding of the Female Mind!  Most male authors simply refrain from pretending too much to understand the way women think, and most authors would do well to avoid trying to explain the way a foreigner thinks.  Forster may have over-estimated his abilities in both areas.  Still, it makes for a good read, and wherever this story ultimately takes us, I find myself anticipating a very interesting conclusion.

Our book for July will be "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. 

Special thanks to Susan K.-C. for recommending this one!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

A Passage to India, Chapters 8-16

We continue to be treated to glimpses of the Indian viewpoint – or at least one British author’s interpretation of the Indian viewpoint – as Aziz’s thoughts and emotions are described.  The psychology certainly reminds one of certain people we have known.  As this section of the story has developed, we see Aziz willing himself to believe what he wishes to believe, and talking himself into refusing to consider any alternatives to the sequence of events as he understands them.  Thus, Miss Quested gets left behind in the wilderness. 

Or does she?  The turn of events upon the party’s arrival back in Chandrapore; Aziz’s being arrested; doesn’t seem to align with this theory.  Is this mystery a central part of the story line or a temporary confusion soon to be cleared up?  At the caves, it is pretty clear that she was unintentionally abandoned, but not enough evidence is given the reader to be sure.  Again, is this the author’s intent, to muddy the waters so that the reader is left guessing?  The plot line begins to pick up speed rather suddenly after a fairly leisurely first half!

The prose continues in the late 19th century British vein, without – as mentioned before – the stereotypical “Britishisms” that can grow tiresome.  Forster, in fact, has some interesting quirks all his own; little surprises and asides that are oddly charming.  An entire scene is compacted into one or two sentences; or, conversely, a slight misunderstanding between two characters is gone into great detail with lengthy dialog. 

But the story never really bogs down; even the descriptive passages of the countryside or a travel sequence contain so much of passing interest that the reader – at least this reader – never gets impatient for the author to just get on with the story.  If anything, the pace occasionally surges forward almost too fast to follow.  I found myself a few times re-reading a passage, not because I had gone into a trance and forgotten to pay attention, but because I felt like I had missed some details hidden in the action.  But I can’t really find fault with the author over this.  Rather than a deficiency, it feels more like a nuance of style. 

And it’s a style that, overall, I like very much.  Not even halfway through the book I found myself anticipating reading other books by the same author and wondering how these stylistic nuances and quirks would come across applied to completely different settings and casts of characters.  Since I was young I’ve heard the titles of some of his other works, including “A Room with a View.”  There’s even a funny riddle I remember from years ago: What do you call the test tube that contains a test tube baby? “A Womb with a View.”

Next segment: Chapters 17-26.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

A Passage to India, Chapters 1-7

For me, this is the first time reading E. M. Forster.  The stodginess that I, out of habit, always seem to expect out of the classic (or is he merely “established”?) British authors is, as nearly always, quite absent.  For some reason, I’m always mildly and pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to read.  Well, of course; a difficult book doesn’t usually become a classic because a classic, almost by definition, appeals to a wide range of readers.  Passage is very accessible, and even lacks most of the “Britishisms” that make some of the old English masters seem quaint.

The general premise here is simply the clash of cultures brought about by the English occupation of India in the late 1800’s.  Though not told in first person, we get very vivid images of how the characters of both sides think and feel about the situation in the relatively backwater town of Chandrapore.  One caveat: somewhere in the back of my mind, I can’t help being a little suspicious that this story, told by an Englishman, might perhaps slant the truth toward them at least a little.  Does an Indian, reading this book, see glaring examples of ethnocentrism in the writing?  I have to suspect at least a little of that!

To be fair, the various Indian characters are very much not stereotyped, and disagree with one another much even on key issues.  Ditto for the English.  The characterizations are superb, not overly descriptive, but revealed through dialog as in most good writing.  The main Indian character (not too heroic a hero), Aziz, is a pretty complex individual, and we feel we know people a lot like him.  The female characters escape stereotyping as well; more so, in my opinion, than, for example, Pride and Prejudice and other classics by female British authors from the same era.

The cultural conventions of the setting are effectively shown, perhaps even accurate.  From my other readings of India, I have gathered that the country is, and has long been, a place of bribery, or a least “tipping” to the point of bribery.  (See Yanni’s excellent autobiography in which he arranges to perform at the Taj Mahal.  A harrowing account!) This cultural quirk is not overlooked in Passage, and many lesser ones are revealed.  Exactly what I was hoping for from a story set in India!

Next segment: Chapters 8-16.