I do wish some of my online Indian acquaintances had opinions about this book; in some respects it is difficult to know what to make of it.

For a start one sympathises with the readers and reviewers online who complain about the structure of these stories. I would describe many of them as episodes rather than stories and for those who like an end to a story, this is a collection that will largely disappoint, most of them stopping rather than ending.

For another thing, I imagine non-Indian readers would find it a hard collection to comprehend. In the realm of fiction, of the various works I’ve read, this is particularly Indian, culturally and even linguistically. As well as the economic and social stratifications evident in Indian society, there is much about Britishness as it pertains to some, and geographical cultural distinctions. Not many outside India are going to have understanding of the situation of a Bengali in Bombay. Still, one wonders at this, for example, from The Kirkus Review:

Little happens in Chaudhuri’s otherwise exquisitely fashioned fiction: witness “The Great Game,” a vignette that employs the phenomenon of soccer combat to underscore tensions between India and Pakistan;

If it were not clear to the anonymous reviewer from the story that this is about cricket – yeah, not the world famous soccer player Tendulkar – there is even a note about the story at the end which discusses it being about cricket.

Here for the rest:

http://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/real-time-by-amit-chaudhur... ( )

I do wish some of my online Indian acquaintances had opinions about this book; in some respects it is difficult to know what to make of it.

For a start one sympathises with the readers and reviewers online who complain about the structure of these stories. I would describe many of them as episodes rather than stories and for those who like an end to a story, this is a collection that will largely disappoint, most of them stopping rather than ending.

For another thing, I imagine non-Indian readers would find it a hard collection to comprehend. In the realm of fiction, of the various works I’ve read, this is particularly Indian, culturally and even linguistically. As well as the economic and social stratifications evident in Indian society, there is much about Britishness as it pertains to some, and geographical cultural distinctions. Not many outside India are going to have understanding of the situation of a Bengali in Bombay. Still, one wonders at this, for example, from The Kirkus Review:

Little happens in Chaudhuri’s otherwise exquisitely fashioned fiction: witness “The Great Game,” a vignette that employs the phenomenon of soccer combat to underscore tensions between India and Pakistan;

If it were not clear to the anonymous reviewer from the story that this is about cricket – yeah, not the world famous soccer player Tendulkar – there is even a note about the story at the end which discusses it being about cricket.

Here for the rest:

http://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/real-time-by-amit-chaudhur... ( )

Low-key and enchanting at the same time - while not a very typical combination, it was a very enjoyable read. ( )