点评:现代印度以刺穿的成功和耻辱而陷入困境

“逃跑和隐藏”由Pankaj Mishra。照片:Farrar,Straus和Giroux

庆祝的印度散文师和小说家Pankaj Mishra Frams反对现代世界。不像一些旧的旧蜥蜴或嗜嘴留下。他对现代主义的看法及其对全球财富的承诺,成长和履行是持怀疑令人疑问的,好奇的,几乎不舒服的刺穿。在他的新小说中,“奔波和隐藏”,他扫描全球化,民粹主义,文化动荡和现代阳刚地的危机进入了现代化的印度故事。

在他之前的书中,“愤怒的年龄:当前的历史”,“米什拉写道,”后殖民国民建设是一个非凡的项目:数亿人说服放弃 - 并且经常被嘲笑 - 过去的世界的世界持续了数千年,并承担创造现代公民的赌博,他们将是世俗的,开明,培养和英雄。“

“奔跑和隐藏”感觉就像这个想法的延伸,通过一个像贫穷的三名男子一样多彩的生活,在20世纪90年代在着名的印度理工学院追求本科生。他们的代表性是所谓的不受限制的改善,其中来自达利特种姓的贫困男孩可能会受到通过纯粹的努力的新印度的承诺。

The story is narrated by Arun Dwivedy, once a village boy joylessly trying to fulfill his parents’ wish for financial advancement, who, as an adult, finds himself eschewing the public success of his university friends and moving to a small Himalayan village to pursue the thankless work of translating Hindi literature. Meanwhile, his former classmates grow up to become giants of American banking and Indian publishing — the movers and shakers and “idea makers” of a global intellectual elite.

Pankaj Mishra是“奔跑和隐藏”的作者。照片:Farrar,Straus和Giroux

Arun的故事被告知是一个解读,在他们所有经历了各种形式的现代公共崩溃之后,对这些着名男子的书的作者来说是一个解读。他的公共羞辱的版本是如何对权力和财富机制来获取收费的真实故事。

这部小说是深刻的印度人,肯定读者,如此不太熟悉该国的历史,文化和语言的细节,尽管Mishra惊险的特殊性和描述。但像大多数事物一样,这本书不会在边界停留。

Mishra’s scenes of life among the modern elites of Delhi, London and New York, what Arun describes as the “true exotics: members of the racially and ethnically diverse but otherwise acutely homogeneous group I found myself in,” are so precise and well-observed they are almost embarrassing. Certainly, if you happen to be the type of lucky liberal who has found him or herself bemoaning the collapse of democracy “over Ottolenghi salads sprinkled with pomegranate, chai and pumpkin seeds,” you might feel, oh, a bit exposed. Mishra is a masterful eyewitness to the modern world, equally unafraid of nuance, earnestness and absurdity.

“奔跑和隐藏” - 在文学参考中,关于Modi政府弊病的意见和阶级,种姓和性别角色的冥想 - 不是情节驱动的。这是一个关于一个快速和鲁莽的世界的慢,仔细的书。这不是目的地小说;这是一部小说。一个非常值得拍照。

跑和隐藏
由Pankaj Mishra.
(Farrar,Straus和Giroux; 336页; 27美元)

  • Samantha Schoech.
    Samantha Schoech.Samantha Schoech是Chronicle的书籍顾问。