Sikh Art and Literature

Rating:
Summary: Sounded Promising but . . .
Review: I ordered this book with great excitement - it promised so much. However I cannot describe the disappointment, actually I can and here it is: Published by the Sikh Foundation (who are they?) and edited by Kerry Brown (who is he?) it contains a number of papers delivered at an academic conference some years ago - in many respects a worthy and vital addition to the body of research into Sikh heritage. However it should really have remained an academic conference and a collection of papers - this is not a book. The writing, with a few notable exceptions (Sidhu, Lal and Stronge), is simply not accessible to most readers of this book. Most of the academics that have been asked to contribute seem to have some other agenda in the forefront of their minds. In one hilarious chapter on Sikh architecture, the writer (who clearly has a deep and passionate interest in Greek and Roman Architecture) seems to forget that he is writing for a Sikh audience and then casually remarks that there are some parallels and then goes on to finish his chapter about Early Greek temple architecture - very very weird. Before I look at the more redeeming features - the poor quality of the book's design and presentation must be noted. In 1999 there was an outpouring of excellent Sikh publications (Patwant Singh's The Sikhs, Warrior Saints, The Sikhs (Tiger Press), Psyche of the Soul and most notably the catalogue to the Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms (Ed Susan Stronge)) These books have gone a long way in redefining the quality of Sikh publications. 'Sikh Art and Literature' however belongs to the Hemkunt Press school of publishing - this is a very cheaply produced book. The reproduction of the images is very poor indeed, most of the images are pixelated, blurred or just badly re produced. Some of the pictures are just plain embarrassing - it is worth paying for the book just to see the Polaroid of Khushawnt Singh ! This is not a book for the coffee table or your shelf This lack of attention to detail shows nothing but contempt for the subject matter and the unsuspecting reader. This is clearly a publication aimed at cashing in on the boom for Sikh books in 1999- well you got me! I hope that you don't fool too many others

Rating:
Summary: Boring and cheaply done
Review: This book is a big let down. Save your money and get Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms. This is small, cheap, poor quality and boring in comparison