The Impressionist

Rating:
Summary: Flashman did it better
Review: The Flashman novels of George MacDonald Fraser with an Anglo-English anti-hero instead of an English one crammed into one volume totally lacking the wit and humor of the Flashman books. Rather than this, I recommend you stick with the Flashman novels, Victorian and Edwardian travelogues, and contemporary nonfiction on the topics on East-West ethnic and religious conflict, sexuality, and manipulation.

Rating:
Summary: Get at the library or tag sale ...
Review: The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru
Indeed a forgettable read. I found the protagonist weak and at time deserving of his fate. This character went through unbelievable odds to be accepted but learned very little in the way of self-acceptance in the process. There are several points in this book that deserve mentioning - 1.) It was well researched as far as info on the Fatehpur (sp. book is not in front of me) and the African tribe; 2.) Interesting premise as far as settings; it was like the television show Sliders where characters are transported to new worlds in order to find the one they belong to. The Transitions were wonderful and the introduction to various cultures through the eyes of a foreigner trying to conform mirrored my own experiences. 3.) Good choice of subject - bi-racial individual evolving in a black and white world accepted by neither.

With all that said, I was highly disappointed on how the author handled this subject that had so much promise. The protagonist was weak and did not inspire any compassion from the reader, who was forced to endure long stretches of dry unbearable text. The long and the short of it is this story was less about identity (which should have been the premise) and more about chasing a girl. I feel there should have been more written on the internal struggle and less about scenery. Delving into the psyche of this individual would have led to a more interesting read.

Rating:
Summary: Dazzingly clever, deceptively complex.
Review: The most wonderful aspect of this book is the reader's slowly growing awareness that this is not "just" another plot-driven novel with exotic locations and an unusual protagonist facing life-changing decisions, however fascinating they may be. It is also a deeply engrossing and carefully constructed tour de force which uses an exciting plot and a good deal of humor to make statements about the essence of selfhood, the importance of national and cultural identity, and, ultimately, our definitions of civilization and civilized behavior.

In a daring move, Kunzru throws the conventions of characterization to the winds. Instead of bringing his main character alive by showcasing his uniqueness and highlighting his different personal perspective on the world and its history, Kunzru does the opposite. In Pran/Rukhsana/Chandra/Pretty Bobby/Jonathan Bridgeman, he gives us a character who becomes, during the novel, less unique, more stereotypical--a man who sees life "in general" and from the perspective of whatever society he inhabits, a man who accepts the judgments and morality imposed upon him, acting, ultimately, "For God and England and the Empire and Civilization and Progress and Uplift and Morality and Honor."

Set primarily in the latter years of World War I and in the turbulent 1920's of the British Raj in India, the novel introduces Pran Nath Razdan, the beautiful, spoiled, and arrogant son of a wealthy court pleader in Agra. Banished from his home when his true status as a half Anglo is discovered, he must adapt to changed circumstances to stay alive. As the chief hijra of Fatehpur tells him when he assumes the role of Rukhsana and enters the harem of the Sultan, "We are all as mutable as the air! Just release...your body and you can be a myriad! An army!"

In successive roles in other locations, he learns to create impressions, to become stereotypical of the cultures in which he finds himself, to be whatever someone wants him to be, from a male prostitute and procurer in India to a student at Oxford and an assistant to an anthropologist in Africa. Along the way, he learns that it pays to be British--while the reader sees the extent to which British colonialism and arrogance have indelibly changed the world for the worse.

Satirical touches (not the least of which are some of the characters' names), broad humor, and irony make reading this story a continual delight, despite the author's occasional lapses into irrelevant background material for some of the characters. The descriptions are vibrant, the observations of human nature are incisive, the message is important, and the conclusion is wonderfully appropriate. This is a book which escapes the bounds of its plot to make an important anticolonial statement and promote respect for other, non-western cultures.

Rating:
Summary: 3.5 stars
Review: The story centres around Pran, who is a half-English and half-Indian boy, passed off to his Indian stepfather as his own child. When his true parentage is discovered, his stepfather disowns him. Pran then tries to find a niche to fit into to ensure his survival, find a sense of belonging and create security.

Through his various "careers", we explore different facets of Indian and English life. I enjoyed being able to see more of a zenana since it's an aspect of Indian life that is often quite private. Prostitution is also something hasn't been discussed in other books about India that I've read and it was disturbing to see how the English used the local people.

I think it's an unbeliveable story since I don't think that a young man could assume so many different personae between ages 15 to 21. Certain aspects of the story were quite ridiculous and they allowed Pran to transition from one life to another. In particular, at the beginning of the book, Pran was about to rape his servant. By the time he became "English", he began to feel sorry for his servants. Pran had not encountered anything that would imbue him with a sense of morals so it didn't make a lot of sense that he would start caring about his effect on others. Pran's journey towards a more English way of life just increased his hypocrisy and his confusion.

I would suggest reading this book with the expectation that it's not out of any particular genre. I would consider it to be in the "A Son of a Circus" genre, if that exists. India, England and Africa are just settings in this book, they don't typify it. Overall, an intriguing read.

Rating:
Summary: Identity as something to be shed like dead skin
Review: The theme is familiar but rarely has it been expressed so hauntingly as it is here; and hardly ever has it been explored so completely by a first time writer. Ethnic identity kindled in the heat of miscegenation is beyond love or passion; it tugs at the very essence of who we say we are as individuals and how we claim our nationalities. Add to that mix a colonial setting with issues of wealth and privilege set against powerlessness and self doubt and you've got a rich tableau of human emotion from which to craft your novel and develop characters. This story is set in early 20th century colonial India. That and the central character Pran being the child of an English father and Indian mother immediately creates the setting for exploring the big question of "who am I?" This is the theme of much of V.S. Naipual's writing such as the MIMIC MEN.

There is no need for Pran to mimic anyone at least not for the first 15 years of his life. He is brought up by a Kashmiri lawyer who takes him as his own son. "His father will not hear a word spoken against him...when his aunties come visit, they pinch his cheeks and coo...Pran Nath, so beautiful! So pale! Such a perfect Kashmiri!". Pran's mother died with her secrets in childbirth and his real father - Englishman Ronald Forrester - is also long gone having died the night Pran was conceived. Pran is therefore not a perfect Kashmiri and this is eventually revealed to his lawyer father who promptly throws the youth out onto the streets.

Pran falls into the hands of a eunuch who pimps him out to Major Privett-Clampe a bizarre colonial character. No longer Pran the boy is now Clive. We see the beginnings of the chameleon. At first changes are for survival but soon he is learning, adapting, realizing that by being different people according to others needs he can achieve what he wants. Identity becomes a tool Pran uses with great skill in social climbing. We next meet him in Bombay where he has become Robert, the foster-child of Scottish missionaries. This is only his day time persona because at night he's back on the streets as Pretty Bobby. Still another reincarnation takes place and now we see THE IMPRESSIONIST emerging and developing to his full potential.

He stumbles upon a passport and ticket to London. They belonged to an orphaned heir named Jonathan Bridgeman who was killed in a Bombay back alley. No longer satisfied with mimicking those around him, the impressionist assumes Bridgeman's identity and returns to England and Oxford. It's no coincidence that the author has him studying anthropology because he has become something of a curiosity himself. He says to himself "how easy it is to slough off one life and take up another". Perhaps if he had heeded the implicit warning in his own thoughts he would have realized that a fluid identity is also no identity whatsoever. When Pran falls in love and realizes that his real Indian identity is appropriate for this situation it is too far gone and he can't recover.

Like both Naipaul and Waugh before him Kunzru writes a subtle satire. Also like Naipaul he is able to plumb the depths with the tragic elements that oftentimes envelopes the subject of ethnic identity. Kunzru wouldn't have been true to those others if in the end he neatly resolved the identity issue. Such matters have a long history and an interminable future.

Rating:
Summary: Surpasses Expectations and Offers A Stunning Read
Review: This book had received substanial hype...anyone who is into keeping up with contemporary fiction (I hesitate to say 'better' literature) in other words, someone who avoids the best seller lists, the more "popular" books,...etc. had learned of Kunzru's huge advance and read of his background as a DJ, writer, etc ....so I was more than mildly curious to read it and I was absolutely caught up in this wonderfully imaginative story of Pran....and his magnificent and fascinating journey...I won't go into the story .......
I think what makes this book so good are the supporting characters --the people that Pran meets along the way and their impact on his life and development. A thoroughly enjoyabe read -- I highly recommend this book to anyone with an imagination and a good sense of humor.The book is delightfully droll ( the touch of British and perhaps Asian Indian irony are very evident) and the pages turn aas quicly as if you were viewing a film.....

Rating:
Summary: Hard to rate...
Review: This book is one of the hardest I've had to rate, in trying to decide what it deserves, in my opinion. I think a 3 & a half stars. I say that because for half of the book, the reading was very tedious & boring. I was not enjoying the book at all, and I had many thoughts of just putting it down & not finishing it.
However, it did start to get interesting & things began to turn around towards the last half or even later of the book. I don't want to spoil any story lines, but I'll just say out of the several personalities Pran took on, the later caught my attention much more. I started to wonder what was going to happen next. There were other aspects about this book that I had a hard time with too, though. One being that there was a LOT of description, and little dialogue. Two, I felt I didn't get a very good look into the main character himself. I didn't finish the book knowing much about his thoughts. At times I was frustrated when much detail was put into other characters and their back grounds, I felt it unnecessary, especially if there wasn't much time devoted to Pran. But, you might want to try this book for yourself. If you can get past the first half, I think you'll enjoy the second. This isn't for those that tire easily though, and the writing contains a lot of words you might need a dictionary for.

Rating:
Summary: Dazzling
Review: This first novel is so good that I can't wait to seee what follows. No need to go into the details of the book, as others before me have done an admirable job. Not since A Delicate Balance (Rohinton Mistry) have I read a novel set in India (or at least beginning in India!) as engrossing as this. Pran Nath Razdan, the unwitting human sponge, is one of the more memorable characters in recent fiction, and he is surrounded with an equally vivid cast -scheming Indian aristocrats, crusty old Brit soldiers, eccentric missionaries, Oxford blue bloods, African tribesmen - all reflecting upon Pran their own, usually erroneous, certainties. Who is Pran? He is whoever he needs to be in order to survive, which may well mean he is no one at all. One adventure after another, many hilarious episodes, and the underlying truth that a book cannot be told by its cover - this is a wonderful read!

Rating:
Summary: There is no Pran Nath...
Review: This interesting debut by Hari Kunzru explores notions of culture, self and identity across a span of three continents--Asia, Western Europe and Africa. Kunzru has somehow managed to develop a riveting story around a most unappealing "hero." Pran Nath is the obnoxious, spoiled, abusive son of a wealthy Indian who is expelled from his home when his true parentage is discovered--through a revelation by a servant trying to protect her daughter from this 15 year old's raging libido. Although the life into which Pran Nath is thrust is truly scary, it is hard to be sympathetic at first. But our young hero proves himself to be not only beautiful but a clever survivor, and he learns to survive first in a brothel, then as a plaything in the palace of a minor Indian price, then as the "adopted" son of a pair of wacky Scots missionaries. I thought Kunzru admirably captured the terror of Indian city streets, the decadence of the waning days of the Raj, the craziness of missionaries trying to convert people they have no understanding of.

Unlike other reviewers I thought Pran's life as Jonathan Bridgeman the most interesting. Kunzru's detailing of the rituals of the upper class English in the 20's was fascinating--the details of dress, speech and facial expression, the ceremony of cricket, the public school system are broadly satirized in an intriguing social commentary. Bridgeman's first love ends in a supremely ironic fashion, driving him to Africa as a research assistant to the father of his lost love. Again, this last part of the book portrays the English in a highly critical fashion--believing themselves to be the source of all civilization, they are arrogant, destructive and cruel. But our hero once again escapes, as the research party meets a grisly end.

Some readers feel the end of this book is empty and flat, but I think that's precisely the point. There is no Pran Nath, just as there is no Clive, Robert, Pretty Bobby, or Jonathan Bridgeman. This is a person whose true identity has always been hidden, unwittingly at first, then in order to survive. With all his false selves driven away, there is no true self left--the empty desert in the last scene echoes the emptiness of the person inside.

As a postscript, I litened to the unabridged audio version, read by the author. Most people are good writers or readers but rarely both, but this author/reader is an exception. Kunzru's recording of his first novel is excellent listening.

Rating:
Summary: Charles Dickens meets Merchant/Ivory
Review: This is a sprawling, exotic, Dickensian fable, beautifully written and vastly entertaining. Some minor quibbles: an almost too fantastic opening and a weak, "huh?" of an ending. But what comes in-between is masterful, colorful, wonderful. Can't wait for the movie! Hailing Merchant/Ivory or Anthony Minghella! IMPORTANT: Don't read the jacket flap unless you want to learn what happens in the entire book!