Silver Castle

Rating:
Summary: A sad story told with humour
Review: Clive James' best novel is probably the third book of his autobiographical trilogy. If you want to laugh out loud, I'd recommend "Brilliant Creatures". "The Silver Castle" is funny, but I feel that Clive should stick to writing about Australia or the UK. When I read the book, I was left with the impression that he doesn't know India that well.

Rating:
Summary: It's brilliant.
Review: I was amazed to find his knowledge of India, the film industry and the politics of the streets so authentic. The story is like an off-line movie story while hovering around the film industry itself. I've read Clive James's other books but none touched me so much as this. Read it!

Rating:
Summary: A thought-provoking, insightful novel
Review: The sad and moving story of a young life lost. Told with wit and grit, the tale at first engenders the reader's sympathy for the young, precocious Sanjay growing up under deplorable conditions. And then by some curious trick, James allows the reader to distance himself/herself from Sanjay just enough to accept the "return to roots" ending without tears. Perhaps the trick is that you never really know what is in Sanjay's heart. Perhaps he doesn't have one: he is simply an opportunist who climbs the shakey ladder of success by any means possible. And perhaps the saddest indictment of all is that this may be the only hope for the bright sparks among India's poorest people. A thought-provoking, highly-readable novel written with insight and style. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A thought-provoking, insightful novel
Review: The sad and moving story of a young life lost. Told with wit and grit, the tale at first engenders the reader's sympathy for the young, precocious Sanjay growing up under deplorable conditions. And then by some curious trick, James allows the reader to distance himself/herself from Sanjay just enough to accept the "return to roots" ending without tears. Perhaps the trick is that you never really know what is in Sanjay's heart. Perhaps he doesn't have one: he is simply an opportunist who climbs the shakey ladder of success by any means possible. And perhaps the saddest indictment of all is that this may be the only hope for the bright sparks among India's poorest people. A thought-provoking, highly-readable novel written with insight and style. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A sad story told with humour
Review: This was my first Clive James book. I loved it. I've not yet been to Bombay, or any part of India, but having read the book, I feel like it's a place that I must (but not necessarily want to) visit.

It's a sad story about the life a young boy growing up in poverty in Bombay. It is tragic, but it is told with such objectiveness that you cannot cast judgment upon any of the characters involved.

This is a brilliant display of James' talent of telling things how they are, without imposing a moralistice slant. You'll even laugh a lot.

This book is definitely worth reading.