The Inheritance of Loss
I had been eager to read The Inheritance of Loss ever since I heard that Kiran Desai had won the Man Booker award (2006) for this book. I was glad when my colleague Kusuma offered to lend her copy to me.
As is usually the case with things that are hyped up, I half expected this book to be bad. The opinions I had heard from friends, and their friends, about the book was not too promising either. Everyone had felt that the book had started off well, but then deteriorated towards the end. It was very depressing. Kiran Desai’s writing style was very close to that of Arundhati Roy. (I haven’t read any work of Arundhati Roy myself, so I can’t comment on that.)
I beg to differ.
I fell in love with the book. Kiran Desai’s writing is so very good. I am surprised at the clarity with which she understands and describes the Indian psyche. How is she able to put in words the workings of the minds of so many different Indians with such alarming precision?
Kiran Desai’s writing style is excellent. There are places in this book where the prose is so painfully beautiful that you can almost feel the words jutting out of the book and reaching for your soul.
A word of caution, though. If you are Indian, the cynicism can be a bit of a burden. Don’t start reading this book when you’re feeling low. 