Word: vassanji
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...Vassanji's The Assassin's Song is a more complex but ultimately less satisfying examination of similar turf. The central character, Karsan, is destined to be the latest in a centuries-long familial line to inherit the Shrine of the Wanderer, an important place of Sufi worship in India's Gujarat state. But as a young man he falls out with his father and loses his faith, escaping to North America instead. When he returns, after the riots that ripped apart Gujarat in 2002, Karsan is forced to re-examine his beliefs, his family and himself...
...longer of the two books, The Assassin's Song jumps between the late 13th century and the past half-century, and while the technique adds some emotional heft and spiritual context to the story, it ultimately distracts from the central plot. Vassanji captures important moments in Indian history - the war with China in 1962 and the 2002 riots - in wonderful detail that links to the personal tale at the center of the novel. But the undoubtedly painstaking research can also grow too heavy and sometimes leaves one wanting more story and less history lesson...
...India should appear at the same time is hardly surprising: dealing with sectarianism is among India's most pressing needs. With the country's politicians failing to drive the debate, who can fault Indian writers for taking on the challenge? Nor is it a shock that both Davidar and Vassanji live abroad - distance often allows writers to see their homes more clearly than those still living there. The real surprise is that there are still people who moan that books about India written by expatriates and émigrés are less important or less genuinely Indian. India...
BOOK READING | Han Ong, Elif Shafak and M.G. Vassanji...
World-renowned writers Han Ong, Elif Shafak and M.G. Vassanji gather to read excerpts of their celebrated novels The Disinherited, The Saint of Incipient Insanities, and The In Between World of Vikram Lall. Ong, a Filipino-American, Shafak, from Turkey and Vassanji, from Kenya via Tanzania and Canada, all focus their recent novels on stories of exile and love, and the emotional attachments of one’s culture. No ticket necessary. 6:30 p.m. The Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass...
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