The Piano Teacher - Elfriede Jelinek

The Piano Teacher, a book that was made into a movie, one that had received so many rave reviews over the years, a book that was part of the 1001 Book List, written by a Nobel Prize laureate, Elfriede Jelinek. These were definitely compelling reasons to peruse the book and I decided to plunge straight into it. Maybe it was the hype surrounding the book, maybe my own expectations were quite high, but in the end the book just left me feeling cold and unmoved.

The protogonist, Erika, as the title suggests is a Piano teacher in Vienna, living with her over-ambitious mother, a mother who delights in dreaming and pushing her daughter ahead, while being resigned to her own failure. The mother-daughter pair are involved in a constant love-hate battle. Erika resents the thought of being burdened by her mother and yet she is most comfortable in her mother's presence. The story, or whatever there is of it, trudges along rather slowly, much to the annoyance of the reader, trundling along with Erika and her lustful adventures with her student, Walter. 

The Piano Teacher is a translated work, but surprisingly the language is very powerful and resonates well with the character of Erika. Unfortuantely, even the beauty of language is soon lost on the reader, because language alone cannot make up for lacks of a good story or structure in the background.There is no direct speech anywhere in the book, which is quite unusual for a work of fiction. Erika, being the central character, is depicted as a selfish, lustful with her petty whims and fancies, atypical of most books.  The love affair between Erika and her student Walter, transfused with music, in the backdrop of Vienna would have charmed the reader but their lustful consorting only leaves one feeling disgusted.

The Piano Teacher, lacking the vitality of a contemporary collection or the beauty of a classic can be safely tossed aside. 

Book Rating - 2/5

 Interesting books part of the 1001 Books List that you may want to read:-

Atonement - Ian McEwan

The God of Small Things - Arundhathi Roy

Sadly this book has been a letdown but I hope to have some interesting review coming up shortly about Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.

The Buddha of Suburbia - Hanif Kureishi

The Buddha of Suburbia is the third book by Hanif Kureishi that I have read. I was not very impressed with Kureishi's books in the past but I went ahead and picked up this book as it was part of the 1001 books list and I had heard some rave reviews about it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 1001 books, it is an evolving list of some great books spanning 3 centuries, including some of the contemporary titles. I am slowly getting used to Kureishi's writing style but this book did seem to be a let down.

The protagonist in the Buddha of Suburbia is Karim, a disillusioned teenager living in a dingy London suburb. Being the son of a an Indian Muslim father and an English mother, he feels trapped in a world he does not fully comprehend. He is in awe with the London lifestyle and believes his liberation lies in getting there. Meanwhile his father has taken to the eastern philosophies of yoga and meditation and is charming his way through the minds of the confused suburbans.

Kureishi has touched upon some very immoral themes in this book ,with a certain callousness that can leave the reader a bit bemused but far more confused. His characters live in a state of constant squalor that can even go as far as disgusting at times. The story seemed to simply drift from the suburbs to the city as did the characters. There was a wide ensemble of characters but all the characters lacked a certain punch.

There was also an underlying contradiction in the novel. Karim, although, born in England to an English mother seemed to associate more with his Indian self. He believed himself to be an Indian immigrant rather than one of the English. Considering his half-English origins, bundled with the fact that he had never set foot in India would have quite easily disqualified him from the immigrant status. But Kureishi made him out to be the unfortunate immigrant and the tale told through an immigrant's perspective.

To do the book some justice, I need to mention that the irreverent humour, at places, did seem to truly make me laugh. Kureishi handled Karim's transformation from the role of observer as he tramps along the suburbs, to observed as he frolics along the streets of London, quite well.

The book is really not worth your while. But if you have heard of Hanif Kureishi and would like to try his books, then this is probably a better bet.

Book Rating - 2.5/5

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters is the next review steaming in the  background. So don't miss out on it. 

The Great Indian Novel - Shashi Tharoor

There is always an interesting story behind how one comes to pick up a certain book. Sometimes books reach out to you, sometimes you wander over the library enclosure and pick up a certain book, presumably because the cover looks attractive. At other times you may meet midnight chat buddies (your midnight, not necessarily theirs) over facebook and they may urge you into picking up a book. So enthusiatic did she sound that a couple of days later I had procured the book from the local library (Wellington City Library). I sure was in for a joy ride.  

This is an interesting satire morphing the characters from the ancient Indian epic, "Mahabharatha" onto colonial and post colonial India. Even the name of the book is a pun on the ancient epic.  The author deftly switches between the ancient times and the days of the Raj twisting details from the past to make them fit into the present. His literary skills are highlighted as he makes use of allegory and seemingly innocuous puns during the recounting of the tale. The author's vivid imagination is apparent as he has gone about the task of mapping the characters between the past and the present. The book spans different ages and characters despite which,  the author has managed to capture the reader's interest throughout this fast paced, open-ended allegory.

One of the interesting aspects of the book is the character guessing game that the reader can indulge in, while, avidly perusing the book. Even for someone with limited knowledge of Indian politics, the characters of Gandhi, in the guise of the mild mannered and idealistic Bhishma Pithamaha and Nehru, his partner in (non-violent) crime potrayed by the well-educated yet blind Dhridhurashtra, should be quite obvious. His choice of narrator, the wise sage, Ved Vyas (C.Rajagopalachari) could not have been better.

On the flip side, the relevance of characters such as Arjuna and his younger brothers can definitely be questioned.

The title of the book can seem a bit daunting. Afterall such a mighty title would conjure up images of a serious, dense book, but the book is anything but. Humour, something one does not associate much with the earnest Indian diaspora, spins it's magic through the tale much like the Khadi clothing that Gandhi advocated.

I would urge anyone looking out for an interestingly humourous book, with clever plots and colourful characters to pick a copy of this book. Do not let your knowledge, or lack of thereof, of the ancient epic or Indian politics stop you from taking the plunge into this book. You sure won't regret the good laughs.

Book Rating 4.5/5 

If you like this book you might also like:-

Coronation Talkies - Susan Kurosawa

Keep an eye out for my next review - The Buddha of Suburbia - Hanif Kureishi