tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post4173586904153787078..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: The Peacock Throne (long rambling post about long rambling book)Jabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-18672440505272880822007-04-02T13:42:00.000+05:302007-04-02T13:42:00.000+05:30hi! stumbled upon ur blog bec i was looking for ot...hi! stumbled upon ur blog bec i was looking for other people who hated the peacock throne! pleased to meetcha! i reviewed it for a paper in b'bay, and was told by many (who hadnt read the thing) that it was too harsh. all i can truly say is that nothing bad said about the book can be harsh enough!! i sat thru all 750 pages to earn my cheque and was left full of angry, violent thoughts - towards the publishers mostly and their editors. writers toh likhenge hi, i guess, but what are editors there for? <BR/>how about 'city of djinns' for an introductory book to delhi? or is that too naff, too genteel, too euro-centric? post-Saraf, anything is a treat!Anita Vachharajanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14240997852448412245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-17882597253996004592007-02-21T09:16:00.000+05:302007-02-21T09:16:00.000+05:30dear, dear, now youre being nasty. I love that boy...dear, dear, now youre being nasty. I love that boy Alok I do cross my uncomprehending Austro-Hungarian heart. <BR/><BR/>n!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-35777605297528121072007-02-21T07:48:00.000+05:302007-02-21T07:48:00.000+05:30"My tastes and his show a strong positive correlat..."My tastes and his show a strong positive correlation."<BR/><BR/>Cool. Not Alok, I take it? :DJabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-37092688355891868572007-02-21T03:08:00.000+05:302007-02-21T03:08:00.000+05:30Oh reliable for me. My tastes and his show a stron...Oh reliable for me. My tastes and his show a strong positive correlation. <BR/><BR/>n!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-82182000106528603132007-02-17T11:30:00.000+05:302007-02-17T11:30:00.000+05:30If you've read Shantaram and Maximum City and sat ...<I>If you've read Shantaram and Maximum City and sat through all the Ram Gopal Varmas, then SG is a cliche. True?</I><BR/><BR/>Neela: in some ways, yes, but that doesn't take away from the quality of the writing or the fact that it's a <I>different</I> book from Shantaram or Maximum City.<BR/><BR/>Also, am curious what you mean by "reliable source"? That makes it sound like there are certain Indisputable Truths about a book, which you'll get from the reliable sources/reviewers. But that isn't how it actually works.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-33597048407864900722007-02-17T09:56:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:56:00.000+05:30Uh... "cheerfully" bawdy, not "cheefully" - that m...Uh... "cheerfully" bawdy, not "cheefully" - that may have been a Freudian slip!Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-43798654006098534222007-02-17T09:55:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:55:00.000+05:30Pankaj: thanks for the recos to commentators. I wo...Pankaj: thanks for the recos to commentators. I would add <I>The Last Mughal</I> for a fascinating picture of mid-19th century Delhi. But when I said "a Delhi epic", I was also referring to sheer size - we haven't yet had a work with the Doorstop Quotient of Shantaram or Sacred Games.<BR/><BR/>Also, referring to Chandni Chowk as north Delhi wasn't from a geographically accurate perspective - it was from someone who habitually thinks of India Habitat Centre/Khan Market as central Delhi! <BR/><BR/>Neha: Khushwant Singh - takes some getting used to, his writing is cheefully bawdy in places, which can put some people off, and his reputation can be overwhelming; but he's often very insightful about people and how they are shaped by their backgrounds and personal histories. I thought his <I>Delhi</I> was quite good in parts.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-43993557393227229482007-02-17T04:16:00.000+05:302007-02-17T04:16:00.000+05:30Hmm, haven't read Sacred Games yet, but here is wh...Hmm, haven't read Sacred Games yet, but here is what I was told by a reliable source: If you've read Shantaram and Maximum City and sat through all the Ram Gopal Varmas, then SG is a cliche. True? <BR/>(Obviously am going to read it). <BR/><BR/><BR/>n!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-69611218995853068732007-02-17T00:30:00.000+05:302007-02-17T00:30:00.000+05:30Inspite of the rambling, I am keen on reading this...Inspite of the rambling, I am keen on reading this book. am simply in love with the area; have organised various walks for friends here too. But I must add, Chandani Chowk is central delhi not north (it is north of CP though).<BR/>To other commentators, the best book on delhi is City of Djinns(non-fiction), 'Delhi' (fiction) by Khushwant comes a poor second due to lack of nominations in English.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-57106113022373348832007-02-16T16:43:00.000+05:302007-02-16T16:43:00.000+05:30So which book on delhi would you suggest for a non...So which book on delhi would you suggest for a non-delhite to pick up .. have been dying to read somethin on delhi ... keep in mind , i ve never been to the city. :)Sai Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06700193833928214008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-2095332953715098282007-02-15T05:05:00.000+05:302007-02-15T05:05:00.000+05:30Enjoyed your review.I so wish we did have a book o...Enjoyed your review.<BR/><BR/>I so wish we did have a book on Delhi. There was one by Khuswant Singh (wasnt there?) but I have absolutely no clue how he writes, do you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-73258062452168322892007-02-15T01:18:00.000+05:302007-02-15T01:18:00.000+05:30Thanks for this. Insightful read on long rambling ...Thanks for this. Insightful read on long rambling book to avoid. <BR/><BR/>Interestingly, Time magazine had this to say:<BR/>"The Peacock Throne does for Delhi and democracy what Vikram Chandra's recent 900-page Sacred Games does for Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and organized crime."<BR/><BR/>A rather confused review in The Independent begins thus: "Sujit Saraf's novel The Peacock Throne, for all its farcical plot and sardonic tone, gives a more truthful picture of twenty-first-century India than anything in the earnest pages of the Wall Street Journal."<BR/><BR/>And ends thus:<BR/>"Although a masterly work in its own way and a terrific read, The Peacock Throne, ultimately, is a little too one-dimensional to be a real masterpiece."<BR/><BR/>Masterly, yet not quite a masterpiece.... I'm just going to stick with your take, Jai.Read@Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13334742756571440932noreply@blogger.com