i m reading this book by sashi deshpande called 'the dark holds no terrors'... during my 'time' in stella maris as a literature student the goodness and the quality of deshpandes writing were droned on and on about. i have nothing against her per say.. but not only her titles, her book covers (jackets), protagonists are stuck in some freaking time warp... its very cyclic and irritating. they are depressed thoughout the whole book there by effectively dragging you down with them.
i have not completed this book but i can almost viualise the ending.. the lead character( a female) middle class, very unhappy with her life, more often than not would be married and stuck in situation from where there seems to be no end at sight. so hence all the protagonists do is crib. there are painful flashbacks.. images.. so on and so forth.
my point is that why are these women not allowed to do something about their lives? i personally dont believe in the concept of 'victim'... everything you do in life is a choice you make. not doing anything is also a choice. so victims is just a term, which i think these characters should grow out of.
i have not read too many of her books.. but the way its going i dont think i want to.. but yeah recommendations are always welcome.
6 comments:
hmm....Indians in general and women(independent of class and religion) more so....are drilled since childhood to 'adjust'always and never retaliate.they are taught how to 'react' to circumstances ...but neva encouraged to 'act' on their own/be independent.
also they have no precedent/or a successful example set by previous gen.and so they hesitate to do something themselves and go against the current.thus killing all her personal and emotional desires, and her professional aspirations.
i have always beieved that as long as there are ppl willing to be suppressed, there will be ppl to take advantage.so women should be strong mentally and stand up for themselves.
P.S:have u read "The Inner Courtyard - ed. by Lakshmi Holmstrom "....? its a collection of stories written by indian women and translated from regional languages into english by holmstrom.
chk it out...it has some tales of rebellion.u shud like it.
as usual mr.rationality is talking sense.. its nice to know the present generation is breaking free of the mould set by their predecesors!
and yeah everyone should learn to stand up for themselves..
recommendation noted! thanks!
hey...you ve just managed to describe nesrly every 'mother' i (we) know in ur second paragraph! i would love to make my mom read the book an point out to her what a photo-copy of that loser-protagonist she is...unfortunately she doesnt read. something tells me ms. deshpande is no different...the kind of sacrificial role her woman characters play...coz its very difficult to delve into something and write bout it when u cant relate to it. dint u think her feminism was superficial at some level?...when she came to college...i was disgusted
what feminism babe?? i mean seriously her female characters are useless!!im barely 100 pages into the damn book and i know why the husband is disgusted with the wife!
and yeah completely agree that writing comes from the heart.. comes from experience... so wonder what her life story is.. but apparenty she had a happy marriage and all ma... go figure.. maybe its a pr stunt.. ;)(bitchy i know!)
I read this book as well.. I think it is a great start for a talented storyteller like Shashi Deshpande who has an uncomman way of words.. very compelling
appreciate the fact that you like her work..maybe her short stories would work for me.. but the novels seriously get me irritated.. but if u have any books that you could recommend for a change of heart.. lemme know :)
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