E. M. Forster

A Passage to India (Penguin Classics)

A Passage to India

altlovesbooks

I'm torn on this review. On one hand, there's nice historical references for the tension between Britain and India during this time period. the writing is fantastic and really does paint clear pictures of what's being talked about. Unfortunately, on the other, not a lot....actually happens. The prose is great, the setting compelling, but not much else. There's little going on here beyond a very pretty setting involving very pretty characters in a very tense environment.

That said, I think I'm going to give it another try next year as a re-read. I really did enjoy the writing style, just not necessarily the substance, or lack thereof.

Vanya de Lang 

Excellently written novel. The story progresses wonderfully. The story is a wonderful exploration of intercultural friendships and acquaintances. I would definitely recommend this novel!!

jess

oh my god getting through this book was exhausting. it was interesting as an early criticism of imperialism—keeping in mind that i should not be reading this through a 2018 worldview but one a hundred years old. like, i know the postcolonialists have probably torn this book apart but frankly i’m too tired to go in depth on criticism right now.

i would have liked more time to read and think about it but alas, school reading, so i’m just gonna brand it with a 3 stars and go to bed

Exploring issues of colonialism, faith and the limits of comprehension, E.M. Forster's A Passage to India is published as a Penguin Essential for the first time. When Adela Quested and her elderly companion Mrs Moore arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore, they quickly feel trapped by its insular and prejudiced 'Anglo-Indian' community. Determined to escape the parochial English enclave and explore the 'real India', they seek the guidance of the charming and mercurial Dr Aziz, a cultivated Indian Muslim. But a mysterious incident occurs while they are exploring the Marabar caves with Aziz, and the well-respected doctor soon finds himself at the centre of a scandal that rouses violent passions among both the British and their Indian subjects. A masterly portrait of a society in the grip of imperialism, A Passage to India compellingly depicts the fate of individuals caught between the great political and cultural conflicts of the modern world. 'His great book ... masterly in its presence and its lucidity' Anita Desai

Jane Krauss

2.5 Stars

Wow, I started this book and realised it fitted perfectly with my August #readingwithmuffy reading prompt. Set in the fictional city of Chandrapore against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s, there is a lot of very imperialist systemic racism in this book. However, one of the main characters is really against it, which warms my heart as it seems really unexpected for the time period. 

This book is a very character driven book and doesn't really have much plot. It isn't really my type of book, but I did find it intriguing. Yet, I just got so bored toward the end. I just felt like it would never be finished.

Robert Vetter

A Passage to India (1924) is a novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English literature by the Modern Library and won the 1924 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Time magazine included the novel in its "All Time 100 Novels" list. The novel is based on Forster's experiences in India, deriving the title from Walt Whitman's 1870 poem "Passage to India" in Leaves of Grass.The story revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested. During a trip to the fictitious Marabar Caves (modeled on the Barabar Caves of Bihar), Adela thinks she finds herself alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the caves (when in fact he is in an entirely different cave), and subsequently panics and flees; it is assumed that Dr. Aziz has attempted to assault her. Aziz's trial, and its run-up and aftermath, bring to a boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and the British who rule India.

The E. M. Forster Collection

Celina Gacias

Isabella Agostino

carissa r

Melissa Railey

Ness Rainier

Nihan 

Alejandra 

Elizabeth McInerney 

Cullen Bounds

Pierke Bosschieter

Jordan

Juliana

What really happened to Miss Quested in the Marabar Caves? This tantalising question provides the intense drama of racial tension at the centre of Forster's last and greatest novel.

A Passage to India (Penguin Classics)

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