Published in 1980
Don't remember much about it. Was a very dark book...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Dusklands
By JM Coetzee
Published in 1974
Two novelettes, one about a scientist and Nam veteran who has a breakdown while doing research for the US government and the other about a South African colonizer who has his revenge on an impudent tribe of Hottentots. Both stories unflinchingly examine the rational western man who sets himself up to defeat/civilize the 'barbarians'. Coetzee reveals inside these men a barbarian much like the ones they imagine they are fighting. Of course this barbarian neither protagonists (if one can really call these men so) recognizes let alone attempts to fight.
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
By Daniyal Mueenuddin
Published in 2009
Very well-crafted stories. I'm not a fan of short stories but I enjoyed this book. Mueenuddin writes about a Pakistan that most English-language Paki writers avoid (mostly because they know nothing about it). The book has made it into all the major publication's books of the year lists. And for good reason.
Life of Pi
By Yann Martel
Published in 2001
Quite enjoyed it. Am sorry I resisted reading it for so long!
Dominance without Hegemony
By Ranajit Guha
Published in 1999
A bold book that tries to fit India's colonial experience into a surprisingly simple theoretical model. The thesis is that the British bourgeoisie retained control of India for centuries without achieving hegemony, which can be understood as winning the ability to speak for the ruled rather than dictate to them. The colonizer never managed to assimilate the colonised through persuasion, choosing instead to use coercion, heralding his own demise. The Indian nationalists too according to Guha have pursued dominance of India without hegemony causing them to rely too much on coercion to perpetuate their rule. Guha's book affords a very interesting way of looking at the non-cooperation movement by drawing a conceptual distinction between subaltern and elite politics.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)