21st Century Literature discussion

Please limit discussion to Chapters 0 - 9 in this thread (this includes the sections marked BLAST, VICTIMS, TERRORISTS, and MR & MRS KHURANA'S RESPONSE TO TERROR).

First impressions?
How would you describe Mahajan's writing style?
What did you make of the larger section titles?
(As always, feel free to use these questions as a starting off point or ignore them entirely and post what's on your mind.)

one quick correction - chapters 6 to 9 are a separate section called "MR & MRS KHURANA'S RESPONSE TO TERROR"

Hugh wrote: "one quick correction - chapters 6 to 9 are a separate section called "MR & MRS KHURANA'S RESPONSE TO TERROR""
Thanks for catching that, Hugh. I edited the first post to reflect the correction.

Sunita, Looking forward to hearing whether you still feel the same way about the book (that it "... is better at the ideas part than the characterizations") when you finish it. I think you put words that I could not find to my own feelings about this book.

Dearest All,

Ugh. I apologize for being so late to the game, but it has taken me at least a month to get through the first half of this book! I was very excited to read "TAoSB" with you, but I must say, it has not held my attention.

What Mahajan is doing really well is delivering us into India's multicultural epicenter, better known as New Delhi...Delivering us into the lives and culture of two families, and a few men who have wreaked havoc in their world. Yet, there were times I thought Mahajan took this talent for granted, not realizing that many of his readers wouldn't know what a PCO, or JFIK, and a few other acronyms, or Hindi colloquialisms, mean...Maybe, I missed where he explains them?

There is the basis of a great story: the subject matter is prevalent to our time, it's established in an area of the world that is rich in culture, and it has characters that are able to elicit various emotions. However; I'm finding that "something" is amiss between the story itself and the narrative, the characters are forgettable and what propels the narrative forward is becoming faint. Normally, stories like these are nicely woven together with all of these characteristics banded together; yet, for the first time, the non-linear narrative is serving as more a distraction than an asset. At present, I feel as if this book has exploded, and I'm picking up the pieces in an attempt to putting it all together.

On the back of my copy, I read the comments made by reviewers...And added my own thoughts as it relates to part 1.

unpredictable
Nope, in this first half, I knew Deepa would be pregnant.

brilliant
Is it? If so, I want in on the brilliancy, I fail to see it here...Maybe the second half will deliver. Or, if the non linear narrative, in conjunction to fragmented content is supposed to emulate the aftermath of an exploded bomb; pieces and thoughts everywhere, then yes, that’s absolutely brilliant... that’s just cool and takes the reading to another level of understanding what some of these characters are enduring, mentally.

daring
What's does the literary landscape look like for books about terrorism, I don't know?

ambitious
maybe, not sure yet. If it means Mahajan is ambitious in his multi-modal approach to writing such a piece, then sure... if he’s successful in what he set out to do.

timely
Yes, it's prevalent.

surprising
see unpredictable

breathtaking
If they're talking about Mahajan's mentioning of The God of Small Things... yes, "that" book was absolutely breathtaking.

compelling
Yes, it is compelling.

So far, I find 2 out of 8 of these descriptions to be true.

I'm hoping to be done by tomorrow...I'm on a tear!

Now, off to read the rest of the comments.

Sunita wrote: "I've just read the first 9 chapters. I thought the opening chapters were very strong. Mahajan gives you a terrific sense of place and balances among the different characters well. If you know Delhi..."

That sounds awful, given the parents' grief, and maybe part of the point is that people aren't always fundamentally changed by a major event.
Nope, I'm with you on this...While the parents' grief is worth fleshing out, the characters themselves aren't very interesting. Is it terrible that I would have rather read more about Shockie, Malik, and the inner workings of their organization, as enraged as was while reading about them? I didn't mind being in their heads, as much as I did the with the parents.

Marc wrote: "Please limit discussion to Chapters 0 - 9 in this thread (this includes the sections marked BLAST, VICTIMS, TERRORISTS, and MR & MRS KHURANA'S RESPONSE TO TERROR).

First impressions?
How would you..."

writing style
There's a non-linear narrative present, there's an expository aspect, a descriptive style reared its head, and Mahajan throws in some dreamy, and poetic surrealness(?) in the middle of it all... He's all over the place, and they're not playing well together, currently. Might be one reason I felt as if I've been attempting to catch flies with a chopstick while reading it?

Ami wrote: "At present, I feel as if this book has exploded, and I'm picking up the pieces in an attempt to put it all together."

If this stance is correct, you'll have to wait until the end to put it all back together (assuming all the pieces are provided)!

The nonlinear narrative didn't bother me, but it didn't necessarily add anything other than a continued sense of disruption. I agree with you that the sense of place is very real and vibrant in this book (the heat, the markets, etc.). Sometimes those blurbs on the back cover promise too much... :(