There's a lot to say about The Far Pavilions, but here's the crux of it for me: it's a decent book that has the potential to be a great book, but the protracted emphasis on a badly-developed romance takes a lot away from it.

Don't get me wrong, the book has merit. It's a gripping story right from the start--I felt immediately invested in the protagonist, Ash, and his surrogate mother, Sita, and could not put the book down until I knew what happened to them. Once the narrative gets its traction, it doesn't slow down (with one notable exception, which I'll get to later). It's a 955-page novel, and I finished it in a week.

It also beautifully evokes the time and place in which it is set. I think that's the novel's greatest strength: it brings the India of the 1860's - 1870's to life by weaving together fictional elements with historical events, cultural/religious traditions, and geographical details. It's the richness of those details and the complex portrayal of historical events that make this book worth reading. For example, I was surprised by how the novel treated the British colonization of India--how through Ash (who, because of his situation, has "one foot in each camp") we see the systemic violence and arrogance of colonization, the way in which it damages the colonized country/peoples; but we also see the inherent humanity of the colonizers. That same complexity is brought to bear on other historical events throughout the book, and that is the book's great strength.

That being said, the book also has a great and glaring weakness: the aforementioned badly-developed romance. If the rest of the book is complex, the romance is quite the opposite. And the problem is, the romance isn't just bad, it's lengthy. The narrative spends a good two-thirds of its time on "developing" this angst-ridden romance between Ash and his childhood friend, Anjuli ("Juli" for short). It's a shallow, melodramatic affair that would only be a minor drawback if it weren't so damn long. But because the book spends so much time on it, it's impossible to ignore it and focus on other (far more interesting) events. This is where the story dragged the most for me.

Worse than that, their relationship is... well, gross, for lack of a better term. At best it's highly unhealthy, and at worst it's downright abusive. In practically every scene they have together, Ash gets physically domineering and abusive with Juli (the number of times he's described as shaking her by the shoulders until her teeth rattle would actually be laughable if it weren't horrible). He thinks and speaks a great deal about how much he loves her, and then proceeds to treat her with little to no respect. Ash is definitely at his worst in his scenes with Juli, and their relationship marred my experience with the rest of the book. Individually, they're both interesting characters, but together... yikes.

As I said at the beginning, it's a decent book that, were it not for the badly done romance, could have been a great book. It's a worthwhile read if you can stomach the romance.
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Come ho scritto a suo tempo nello scegliere Padiglioni lontani la mia più grande paura era quella di trovarmi a leggere un romanzo con un punto di vista colonialista, visto che l’autrice proveniva da una famiglia con stretti legami con l’impero anglo-indiano e abbia vissuto diversi anni in India.

Per fortuna, in gran parte si trattava di una paura ingiustificata. Gli unici momento in cui Kaye mi ha infastidito il mio culo bianco sono quelli nei quali professa le opportunità della collaborazione tra culture diverse (in questo caso quella inglese con quelle presenti in India), dimenticando che il Regno Unito non era andato in India per collaborare e che i rapporti tra i due popoli non possono essere ridotti a relazioni tra persone. L’idea che tutto sarebbe andato meglio scremando persone violente e razziste mi è sembrata molto naïf.

Accanto a questa ingenuità, però, c’è un ritratto dell’India e della sua complessità davvero molto interessante, dettato evidentemente da un grande amore per questa nazione. C’è molto rispetto per le sue tradizioni e questo fa sì che non vengano risparmiate delle stoccate agli aspetti che non funzionano, ma senza opporre una presunta superiorità inglese (che per Kaye non esiste, visto che diversi esponenti del Regno Unito non fanno una bella figura).

Per il resto la storia ha un gusto epico ed è di quelle che divori perché ti affezioni ai vari personaggi (pure ai cavalli, in effetti) e devi assolutamente sapere al più presto come evolveranno le loro vite. È di quei mattoni che non fanno pesare il loro numero di pagine, pieni di avventura, amore (meno di quanto pensassi, e per fortuna, perché la prima notte di passione tra Ash e Juli è una delle cose più creepy che abbia mai letto e pare uscita dal più brutto degli Harmony), intrighi, amicizie e eroismo. Se adesso avete lunghe giornate da passare a casa, direi che Padiglioni lontani può essere un buon libro da recuperare (adesso edito da E/O). ( )

Doesn't really wear well ( )

I watched the TV mini-series around the time of the 1984 Olympics (made a change from watching "V"!) and whilst the events are in a different order here, it is essentially the same story.[return][return]Ash is born in India to English parents, who are killed during an uprising when Ash is still a young boy. He is rescued by his nursemaid, who passes him off as her son, since he is dark enough to pass as a native. His new mother gets a job in the palace of a maharaja, and Ash becomes the bodyguard/playmate of his favourite son. He is also followed around by the baby half-sister of the prince who has developed a crush on him. Ash makes enemies of some of the royal household by protecting the prince, and as his second mother lies dying he finds out that he is really english and must go back to his homeland.[return][return]Back in England he is taught to be a proper sahib, although he always feels that the Indians are hard done by. After passing his army exams, he is sent back to India. One of his duties is to escort two princesses to their new palace for their marriage. During the trip he realises that one of the princesses is the one who followed him around as a child, and he is pulled back into the politics and the murderous enemies who stalked him as a child. Against his better (or worse) judgement he leaves Anjuli and Sushila with their new husband, and continues to perform as a Sahib in the English Army.[return][return]Finally he gets word that Anjuli's husband has died and has insisted on Suttee - a practise made illegal by the british, but still practised, where the live brides are placed on the funeral pyre of their husbands and are burned to death. He races back to rescue Anjuli, but cannot rescue Sushila, and has to kill her on the pyre. Then there is a big rush to escape and Ash leaves the army to live with Anjuli in the mountains.

MAgnum Opus ( )