Amit Chaudhuri`s Odysseus Abroad was a slow languid read. I picked it up intrigued by the well, intriguing cover pic.
It is difficult not to be impressed by the author`s sweep of vision. Sample this: * Upstairs they`d sleep till midday....the noise they made wasn`t intentional-- it was incidental. It wasnt directed against others because it bore no awareness of others. It was pure phyiscal expression, made by those whose heads didn`t carry too many thoughts.
* The English outside the Grafton Arms had taken off their shirts...If only they`d had more sun! This is what they`d have ben like --- semi-naked, sedantary, congregated in pairs or threes. They wouldn`t have needed Empire -- because their souls would have been full.
* There was a beautiful tall girl in a black dress who looked absorbed in everything but where she was. She denied the tube entirely.
My only beef? The hero Ananda and his Rangamama are such tedious bores. Enough said.