The Home and the World (Penguin Classics)

Tagore writes well about revolution and relationships.

Tagore is a master. If you're never read Indian literature and want to learn more about the cultures and history, definitely do yourself a favor and pick up this book and be prepared to read intently, as the masterful story so deserves.

This is a good read because the author is a great author and is known worldwide. The packaging was good and the arrival was on time for this book!

Ok ok... I know that Tagore is such an important figure in the literature and the history of India's independence struggle. And I recognize that he is a fantastic poet. Thing is, I prefer poets writing poems, not whole novels. Perhaps it is a flaw with my personality, but I found reading The Home and The World and exhausting experience. The fluffy, poetic language throughout interrupted the flow of the intense drama that Tagore describes. I found this book, thus, incredibly difficult to read. Still, it provides an important metaphor for the struggles of india's independence movement and a good vein for familiarizing oneself with that time and place. Still, approach this book with a lot of patience.

The story can be read as a prelude to Jim et Jules. Two man love the same women yet in a completely reversed way. The first (the husband) loves her by giving complete freedom. The second loves her as an idol. The woman is in a way forced to this idolation because of the freedom she had received.The intelligent story can push the right buttons on human spirit to silence it. In an other perspective the book is a cry against nationalism.

This is a tale of Indian politics before the uprising. Set in a castle, tells the story of an affair between the local queen and a young politician. The story is really about politics. Pacifism or war? Echoes of the division of India are referred to long before they happen. Interesting book for those curious about India. Otherwise I thought it dated

Good

Home and the World is a thought provoking and beautiful novel, but the “classic” translation by Surendranath Tagore is a serious impediment to enjoying it. This translation cuts out whole passages of prose and poetry which the translator considered “untranslatable,” combines two minor characters into one, and excises character development that the translator considered unessential. Not only that, but he turned the prose of a man who won the Nobel Prize in literature for his work as a poet into something awkward and unremarkable. Having read both this translation and a modern translation by Sreejata Guha, I strongly recommend that you purchase the latter if you want to fully appreciate the nuance and poetry of the novel.

It's a sort of essay on the clash of ideas between 20th century western culture and the Swadeshi goal of Bengali self-reliance and independence. These views are embodied by Nikhil and Sandip respectively, the two main protagonists. In the middle of this exchange (written in first person monologues) stands Bimala, Nikhil's wife, who the two end up competing for in an ideological, poetic duel, if you like.It all remains rather too theoretical and romantic for me. The prose often ornate and overstated. And little actually happens. The character of Bimala doesn't help either: a weak-minded, self-obsessed sap who falls for Sandip's laughably lame, false flattery in the blink of an eye. Not one of literature's finest evocations of womanhood.

Masterpiece by Nobel Laureate Poet and Author

v nice

Good

It's okayThe English used in the book is a little bit too easy for me.I would recommend this to anyone in the upper intermediate level.Native or advanced speakers should definitely buy the new version.