Review of The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye
When my grandmother thrust this book into my hands and told me it was fantastic, the nearly thousand pages of tiny print was admittedly daunting. I will also admit, I only started it for her. It took me twice through the first 300 pages for me to really get into it.
The Far Pavilions follows Ash, a man who falls between cultural lines in Emperial India. He spent his early years believing he was Indian, then the woman he believed to be his mother told him on her deathbed that he was really English. She gave him instructions as to who he should speak to about his inheritance. Once he'd said his goodbyes, he was shipped off to England to learn how to be part of his born people.
He never forgot his best friend from childhood, the younger sister of a prince he was paid to befriend. When they meet again as adults, Ash is delivering her and her sister to their husband-to-be in a far off province. His duty as a British officer in the Corps of Guides allows him to be close to her and their childhood fondness quickly turns into love.
Ash's journey to become the man he wants to be is fraught with danger and heroics fitting such an epic tale.
At first, I found the book very difficult to read. It's a little dry and the plot moves slowly in some places. It took me about a third of the way into the book to really get into it, but about halfway through the book I got to a point where I just couldn't get enough.
The book as a whole was beautiful. The prose was smooth and easy to read, though dry at times. The imagery is gorgeous and the culture richly portrayed for both the British military and native India. Ash is very likable and his plight in loving the Indian princess is heartbreaking. The ending was at once satisfying and left me wanting in a beautiful, hopeful way.
I'll be forever grateful for my grandmother thrusting this book into my hands.
He never forgot his best friend from childhood, the younger sister of a prince he was paid to befriend. When they meet again as adults, Ash is delivering her and her sister to their husband-to-be in a far off province. His duty as a British officer in the Corps of Guides allows him to be close to her and their childhood fondness quickly turns into love.
Ash's journey to become the man he wants to be is fraught with danger and heroics fitting such an epic tale.
At first, I found the book very difficult to read. It's a little dry and the plot moves slowly in some places. It took me about a third of the way into the book to really get into it, but about halfway through the book I got to a point where I just couldn't get enough.
The book as a whole was beautiful. The prose was smooth and easy to read, though dry at times. The imagery is gorgeous and the culture richly portrayed for both the British military and native India. Ash is very likable and his plight in loving the Indian princess is heartbreaking. The ending was at once satisfying and left me wanting in a beautiful, hopeful way.
I'll be forever grateful for my grandmother thrusting this book into my hands.
Photo Credit: Katherine Elizabeth
Comments
Post a Comment