I finished The Glass Palace by Amtav Ghosh last week. I am sad to say it left me completely underwhelmed. It isn't an awful book; some of it is really quite good. In fact, it begins very promisingly before it starts to deflate. One of the problems with the novel is that it doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up. Is it a family saga? An historical narrative? An expose of the evils of colonization by the British Empire and its effects on South East Asia in general, Burma in particular? It could have been all these things, and it certainly tried, but it never quite gelled into one cohesive story. Missing too was the enthralling storytelling I found in Sea Of Poppies. Ghosh himself seemed to grow tired of the book and the last 100 pages came off as a flurried slap-dash attempt to quickly tie up loose ends. I felt like a dinner guest who was being rushed to the exit the minute I put down my dessert fork. "What's your hurry? Here's the door."
Do publishers employ editors anymore? There are novels in which every word has a place in the story (House of Mirth comes immediately to mind because I am listening to the final chapter on audio book); but, I have found that sloppy editing is my main complaint with novels these days. The Glass Palace could have benefited from the blue pencil had it been used to whittle down this 500 page book into a tight, well-told story of about 350 pages. Certainly, the author is talented enough. As it is, the book suffers from a multiple personality disorder which could have been successfully treated. Although not a complete waste of time, I hate to admit this book was a disappointment.
Oh how disappointing! I guess I will skip this one then. Oh, I've got an audiobook email to send you with recommendations from my audiobook loving husband. Will try to get that to you soon!
ReplyDeleteThis IS sad, Grad. I know they still employ editors, but as at newspapers there are fewer and fewer of them, which is a great shame. Better luck on the next try........ we'll be reading.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a shame, Grad. And I feel your reluctance to even admit to disappointment - it's such a letdown, isn't it, when a novel tries but fails to deliver? It's deflating for all involved. From what little exposure my poor old MS has had to the industry, I must say I concur with Tinky's take. Yes, editors still exist, and I think they're buried under the weight of their monstrous workload, but simply by being an endangered species and thus a rather more limited resource, they just can't do the work that's sometimes required. For new writers, this means it's basically impossible getting a flawed but promising MS accepted, and for established writers, this means their books may not get the finessing they once received and that's often necessary to get a novel up to scratch. A bloody tragedy in both cases.
ReplyDeleteHi Grad, sorry to hear this one was a let-down. Had not heard of him. I'm all for whittling down those 500-page heavies into a more reader-friendly 350 pages. Tough to do I guess and the drive to publish means that the editing suffers.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that this book was not as good as you thought. I hope the next one will be better.
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