Afternoon Raag by Amit Chaudhuri

Afternoon Raag Reviews

• 
  Jacob

  This one is perfect in snippets. Sometimes the prose flows and atmospheres (mostly nostalgic) are perfectly captured; other times it’s indulgent and less captivating. I definitely wanted more to come of the music theme!!
• 
  Aamir Ansari

  Delectable.
• 
  Akshi

  There is little to like about the book but for its exquisite writing and prose. It is not easy to write 170+ pages with little happening, yet with such vivid descriptions, which at some points acquire an exceptionally beautiful texture and tone. [On others, when Chaudhari is describing some of the female characters though, he ends up being the typical male author with problematic and limited descriptions.]. The sense of alienation, of homesickness, of loneliness comes through strongly and is relatable at moments but given that the text relies heavily on description than on a plot, it's a book you could enjoy as you read it [and you can read it mindlessly], but I don't think so it is going to stay with me for long, or linger on in memory.
• 
  Rajeev Kozhikkattuthodi

  Meticulously structured and exquisitely finished like notes of a raag - is it Maand, Sarang or Madhuvanti?
  
  Is it “transfiguration of the mundane” or an exquisitely beautiful spectacle unfolding in words?
  
  Either way, its damn good writing that I sadly discovered only after all these years.
  
• 
  Mahir Eriş

  👎🏻
• 
  Jayaram Vengayil

  If it weren't for the effortless felicity of Chaudhuri's prose, I wouldn't have been able to get beyond page 2 of this rambling showcase of inaction disguised as fiction. But how long can one cover up the absence of even a semblance of a plot with clever turns of phrase? Luckily he seems to have discovered that you can only get away with for some time and has now widely started calling his work as 'essays' instead of fiction.
• 
  Elif

  So very forgettable.
  
  English:
  https://elifthereader.com/books/after...
  Türkçe:
  http://kitaplikkedisi.com/kitaplar/am...
• 
  Christiane

  From the start “Afternoon Raag” reminded me of V.S. Naipaul’s “The Enigma of Arrival” in that I found it equally unspeakably pedantic. The following are just two examples of what I mean by that :
  
  Amit Chaudhuri on getting on a bus :
  
  “Once, I took a double-decker to Cowley Road, it was like entering another life, right from ascending the wide berth of the foot-board at the entrance, clutching with great immediacy the pole-vaulter’s pole that rose there from the floor, ignoring the stealthy staircase that crept primitively upward, to make one’s way shyly inside, braving the curious but not unwelcoming glances of other people.”
  
  Amit Chaudhuri on opening a door :
  
  “In my pocket I carried, whenever I went out, two Yale doorkeys that gave me access to the building and my own door. Each was a twin of the other, unpretentious, golden-coloured, and dignified in the way it did not draw attention to the touch; one used the keys unconsciously and trustingly after the initial uncertain period of not knowing which was for which door was over.”
  
  There is no detail insignificant enough not to be showered with a spray of adjectives, adverbs, analogies, similes, metaphors, etc. etc. What saved the book from a one-star-rating is the fact that most of it is set in India.
  
  P.S. How can these snippets of remembrances be called a novel ?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Aruna Arriane

  The book is like a raagamaalika that demands and pushes you into a Zen mode to cherish it. There are few to no dialogues in the book (I wish there were more), but the author never failed to appreciate his memory back in the 80s eloquently. The nostalgia back and forth, from India to England, is told in a melodic manner with his observation of the people, and the environment he encounters. His sensitivity to details will make one appreciate the details in their lives too.
• 
  Ruth Moore

  Loved this beautiful, dreamlike meander through Oxford, Bombay and Calcutta. It would’ve got 5 stars, but a chapter late on from a secondary character’s point of view give me a taste I wanted more of.
• 
  Dev Mukherjee

  Was an interesting read without any plot. Its almost like its a collection of writings on one persons reflection on different societys. Well written but it wouldve been better if there was actually a proper story.
• 
  Hann Min

  Feelings of haunting nostalgia upon completing it.
• 
  Annie9

  Loved the final chapter, about his good friend Sharma.
• 
  Monica

  My favorite parts of this were the descriptions of playing music—they were beautifully evocative.
• 
  A. B.

  A beautiful, meditative book. Its dreamlike, disjointed narrative is perfect for its nostalgic, ethereal tone.
• 
  Ape

  2007 bookcrossing journal:
  
  A Raag, as far as I could make out, is some kind of poetic song from northern India??
  
  This book is about Indian students, one, the narrator, in particular. They are studying at Oxford University. Each chapter stands alone and it could be a collection of short stories with an ongoing theme almost. There are aspects of life in Oxford, their relationships etc, and well as chapters about life in India, in Bombay and Calcutta. The chapters jump about from different time periods, which give it a bit of a detached feeling. The narrator also remains illusive as a person - you learn very little about just him, not even his name. I don't know whether this is meant to be autobiographical in anyway, because reading the brief biographical notes at the start, Chaudhuri was born in Calcutta and studied in Oxford too.
  
  It might mean more to someone who has actually been to Oxford. I can't really make my mind up about this book, but it feels generally a bit too vague and stand-offish.
• 
  Avishek Bhattacharjee

  Afternoon Raag is not a great musical journey but it left some nuances of poetic joy and memories to cherish for.
  Narrator is an Indian student and entire novel revolves around him and two other girls,a love triangle and Oxford university.Sometimes you can feel the university area vividly as if you are studying there and enjoying the beauty,exploring the unexplored.Each chapter stands alone and it could be a collection of short stories in general.Chapter 20 describes Kolkata rather Calcutta.Here the Bengali viewpoint of the author is prominent,nobody can understand/picturise Calcutta than a Bengali.The Chapters have been framed in a layered format..shifting from time to time and a sense of melancholy or detachment is always there.A simple and easy read....hope my reader friends can give a try:)
• 
  Kavita Das

  Afternoon Raag by Amit Chaudhuri is replete with robust descriptions of place, both India and England, razor sharp characterizations, and some of the most beautiful and illuminating writing on Hindustani music. However, the book is largely devoid of a traditional plot. A faceless narrator shifts back and forth between his college days at Oxford and his childhood home of Bombay and his family's new home in Calcutta and through it all Chaudhuri vividly evokes each of these places and the people that populate them. A vague love triangle between the narrator and two fellow female students is probably the most developed plot element. Once I accepted that this wasn't going to be a plot driven novel, I relaxed and enjoyed everywhere that Chaudhuri took me.
• 
  Jessica

  What I loved about the book was the nuanced sensory detail in every paragraph, whether Chaudhuri's protagonist was describing the alienation of being a student abroad in Oxford or describing his increasingly vivid memories of the home left behind and the consequent alienation to that land rooting itself within him. Its a strange book, with no real plot which leaves threads hanging so that the protagonist's sense of detachment and alienation enters the reader. Well-woven prose - a pleasure to read.
• 
  Athena

  Chaudhuri's ability to paint pictures is apparent. The vivid descriptions and the choice of words to create an image is worth reading this book for. Not much I'll take away from it as far at the plot goes but the feeling of alienation coupled with the smell of home, made it a decent read.
• 
  Minhaz

  A remarkable book with some of the most gorgeous and lush prose that i have had a the good fortune of coming across. Amit Chaudhuri writes every sentence to perfection. What a delight it is to read him.
• 
  Ovgu Dogangun

  This book can be read easily and will leave you with nice images of India in your mind.