A New World by Amit Chaudhuri

A New World Reviews

• 
  Tanuj Solanki

  A book that is perhaps as challenging to review - and by review I mean judge - as it was to write. Chaudhari's restraint is stifling at times; his minimalist narrator divulges little; and the reader, while understanding the rationale of the repose of the novel, invariably ends up asking for a little let-go. But apart from the fettering of the narrator, there is something more structural that one may also decipher and unequivocally cede to the writer: the dexterity of design inherent in the inception of this novel. 'A New World', if one looks finely, is a feat of literature, really - one that will not blow you away, but tend to you with sleep-inducing, sultry caresses - like the pre-monsoon weather of the city of Calcutta that it so obliquely yet aptly describes.
  
  Chaudhary reads like a mixture of Joyce and Woolf and, a tad bemusingly, Naipaul. The details, as in the consciousness of Jayojit Chaterjee - the divorcee from America who is spending a vacation at his parents' house in Calcutta with his son, vacation-rights with whom he has recently won in a court battle with his deviant wife - are the meat of the novel. His somnambulant views of the irrelevant and unimportant happening and meetings and objects are pretty much all there is to this book. But there is a blended hint of post-colonialism, of East meets West, of the complexity of filial obligations. And like an undercurrent below all of that, there is the paricular treatment of the content with a linguistic certainty that faintly resembles the wand of the great 19th century novelists - more specifically, their twentieth century embodiment in Naipaul. Chaudhary, while invoking memories of many masters of yore, adroitly avoids getting clubbed with any one in particular. His voice is original, and his subjects, as uninteresting as they are; and his plots, as sub-plot like as they are; are nevertheless a direction for the novel that is - quite surprisingly by the end of the book - very novel indeed. 'A New World' ails from a fuzzy ineptitude in realistically chanelling the content of conversations, but even that passes along, for Chaudhary convinces you with his abstruse development of characters to such degrees, that after a time you understand and accept the fact that his characters - bound by relations of blood as they are - have nothing to say to each other, except sharing the banalities of every day life. In this way, even the deficiencies in Chaudhary's writing seem to work in his favour, which is predominantly due to the choice of plot and setting. There is realism here, but it is a somnambulist realism, which serves the purpose of justifying most of what Chaudhari does in this book.
  
  Many reviewers have blamed Chaudhary of giving us nothing in his novels. But Chaudhary's work, as one intelligent reviewer noted, is not the stuff of novels, but of what might happen between novels. By doing so, it fills a space in modern literature, and questions, knowingly or unknowingly, the Jamesian notion of the 'interesting' requirement being imposed on this art form. A novel - if a definition was to be winnowed from Chaudhari - can be a celebration of language; can be a somnolescent drifting away of life, captured in words; can be an evasion from the heart-wrenching emotions that surround its characters. A novel, certainly, can also be defined by what it is not. And for sensitizing us to this interpretation, Chaudhari deserves an emphatic thumbs-up.
• 
  Sudipta

  Sorry, this book just did not work for me...though the author's voice was lucid, the book meanders into nothing.....thoroughly disappointed. I am not one to put too much emphasis on plot points in a tale. Character development and a sense of connect with the reader is of vital importance though. I have LOVED books where pretty much nothing happens, which is a true reflection of the daily mundane life...where pretty much nothing happens. But the beauty lies in the details, which was completely missing here...an insightful look into the main character's psyche during this phase of transitioning in his life would have made for a compelling read, but the author seems content with a mere gaze. The book droned on and on and in the end I was left with, well, nothing:(
• 
  Barbara

  Amit Chaudhuri's 'A New World' is one of the dullest books I've read in a long time. It tells of Jayojit, a divorced NRI spending a couple of months with his son visiting his elderly parents in Kolkata. Jayojit is returning to his old world - India - not as the successful American academic he is but rather as a shamed divorced man who's not really sure where he fits any more.
  
  It is very slow moving and almost nothing happens. There are plenty of opportunities for him to bond with his son or with his parents but few are taken.
  
  I suspect I may have read this book already when it first came out. I might even have reviewed it at that time, but I remember nothing about it from the first read and I doubt I'm going to remember anything in a week's time from my re-read.
• 
  Sayantan Ghosh

  The unbelievably beautiful Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said this book is "Unbelievably beautiful". I'd have to be unbelievably unintelligent to not take her word for it. I was taught by Mr Chaudhuri for a week last month, but most of what I learned from him about writing is by reading him.
• 
  Kulpreet Yadav

  Not everyone can capture the slice of Calcutta so well. The narrative is intense, choice of words simple yet sharp, making the characters lively. It also has a surprising pace, which makes the book addictive, almost irresistible. Consequently, this book can’t be put away unfinished, easily.
  
  The story has a stickiness too, an immediacy of loss, or acceptance, that is central to all our lives, regardless of race, religion, or the part of the world we inhabit—and contrary to what stickiness might conjure—in storytelling, it is one of the difficult aspects to develop, in a way of defining the boundary for the readers to remain not just content, but identify with. This stickiness, to my mind, and experience, elongated my pleasure of experiencing this story.
  
  Jiyojit Chatterjee, a professor of Economics in the US, is on a visit to Kolkata to meet his father, a retired Admiral, and his mother. Jiyojit has been divorced for an year—his wife has the custody of their seven year old son, Bonny—and is suspended in the present where his world is contained by his son, his father and mother, and a Kolkata that he is too cynical to explore or appreciate. Told with an uncanny tenderness, the story traces Jiyojit’s tryst with a truth he can’t put behind easily. His sense of dislocation echoes his deepest uncertainties and fragile assumptions of a future he isn't yet prepared to think about.
  
  Overall, brilliant. The complex interplay of words and punctuation add an unparalleled depth to a story well told. Enjoyed thoroughly. Highly recommended.
  
• 
  Ranendu Das

  It is so boring book. It seems that there is no such story! Joyjeet and his son came to calcutta and then the story seems to be detained in a small flat house of Joy's parents. Even the descriptions of the housing complex and the out side calcutta lanes devoid any thing new. Almost half of the book lacks any story.
  I wonder how Amit Chowdhury became a writer of so called 'International repute'!!!
• 
  Jessica

  Jayojit Chatterjee arrives in Calcutta on holiday with his seven year old son Bonny after a divorce. He stays with his parents, a retired Admiral and a housewife. Thus ensues two months of bonding between mother and son, mother and grandson, father and grandson etc. The thing to be treasured in this book is Chaudhuri’s delicately nuanced descriptions of dislocation and the disorientation that comes with the adoption of a new (Western) nation while still held by memories set in another India. As the loud traffic and busy streets of dense, urban Calcutta form the backdrop to the two month stint of father and son what really unfolds is the emotional life of these four protagonists.
  I recommend reading this book in one go – I read it over four days myself. The author employs a simple, pleasurable style that kept me turning the pages with interest.
  
• 
  Pallavi Kamat

  It's a typical Amit Chaudhuri book in which nothing seems to happen and yet everything does and you cannot wait for the story to move forward. There's a lot of food being discussed in the book - gur, luchis, fish, daal, sandesh, slivers of pumpkin and potatoes fried with onions and black jeera, parshe, lightly buttered toast, kissan marmalade freckled with orange rind.
  
  Some lovely lines that stayed with me:
  
  Who can tell the exact changes that take place in people, which are possibly unknown to themselves? Till they die, people keep trying to innocently adjust to life.
  
  This country had a way of, in the end, concealing disparity and banishing the past.
  
  He felt not so much a sense of deja vu as one of ironic, qualified continuity.
  
  It wasn't always one had the opportunity to watch a vision, however ordinary, take shape.
  
  The ease of modern travel, which lulled people into believing that journeys closest to them could be postponed.
  
  The old Bengali romance for arcane, often useless bits of information.
• 
  Nakul

  Didn't work for me. I looked forward to the afternoony, dilapidated imagery that is possible and expected of Calcutta, but the plot seemed to drag, offering no new insights to a tried-and-tested literary setting. I often expect complex characters when reading simpler plots, but this one lacked a sense of both. Even the characters seemed to drag. The passage where the narrator decides to stroll down Ballygunge, about halfway through the first half of the novel, could've been the starting point, and the story could be deeply condensed beyond that. With the divorced man and his son, I expected their relationship to take a turn through the father's keen observations, but it all seemed stalled in the third-person as I didn't know if I was hearing Jayojit or Amit Chaudhuri in the narration. In hindsight, a stagnated plot could've been the point, as Chimamanda Adichie says "I like to dip in and out a few pages at a time, letting the words nurture me", but I did not enjoy reading this book.
• 
  Paul Green

  Having bought this book on a bookshop in Calcutta years ago when I spent a few weeks there trying to trace some history about my father’s deceased parents following his death I could picture and relate to Jayojit’s descriptions of life in Calcutta. The book engaged me and I empathised with all of the members of the family in their unfulfilled lives. I was waiting for something really dramatic to happen in the story. When it didn’t I wasn’t really disappointed but relieved that nothing bad happened to affect the lives of the characters. The story is very realistic and extremely well written. It’s the first book I’ve read by Amit Chaudhuri. I look forward to reading others.
• 
  Niloy Mitra

  Lots of memories of Kolkata.
• 
  Pooja T

  Slightly pointless, well-written but pointless. Meandering and slow, deeply atmospheric but that is pretty much all about it.
• 
  Leah Chen

  such a drag
• 
  Chythan

  3.5
• 
  Eric

  A sedate portrait of inter-generational relationships in a Bengali family.
  Some reflection on development and change in India as well but nothing sensational.
• 
  Shishir Chaudhary

  Oh Calcutta! I go weak in my knees whenever I pick up a book on the dilapidating city of erstwhile grandeur. This Sahitya Akademi Award winner tells the story of a man living in USA, who after getting divorced comes to visit his parents in Calcutta and then goes back. Or goes to Calcutta and comes back. And nothing major happens in between this coming and going. But what we are shown is an understated and subtle vision of a small Bengali family. Chaudhuri's charm is in the depiction of daily chores of a middle-class family, be it in the arguments over buying a washing machine or in the society meetings. My best sequence comes towards the end when the main character prepares to leave Calcutta. So simple, yet so moving!
  However, I was disappointed by two things. First, the dialogues many times feel artificial. It becomes evident that someone else is putting words in the mouths of characters. Second, I expected some major event to happen somewhere in the narration. But Chaudhuri deliberately maintains a sublime low-tone throughout, which in a way is the strength of the novel.
  Not recommended for those who want a dynamic and strong story but strongly recommended for those who want a laid back narration that explores the characters like one would in real life - slowly, but never completely.
• 
  Reemani

  I can't believe I spent this much time reading it .... almost a month ... one simple word to describe it "boring"... and I'll keep it here
• 
  Aileen

  Chaudhuri deftly portrays new worlds converging as a family rebuilds itselfand Calcutta gingerly enters globalization. With his tight prose andcinematic approach to writing, Chaudhuri depicts three generations of theChatterjee family grappling with the aftermath of divorce and adjustingto retirement. Jayojit, returning to India to heal the wounds of anacrimonious custody battle, dreamily plods through his vacation with hisson to visit his aging parents. Like the ex-wife left behind, the UnitedStates also serves as a character, providing contrasts to life inCalcutta's summer season. This book reads like a (long) short story withits distinct lack of action or character development, but Chaudhuri rendersa touching, if unexciting, portrait of a family in the throes of change.
• 
  Sahana

  One of the most disappointing books I read in 2015. This book is very slow and did not make me emotional or happy. I kept waiting for something to happen. The characters were dull. They made a young boy sound dull too when he should have been such a nice character to portray bustling with life during his visit to India. Kolkata is a beautiful city with the mix of colonial and post colonial architecture and streets, with lots of people. I was disappointed with Kolkata's description too.
• 
  Ellie

  Minimal descriptions with powerful eye for detail. Tells the story of a recently divorced father and his son traveling to India for the summer to stay with his parents. The divorce was a crushing blow for all and much of the story (and the writing) largely relies on the tension of what is left unsaid.
• 
  Avishek Bhattacharjee

  Well a very ordinary book but the best part is the bengali essence.The beautiful conversations between son and his father is the star mark of this novel and equally potrayed with lots of research and warmth.Being a bengali I could relate every single thing..the flight journey at last was so symbolic.Happy reading!!
• 
  Selva

  I bought it coz it had won the sahitya academy award and it came cheaply. It is quite a slim book but the book wore me out with its description of mundane everyday things happening - with some interesting insights here and there - till about more than 60-70% into the book.
• 
  Sasha Strader

  Very disappointed in this book. I don't much care for the "personal reflections" style.
• 
  GS Das

  This is nothing more than a story about a privileged man whining about his first world problems. This literature loving Bengali is pretty disappointed.