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The Siege of Lucknow lasted from May 30 to November 27, 1857, during the IndianRebellion of 1857. |
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| "The Relief of Lucknow," by Thomas J. Barker; a print from c.1914 |
This had been on Miles's list for some time. What with the Booker Prize he had high hopes for it. It had a lot of what he likes in a book: epic, politics, India, history, British, Muslims, Hindus. The chance to learn a lot and he did. The writing was crisp, easy to read and got better as it went. He liked Fleury's poetic sensibilities. The Padre making a point with his last breath was an example of an often subtle humorous tone and cleverness which diminished the important seriousness of the book. It diminished their predicament. He didn't really care about the the characters. It didn't grab him, and he wouldn't recommend.
K'Lynn 5.75 - 6
I had a hard time with this book. Farrell seemed not to like the British very well. I thought his characters were kind of silly. They all had high ideals about humanity, its purpose, and the roles of science, technology and religion in human life. Farrell's attempts at sarcasm, while funny and intelligent, also came across as vitriolic and even over the top. Like the long arguments between the doctors on how to treat cholera that went on for pages.
Also we weren't introduced to any of the Indian characters. The sepoys who attack, or the Sikh soldiers who protect the British during the siege are not given names or a space in this book. They were just minor 'bit parts' really. Only the Hindu King gets some space. I thought he was quite funny. The book does have some great quotes by some of the characters, who are used by the author as his mouthpiece. I did learn something interesting from the book - the mutiny was preceded by the suspicious appearance of chapattis at the offices of British bureaucrats. They never taught me this in school. I researched this and nobody seems to agree on what the chapattis were supposed to indicate. Some articles suggest that the chapattis were distributed across India to inform the population that something was about to begin.
Becky 5.75 - 6
It started slowly for her. The characters were not likable, though they amused her throughout. She read that there used to be a very popular genre called Mutiny Romance which often had a sarcastic tilt and portrayed the characters as foolish or vain. This seemed to fit. They saw themselves as always morally superior, took nothing in, and didn't try to understand anything about the country they were in. Saw this as the author poking fun at their snooty attitude. She was never interested in whether anyone lived or died. Part IV was the the best and she knew the author would either kill off the remaining characters or that they would be rescued. It was funny when the latter occurred. Fleury was a nincompoop who offended everyone and she wondered if the Padre was going to kill him. She might have. She learned a lot.
Maggie 7
Enjoyed this by the pool. Was familiar with its history and found it a caricature of pompous British classes of the time. It played like a British farce movie. Maggie's mom grew up in India and her dad had a collector-type position in India with servants and the like. She loved the characters and thought he did a great job of describing Fleury whose character grew on her. She also loved Lucy. The women were just pretty things for the men to look at. Loved that the fallen woman Lucy became the compound hostess. Lost the story a bit in the end. It was obviously awful but all the carnage seemed like it was just a side note. He didn't do a good job describing the bombardment. Were there twelve men on the ridge or twelve hundred?
Sandy 4.5 - 5.5
Could only read 8 - 10 pages at a time but eventually got used to it. There were lots of quotes she liked. Wondered how to apply to current world problems. For example, do you ignore what's happening in Syria or intervene? Found the treatment of women throughout horrible and thought that some of them must have thought more about themselves than just being decorations; someone must have said something. Found it interesting that the opium trade was looked upon as progress. The humming Christians were interesting. 'What's that? Oh, but we have more than enough Christians here already, here's a certificate should you survive. Chin up.' It was often tedious with a lot of back and forth between the characters. The Collector was an ass treating women like little children.
Pat 5.5 - 6.75
This is a book that I might read again under the right circumstances. I had a hard time visualizing it. I didn't read the introduction. I hardly ever do unless I have prior knowledge of the book and want to see what the professor has to say. Many online summaries used the word farce to describe it including Maggie. I picked up on this occasionally but thought it couldn't be due to all the flavors of death. At the beginning when they were at a civilised picnic (The British civilised is for you, Maggie) I was reminded of Monty Python's Salad Days which horrified me at the age of eight but is now hysterical. I think if I re-read this with Salad Days firmly in mind I would get much more out of it.
Carolyn 5 - 5.5
Had a hard time with the time frame. Was there a panic or wasn't there? She couldn't visualize it. They would be sitting at a table, get hit with a shell that covered them in dust and then go back to normal. How big was the mound of earth surrounding the compound? Was it tall? short? a moat? Then a pause for the monsoon season, where she was able to picture the furniture tossed upon the mound, then repeat when the rains stop. She kept trying to make it serious so missed the sarcasm and humor. Could easily picture doctors McNabb and Dunstable and liked the scene where Dr. Dunstable rallied from Dr. McNabb's correct treatment of Cholera only to insist upon more mustard poultices. Found the opium trade fascinating and noted that drugs have been present in every society in history with both users and profiteers.
Letitia 6.5 - 7
Found the book difficult to get into but picked up when Fleury visited Hari and the Maharajah. When the siege finally occurred the book became much more interesting what with the strategies used to hold of the Sepoys and how the characters grew better because of the hardships they endured. Was often amused by Fleury (Letitia mentioned his name might be a play on Flowery. Flurry might also work.) and his ineptness at firing cannons or pursuit of the perfect hand to hand combat weapon. The padre was a well developed character desperate to make a difference, but mostly just an irritating lecturer. Loved the two doctor's debate on the cure of Cholera. Imagine dying trying to prove your point. Found the Collector to be a key character, nearly as pompous as Fleury but did have perhaps a moment of self realization when he concluded, "Culture was a sham, a cosmetic painted on life by rich people to conceal its ugliness."
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