Status
Available
Genres
Publication
New York : W. Morrow & Co., c1998.
Description
In New Delhi, a snake tired of dancing bites his charmer who bites back, killing him. The novel describes the charmer's torment as ridden by guilt and haunted by dreams he seeks to atone. A first novel by a Boston writer.
User reviews
LibraryThing member jackravi
An absolute great novel.
One of those few books that stays with for a very long time..
Very strong characters...
One of those few books that stays with for a very long time..
Very strong characters...
LibraryThing member mirrani
I wasn't sure where this book was going at first and I certainly wasn't certain that I could take it, what with the man killing his most loved pet from the very beginning. The story follows said character through a sort of mid-life crisis, where he finds himself going from being not really anybody
It wasn't until I finished this book that I realized just how emotional the story was. This emotion goes beyond the simple plot being an emotional one and into a journey through the writing itself. Through the actual printed words, in a very meaningful and striking way, the author has managed to capture the feelings of an instant or the mental experiences behind an event with such ease that if you blink, you miss it. The subtlety behind this writing style was amazing to me and because of it I found myself even more in touch with the characters long after I had finished the book and moved into other literary realms.
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to being nobody who also has nothing to do, as his livelihood is taken from him with the death of his snake. He has done this to himself, however, and you spend the rest of the book wondering what he will do and how his sanity will survive. The characters are very well worked out, each has their own place and purpose and are very strongly written, making the story seem all the more real.It wasn't until I finished this book that I realized just how emotional the story was. This emotion goes beyond the simple plot being an emotional one and into a journey through the writing itself. Through the actual printed words, in a very meaningful and striking way, the author has managed to capture the feelings of an instant or the mental experiences behind an event with such ease that if you blink, you miss it. The subtlety behind this writing style was amazing to me and because of it I found myself even more in touch with the characters long after I had finished the book and moved into other literary realms.
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