Such a Long Journey

Rating:
Summary: Reminded me of India
Review: "Such a Long Journey" is the story of a man, Gustad Noble, who is living in a time of great political and social change. He not only has to deal with the changes in the landscape around him, but also the growth of his children which will transform the ambience of his home. Noble is a pillar of stability for those around him in the times of rapid change and transformation. His is the voice of reason, compassion, loyalty and decency in the mass of confusion surrounding him. Mistry recreates the vibrance, colours, energy and dynamism of India, part of the vastly populated subcontinent and introduces us to the sometimes incomprehensible cultural practices of this part of the world. Especially moving for me, was the relationship between Noble and his son, who has different ideas from his father on what he wants to pursue and what he is to become. Their reconciliation shows there will always be familial differences and tough decisions to make, but love between parent and child will persist. Mistry's magnificent and honest novel on how the dependable Noble deals with family, changing social and political situations, friendships and a little mystery is a gem and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Better than 'A Fine Balance'
Review: (...)A Fine Balance. However, I felt that the language of A Fine Balance was a little too sentimental, and the characters and situations a little too stereotyped for my enjoyment. Such a Long Journey is a more honest novel and its message is far more important today. It is about the clash of modernization and tradition in India. Modernizing forces throw off the lives of several Bombay residents living around the time of Indira Gandhi's infamous 'Emergency' era, although Mistry focuses particularly on the life of a Parsi man named Gustad Noble, and his family and friends. It is a wonderful read, and frankly, just as good and not as unnecessarily long as 'A Fine Balance.'

Rating:
Summary: Better than 'A Fine Balance'
Review: (...)A Fine Balance. However, I felt that the language of A Fine Balance was a little too sentimental, and the characters and situations a little too stereotyped for my enjoyment. Such a Long Journey is a more honest novel and its message is far more important today. It is about the clash of modernization and tradition in India. Modernizing forces throw off the lives of several Bombay residents living around the time of Indira Gandhi's infamous 'Emergency' era, although Mistry focuses particularly on the life of a Parsi man named Gustad Noble, and his family and friends. It is a wonderful read, and frankly, just as good and not as unnecessarily long as 'A Fine Balance.'

Rating:
Summary: A lovely novel
Review: A fine example of how it is possible to write a lovely, moving novel about an average family without falling into sentimentality or intolerance.

Moreover, since said family is a Zoroastrian one of Bombay Parsis, we are let into a lot of unknown (to us) customs and situations: human beings being so diverse, and yet so similar. Mistry finds some humour in that. His tone throughout the book is delightfully humane, like his main protagonist. Parsis are renowned for their civilised, benevolent way of life. This book is a worthy product of that culture.

A fascinating, lovable book.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: A gem of the book about the trials and tribulations of the ordinary folk in India. This is also an intelligent commantary on Indira Gandhi's India

Rating:
Summary: excellent unbeatable by anystandards.
Review: a must have in your library collection

Rating:
Summary: Fair - no comparison to A Fine Balance
Review: After reading A Fine Balance I couldn't wait to read another book by this author. I then read his third book called Family Matters which was good but I was disappointed as it by no means compared to A Fine Balance. I just finished Such A Long Journey and found it to be okay but very slow moving and downright boring in some spots. It is my least favorite of the three books by this author. It's hard to believe that someone can right a book like A Fine Balance, which was magnificant and one of the best books I have ever read, and then turn our stuff that is, at best, average.

Rating:
Summary: Such a long journey to the end of this book!!!
Review: After reading and enjoying Mistry's A Fine Balance , I decided to read this earlier work. I expected the same quality of character development and seamless transitions from character to character as A Fine Balance. Instead, I found this book to be less cohesive. The book drifted from one undeveloped character to another, through the eyes of Gustad Noble, the main character. There were a lot of scenes that were set up to be significant but were never completely followed through. I felt sort of cheated once I reached the end of the book, because my high expectations were never met.

Rating:
Summary: Such a Great Book
Review: Coming from Bombay I thought this book depicted Parsis in a fantastic manner - especially their unique characteristics, the way they speak and even their idiosyncrasies. If you are at all familiar with the culture you will find yourself smiling knowingly and chuckling at all the little details Mistry throws in to depict them. I loved the style and character development. My sister had read A Fine Balance and said it was depressing so I had shied away from Rohinton Mistry for a long time. Big mistake. I hear A Fine Balance and Family Matters are even better and I can't wait to read them.

Rating:
Summary: Such A Long Waste Of My Time...
Review: I found this book to be amazingly boring, not very captivating and hard to follow. The characters are developed too late in the novel and the storyline is blurred between all of the side stories. The langauge is offensive (or hard to understand) and the side tales are too graphic for my tastes.

I heard the movie was better.