Afternoon Raag

Afternoon Raag Synopsis

Described as a 'felicitous prose poem', Afternoon Raag is the account of a young Bengali man who is studying at Oxford University and caught in complicated love triangle. His loneliness and melancholy sharpen his memories of home, which come back to haunt him in vivid, sensory detail. Intensely moving, superbly written, Afternoon Raag is a perfect miniature of a novel about arrivals and departures, new worlds and old homes.

Afternoon Raag Reader Reviews

In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion some of our Lovereading Reader Review Panel were also lucky enough to another title by Amit Chaudhuri, Odysseus Abroad.

• Dana Captainino - 'Odysseus Abroad is packed with literary, and in particular poetry references as we follow Ananda and his uncle's passage through a single day on which the story takes place.' Read full review >
  
• Alan Brown - 'Wonderful language and intriguing writing style. The book creeps up on you to imprison you into deep thinking and light comedy...A serious book that does not take itself seriously. A welcome paradox.' Read full review >
• Sue Broom - 'Gorgeously written, this is a poignant and gently humorous story and a treat of delicate observation.  Not a quick read despite its modest length.' Read full review >
• Pauline Braisher - 'A very well-written and well-observed story of the interaction between a young Indian student/would-be poet and his literature-loving eccentric uncle, both of whom are living in London during the Thatcher era.' Read full review >
• Ann Peet - 'Beautifully written novel ostensibly about being a young Indian student in London in the 1980s but with great depth and charm.' Read full review >
• Seeta Maharaj - 'I found this book extremely compelling...I would recommend this book as one of great interest to those who feel lost being in a big city with a different culture.' Read full review >
• Judith Smith - 'this beautifully written, flowing prose is an opportunity to look through a stranger's eyes.' Read full review >
• Clare Topping - 'It is a story that is just that, not particularly gripping, not annoying, just a story and not one that would stimulate me to read any others by this author.' Read full review >
• Christine Waddington - 'For me the charm is in the detail and the descriptions. Each sentence is to be savoured and I felt book got better and better as it progressed.' Read full review >
• Alison Layland - 'It is written in an intriguing, train-of-thought style – rambling, humorous in places, moving in others – which beautifully captures Ananda’s rather introspective nature.' Read full review >
• Julie  - 'The themes of loneliness and isolation give way to a more positive theme of companionship. An ultimately feel good book about the power of unlikely friendships.' Read full review >

Afternoon Raag Press Reviews

'Those who are always acclaiming the poetic prose of Ondaatje would do well to study Chaudhuri'
James Wood Guardian

'An extraordinary achievement.'
Sunday Times

'This immensely subtle novel both estranges and gently strokes the surface of English and Indian life. I know of nothing in English fiction that begins to resemble it.'
Tom Paulin

'Chaudhuri has, like Proust, perfected the art of the moment [and written] masterpieces of intimate observation.'
Hilary Mantel New York Review of Books

If you loved this, you might like these...

All versions of this book

ISBN: 9781780746272
Publication date: 05/02/2015
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Format: Paperback

Book Information

About Amit Chaudhuri

Amit Chaudhuri is the author of five critically acclaimed novels, is a poet, an acclaimed musician, and a highly regarded critic. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of East Anglia. He has contributed fiction, poetry and reviews to numerous publications including the Guardian, London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, New Yorker and Granta Magazine. Amit lives in Calcutta and Norwich.   Author photo © Geoff Pugh

More Books By Amit Chaudhuri