9) River of Gods, by Ian McDonald. Another one of my review books from infinity plus. Actually the best one so far. That leaves only Beyond Infinity and the zine to read. I’ll have to start writing the reviews soon.
One point I may or may not put in the review: I was amused that Diljit Rana, the name of a well known Belfast businessman who is now now a member of the House of Lords, appeared in this book as the founder of an Indian political dynasty. Of course, the real Diljit Rana is from the Punjab not from Varanasi, but it was a nice touch anyway; I’m sure that McDonald is at least as grateful as I am for the massive contribution Rana has made to Belfast’s restaurant and hotel scene.
The first half-sentence affirms that “[t]he great English novelists are Jane Austen, George Eliot, Henry James and Joseph Conrad”, and the rest of the book is an elaboration of the greatness of the latter three…
People aren’t really allowed to do this in literary criticism anymore. You can think deconstructionism for that.
Sybil is dead boring, but has some okay bits; Hard Times is Dickens without any of the flair and all of the obviousness; and Adam Bede is one of the greatest and most compelling novels I have ever read.