The Better Man
- Anita Nair
Overall a nice book, with beautiful descriptions of village life and people. But I was not as captivated by it as I was with other books by her. It was a little slow, and I didn't feel strongly for any of the characters (contrasting against Mistress, where I could empathize with all of the four main characters).
The story is skillfully woven around psychology of Mukundan, a man who is both in awe and terror of his father - a tyrannical man who bullied him throughout his childhood, trying to make him strong as himself, but only succeeding in driving him further and further away from it. While his father holds him in contempt, Mukundan hates his father for the treatment he gave himself and his mother, but at the same time, cannot help being in awe of him seeing how he is both feared and respected by the entire village. When Mukundan is forced to return to his paternal village after retirement, he only has one objective - to prove that he is a better man than his father. But he has to contend with the ghosts of his past, as well as his father, who still seems to hold a power over him. He befriends a painter called Bhasi, who has the gift of healing minds, however he is reluctant to commit himself to this friendship completely. It takes a trap that he easily falls into, one that robs him of the happiness that has come quite late in his life, to make him actually realize his own failings, and the real strength of his father - one that comes from within. The author does not provide a quick and easy solution to his wretched feelings, but leaves him with a realization of his mistakes and attempts to redeem himself.
The character of Bhasi was rather puzzling - it is difficult to understand his devotion to the village he has adopted, and even more so to Mukundan, despite the rebuffs. Although he is a main character, his story felt incomplete.
- Anita Nair
Overall a nice book, with beautiful descriptions of village life and people. But I was not as captivated by it as I was with other books by her. It was a little slow, and I didn't feel strongly for any of the characters (contrasting against Mistress, where I could empathize with all of the four main characters).
The story is skillfully woven around psychology of Mukundan, a man who is both in awe and terror of his father - a tyrannical man who bullied him throughout his childhood, trying to make him strong as himself, but only succeeding in driving him further and further away from it. While his father holds him in contempt, Mukundan hates his father for the treatment he gave himself and his mother, but at the same time, cannot help being in awe of him seeing how he is both feared and respected by the entire village. When Mukundan is forced to return to his paternal village after retirement, he only has one objective - to prove that he is a better man than his father. But he has to contend with the ghosts of his past, as well as his father, who still seems to hold a power over him. He befriends a painter called Bhasi, who has the gift of healing minds, however he is reluctant to commit himself to this friendship completely. It takes a trap that he easily falls into, one that robs him of the happiness that has come quite late in his life, to make him actually realize his own failings, and the real strength of his father - one that comes from within. The author does not provide a quick and easy solution to his wretched feelings, but leaves him with a realization of his mistakes and attempts to redeem himself.
The character of Bhasi was rather puzzling - it is difficult to understand his devotion to the village he has adopted, and even more so to Mukundan, despite the rebuffs. Although he is a main character, his story felt incomplete.
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