Wednesday 14 August 2013

Review: Maharani by Ruskin Bond


Book: Maharani

Author: Ruskin Bond

Pages: 176

How Long it Took to Read: A couple of hours.

Plot Summary: Maharani who drinks too much, the real story of Jim Corbett, and friendly ghosts - a magical novella from Ruskin Bond!

H.H. is the spoilt, selfish, beautiful widow of the Maharajah of Mastipur. She lives with her dogs and her caretaker, Hans, in an enormous old house in Mussorie, taking lovers and discarding them, drinking too much, and fending off her reckless sons who are waiting hungrily for their inheritance. The seasons come and go, hotels burns down, cinemas shut shop, and people leave the hill station never to return. But H.H. remains constant and indomitable. Observing her antics, often with disapproval, is her old friend Ruskin, who can never quite cut himself off from her. Melancholic, wry and full of charm, Maharani is a delightful novella about love, death and friendship.

Characters: This book is a character study of sorts. The book is basically about the Maharani and her life and lifestyle. The other characters are mere shadows who flit around the Maharani of Mastipur. But the author, himself a character in the book is possibly the second most important character. We also follow his life through the years, working in Delhi and keeping in touch with antics of the Maharani.

What I Liked: The book reminded of an old uncle or family friend telling a story about an eccentric friend or acquaintance. I loved that it chronicled the life of such an original character. She isnt’ very nice or likable or endearing or lovable. She is a drinking, smoking, going from one man to another, party loving woman. She is basically a train-wreck and like all good train-wrecks she was a lot of fun to read about.

Perversely, I am a huge fan of stories about people who’ve had their fortunes turn on them. I love stories about people who had a lot of money and lost it all because they were wild and foolish.

What I didn’t: Nothing really.

General Thoughts: I enjoyed reading this book. It was short and sweet. Funny in parts, even when it was talking about seriously tragic events. I loved reading about Royalty in India, even if the Royals in question were a small princely state and not the grand Royal families from Rajasthan.

Will you like? Yes, if you enjoy Ruskin Bond’s writing style and like books about memorable characters, you will like this book.


Rating: 4/5 

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