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    The Far Field: A Novel
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    The Far Field: A Novel
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    The Far Field: A Novel
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Far Field: A Novel

    Written by Madhuri Vijay

    Narrated by Sneha Mathan

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

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    About this audiobook

    In the wake of her mother's death, Shalini, a privileged and restless young woman from Bangalore, sets out for a remote Himalayan village in the troubled northern region of Kashmir.

    Certain that the loss of her mother is somehow connected to the decade-old disappearance of Bashir Ahmed, a charming Kashmiri salesman who frequented her childhood home, she is determined to confront him. But upon her arrival, Shalini is brought face to face with Kashmir's politics, as well as the tangled history of the local family that takes her in. And when life in the village turns volatile and old hatreds threaten to erupt into violence, Shalini finds herself forced to make a series of choices that could hold dangerous repercussions for the very people she has come to love.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateJan 15, 2019
    ISBN9781974930098

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    Reviews for The Far Field

    4/5

    115 ratings15 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Shalini reflects on events that took place soon after her mother's death. Feeling adrift, she travels to Kashmir in search of a man who had been friendly with her mother during Shalini's childhood. Will he have the answers she seeks?The first few pages of the story had me intrigued and wondering exactly what was the story behind Shalini's mother and Bashir Ahmed, the traveling salesman from Kashmir. Shalini starts out an innocent, seeing things through a very childlike perspective, and only as she meets people from the towns who have experienced some of the violence between their family members and the Indian army does she realize events she thought she understood may not be so black and white. The author has a way with descriptions and I enjoyed how she paints a picture of small scenes with words. The plot, though, seemed a little lacking, a lot of secrecy and build up to final revelations that either fell flat for me (I'd already figured some out) or just made me angry.
    • 4/5
      This book took me by surprise. I often go into books not really knowing much about them. And this one I knew absolutely nothing about at all. I could tell by the author’s name that she was South Asian and I wondered what the flowers and the title meant.From the first chapter, we know that this is not a happy story. The narrator, a woman aged 30, talks about a man who vanished from his home in the mountains, a man who vanished partly because of her, because of things she said and things she didn’t say. And she also mentions the death of her mother. A woman who could be vicious, a woman who could be snarky.“It’s hard not to wonder how much might have been prevented if only I had loved him more, or, perhaps, loved her a little less. But that is useless thinking, and perilous. Better to let things stand as they were: she, my incandescent mother, and I, her little beast.”Shalini travels to Kashmir in search of a man who was once a big part of their lives – her and her mother’s. She doesn’t know anyone else there but somehow these complete strangers help her, let them stay with her. She becomes a part of their lives. Yet her being there threatens their safety.I loved reading about the mountain villages in Kashmir. I have never been to Kashmir or India but when I was in university, I traveled to Nepal to do a trek to Annapurna base camp. And while it was years ago, I can still picture all those little mountain villages we walked through and stayed at. I always remember marveling at these two young kids in school uniform – an older girl and a younger boy – skipping and hopping down the path ahead of us, out of their village and off far away to wherever their school was, something they did every day, twice a day, probably passing many other foreigners like us who were slowly clomping and stomping their way through the mountains.It also brought to my awareness the conflict in Kashmir, something I know little about, but wanted to know more of after reading this.The author writes beautifully but her main character Shalini was not easy to connect with. She sometimes seems a bit naive for her age and that proves disastrous for the people around her. But I loved reading about Shalini’s foray into village life in Kashmir, so far and different from bustling Bangalore where she’s from. And it’s these little moments that make this book a beautiful and moving one.
    • 4/5
      This is basically the story of a mother and daughter and the relationships they develop with a non related father and son over a long period of time. A traveling merchant from Kashmir develops close ties with a mother (married) and daughter in the city of Bangalore. The implication is that this goes beyond friendship. Eventually mom dies and daughter (Shalini) journeys to Kashmir to seek out what happened to mom's lover from the past. There are also political issues as the women are Hindi and the men are Muslim. This is a great first novel.
    • 3/5
      I applaud the writer for her stance on looking at the Kashmir problem objectively and with honesty. She has done a great service for Kashmiris by raising voice for their unjust position being crushed by the Indian army on one side and the terrorists on the other when all they want is peace, progress and prosperity as a nation be it under any government. The plot is unique and interesting the characters well rounded. Sometimes it felt more like a travelogue when she would go in too much detail for the surroundings while going to the village or going for a walk or again going back to Kishtwar though it never got boring. above all I derived a lot of pleasure reading this novel. The end is sad but was not disappointed as she handled the Kashmir problem very well . Would surely read her next book.
    • 3/5
      I’m a philistine - illiterate- hardly can read. Barely passed any exams - have no qualifications- certainly none to add to reviews of a much loved book. So I shall take my leave and honour everyone who works hard, reads, writes etc...
    • 3/5
      It is a well-constructed story of which the best aspect is finely-drawn pictures of characters and location. Still, it can be an unpleasant read. It is a confession of someone who remains dumbly unaware of the damage she repeatedly does to people around her, and the very worst of it is the fact that at the end of the story she remains entirely unchanged. She is a coward, knows it, but develops no courage.
      There is also an appalling, gigantic hole in the plotting. The main protagonist goes from Bangalore to rural Kashmir. An English and Hindi speaker she is able to communicate somewhat in the similar Urdu with many of the characters, although some speak only Kashmiri which she professes to not understand. However, when it suits the plot, she is suddenly able to understand and report discussions and interchanges which can only have been in Kashmiri. This becomes very annoying after a while.
    • 4/5
      The Far Field has a lot happening. The first half mainly revolves around a middle-class family in Bangalore India during the 80s and 90s. The mother is very instable mentally and her husband and daughter Shalini never know how she will treat them. Some of her treatment of young Shalini can be tough to read. The second half Shalini travels to a small village in Kashmir to find a traveling salesman that used to visit her mother. The descriptions of India, especially Kashmir are the best parts of the book. I felt the end was rushed and became a little far-fetched, but it is clear that the author does not want the Indian military portrayed in a positive light at any point of the book
    • 4/5
      An Awesome book for a debut! Quite intense and evocative. Love the way the story moves on...in layers flowing from one time frame to another. I had never read a book involving Kashmir politics and this book brings us face to face with the heartless and twisted politics that are played and the "regular lives" of the people of the beautiful mountains in vivid details from the account of an outsider, Shalini. It is a story of love, loss, betrayal, guilt, mental illness, death, resurrection, relationships, class. It is a poignant reminder of the suffering the people undergo in distant lands that we are unaware of or turn a blind eye to; a precise blend of the personal and the political. Though all the characters are wonderfully drawn, the character that got etched in my mind is Shalini's mother.
    • 1/5
      The writing was lovely, but the main character was a spoiled brat, and there was no redemption in the end. The second half dragged. The reader had a great voice, though.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Uncompromising and unique account of people, places, and spiritual struggle and growth. I found it via a Scribd recommendation and it will probably be one of the best books I find this year. Listen to the audiobook; it's worth it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I thought this book was amazing. It shows what can happen when someone's efforts to "help" cause negative effects.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I have extremely mixed feelings about this book, and I see that many other readers share the same reaction. One the plus side are the beautiful, detailed descriptions of the Kashmiri landscape and the struggles of the people living there. On the downside: the ending, which left me frustrated, with no sense of closure, and not particularly liking the protagonist. The novel begins with Shalini, a 20-something living with her widowed father in Bangalore, trying to figure out her life—especially her conflicted relationship with the mother who randomly doted on and ignored her. Despite this, Shalini always felt close to her mother, in large part due to a secret in which she was forced to share. When she was a child, a Kashmiri clothes salesman appeared at the door, and for some reason, her mother took a liking to him and invited him in for tea and conversation. Bashir Ahmed told magical stories that delighted both mother and daughter, and over the years, he would return many times between his visits to see his family in Kashmir. Although Shalini never understood why, her father was never told about Bashir’s visits—until the day he answered the salesman’s knock. A kind and generous man who was intrigued by a conversations about the ongoing war in Kashmir, he invites Bashir to stay in the family guest room. This decision ultimately leads to Bashir’s sudden, final disappearance.Years later, after her mother’s death, Shalini becomes obsessed with a desire to find Bashir, but the only clue she has to his whereabouts is the name of a district—Kishtwar—mentioned in one of his stories. Her journey begins the larger, more active, and more interesting part of the novel. As she journeys deeper into the heart of Kashmir, the lives of its people, and even Bashir’s family, she learns more about the effects of the ongoing conflicts between the militants and the Indian army. Although it starts to feel like a coming of age story, unfortunately, at least for this reader, the anticipated moment of self-realization and change never quite comes, and I found her naiveté, thoughtlessness, and selfishness rather repellant.Still, those descriptions of Kashmir and the struggles of its people are a saving grace, leading me to give this novel four stars.
    • 4/5
      The death of Shalini’s mother sparks a journey to Kashmir in search of a man who seemed to one day simply disappear. Once she arrives, she is taken in by a family and soon realizes that she is not in the Kashmir of the tales she was told as child, but one of a people, culture and region in bitter conflict.
      Written in rich prose, and intriguing characters, this debut is a slow burn that will linger long after pages are finished.
    • 5/5
      This is a beautifully written and heartbreaking novel. Slow paced, for our western taste, but richly woven and emotionally charged. A tale of good people caught in a web of politics and violence they cannot escape from, full of secrets and betrayals, of sadness, loss and love. Highly recommended.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      This made me want to scream. The main character is so frustrating. The subtitle could be “how I went on a life changing journey and learned nothing!”