WINNER OF THE 1973 BOOKER PRIZE
'We look on past ages with condescension, as a mere preparation for us... but what if we are a mere after-glow of them?'
Krishnapur, 1857: India is on the brink of a violent and bloody mutiny. In this remote town on the vast North Indian plain, life for the British is still orderly and genteel. But when the sepoys at the nearest military cantonment rise in revolt, the British community retreats with shock into the Residency. They prepare to fight for their lives with what weapons they can muster.
As food and ammunition grow short when the British find themselves under actual siege, the true character of their dominion - at once brutal, blundering and wistful - is soon revealed.
'An idiosyncratic masterpiece, wise and richly comic' Hilary Mantel
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
ISBN: 9781474613965
Number of pages: 384
Weight: 270 g
Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 24 mm
While I can't categorically state it's the best book ever, I find it hard to think of one that I prefer. One that does more as a work of fiction, or that says more about our flawed humanity . . . The Siege of Krishnapur is a superb portrayal of physical horrors and psychological fallout . . . [It] is wonderfully funny, written with devastating wit and rambunctious humanity. I can't praise it enough - and I can't push it enough - Sam Jordison, Guardian
Inspired, funny but ultimately tragic look at colonialism in India. It has an unusual exuberance - Mariella Frostrup
For a novel to be witty is one thing, to tell a good story is another, to be serious is yet another, but to be all three is surely enough to make it a masterpiece - New Statesman
A novel of quite outstanding quality - The Times
I read this for my english course at uni and was suprised by how much I enjoyed it.
despite this being a historical sort of novel, it was written in the 70's and therefore was a lot funnier than the classics we...
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This is one of the best books i have read for a long time. It was chosen as our months book club read. I dont think i would naturally have picked it up because it was written in 1973. How wrong i would have been.... More
The backdrop of a siege in the Indian Mutiny is the setting for Farrell’s humorous novel. It has telling insights into the Victorian mind of those engulfed by the British Empire. Farrell cleverly lets you listen in to... More
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