Heat & Dust (1975)
“50 Shades of the Raj, is it, madam…?”
Who wrote it?
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1927-2013, active from 1955), born Cologne, Germany. Brought up in England, she lived much of her life in India after moving there in 1951 with her partner Cyrus Jhabvala, an Indian-Persi architect.
She's perhaps not as well known as she should be (hmm…) for being "one third of the trifecta" making up the Merchant Ivory production company, scripting Howards End, The Remains of the Day and indeed their adaptation of Heat and Dust. She won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 1986 for A Room With a View, making her the only person to have won both a Booker Prize and an Oscar - which is pretty cool.
What's it about
Two intertwining stories of women in India. The framing narrative is an unnamed woman who travels to India in the present day (1970s) to learn more about the experiences of her step-grandmother, Olivia, during the days of the British Raj in the 1920s.
Olivia's story is of an ostensibly "proper" Englishwoman who is bored by the conventions and social restrictions of the colonial society she inhabits, and seeks escape in the arms of the Nawab, causing scandal and her ultimate ostracism from British society. The modern day narrator seems compelled to repeat certain aspects of her ancestor's tale, albeit in the less "glamorous" circumstances of the 1970s.
What I liked
After moaning about this in my last post, after 9 winning novels we now finally have one that tells a story from the perspective of a female character. And not just one, but two! Buses, etc…
Otherwise, it's a straightforward read, plain speaking and stylistically polished. Easy to breeze through and enjoy, and pleasingly unpretentious.
Witty in places, and hard to dislike
Unsurprisingly (given Jhabvala's Merchant Ivory pedigree) cinematic, with highly evocative (but not overwrought) descriptions.
A relatively amusing subplot in the modern era, featuring an English "truth-seeking" youth known as Chid, who attempts to "go native" by donning orange robes, but never loses his Midlands accent and ultimately goes home with his tail between his legs
A nice constast between the gung-ho escapist glamour of the 20s, and the glimpses we get of the Nawab's later, somewhat sad, life in England
The symmetries and contrasts between the two stories are intriguing, if nothing else.
What I didn't like
Oh my god that cover is terrible. I know Ruth has no part in this particular edition's cover, but what is going on there? 99p "Erotic Romance" sale on Kindle books, anyone?
It all feels a little too "polite" for its own good. It's a solid read, but there are no fireworks.
As others have noted, it's obviously heavily indebted to E.M. Forster and its "picturesque" depiction of India and glamorisation of the Raj is inevitably problematic.
The depiction of Harry, the Nawab's English houseguest (and, we assume, more than that) is definitely problematic. Unfunny "comic" fodder, portrayed as weak due to his sexuality. Not good, which coupled with Jhabvala's refusal to script Merchant Ivory's adaptation of Forster's Maurice, doesn't paint her in a particularly favourable light
Food & drink pairings
The vibe of the novel is dry, dry, dry (as per the title), so perhaps a nice chilled glass of water wouldn't go amiss?
A picnic featuring that most novel British invention - the sandwich.
Fun facts
Not necessarily "fun", but apparently Jhabvala's work was hugely popular in India until people began to realise that she wasn't actually (despite her surname) Indian. Then sales mysteriously declined. You can sort of see it though, as there is a definite vibe of the wide-eyed tourist rather than sympathetic local to some of the writing here.
The shortest shortlist in Booker history is largely ascribed to the grumpiness of judge Roy Fuller. Since the panel decided early on Jhabvala as winner, he apparently argued that it was "pointless" to publish a shortlist. A compromise was reached, in that he agreed to award a "runner up" prize. Susan Hill, a fellow judge, says that she wishes she had stood up to him, as, one suspects, do many of the authors who could have had a huge career boost as a result of a longer list being published.
Vanquished Foes
Thomas Keneally (Gossip from the Forest)
See above... I'm intrigued by what else missed out in '75. Anyone have any intel? Have you read the Keneally?
Context
In 1975 :
State of Emergency in India declared by Indira Gandhi, suspending civil liberties and elections
Fall of Saigon, end of Vietnam War
Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia
Death of Franco; beginning of Spain's transition to democracy
Opening of the Suez Canal for the first time since the 1967 Six-Day War
Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath in Conservative leadership contest to become Britain's first female party leader
IRA bombings of the London Hilton hotel; Green Park tube bombing
Birmingham Six wrongfully imprisoned in the UK
Bill Gates & Paul Allen found Microsoft
The Rocky Horror Show opens on Broadway; movie released later in the year
Jaws
Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
Original release of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Fawlty Towers airs in the UK; First episode of Saturday Night Live in the US
Life Lessons
History repeats itself (maybe)
Isn't India lovely?
Fine writing can mask a multitude of sins.
Score
6.5
An easy and mostly enjoyable read, but flawed and somewhat slight.
Ranking to date:
Troubles - J.G. Farrell (1970, "Lost Booker") - 8.5
The Siege of Krishnapur - J.G. Farrell (1973) - 8
The Elected Member - Bernice Rubens (1970) - 7
The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer (1974) - 7
Holiday - Stanley Middleton (1974) - 7 .
Heat & Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1975) - 6.5
In a Free State* - V.S. Naipaul (1971) - 6.5
G. - John Berger (1972) - 6
Something to Answer For - P. H. Newby (1969) - 5.5
*Read in later condensed edition.
Next up
1976 and David Storey's doorstop-sized Saville...
