This review will be a strange one. You've been warned.
A Passage to India is hailed as one of the 100 best works in English literature. Written in the 1920s, it deals with the relationship between Indians and the community of British people that settled there in India as conquerors and rulers. As you'd expect, there is bigotry, distrust, and awkward relations between the two people groups.
I had no issue with the book, but I stopped reading it 20% of the way through. It's well-written, and full of wisdom. So, why did I put it down? Well, it's not the easiest read (not as hard as Dickens, say, but still difficult to get going), and I felt as though the book wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know. It's sad, certainly, to see the discrimination between races, and the condescending attitude of the Brits towards the people of their colonies, but not surprising. If you're interested in race relations, I think you'll really like this book, and I didn't put it down lightly. I just have many other things to read, and those things, frankly, pique my curiosity more.
I will share one quote that I found very appropriate:
"As for Miss Quested [A Brit who wanted to learn about India], she accepted everything Aziz [An Indian] said as true verbally. In her ignorance, she regarded him as 'India,' and never surmised that his outlook was limited and his method inaccurate, and that no one is India."
As an American who has lived in Germany and England, I've found many people (myself included) basing their opinions of entire countries on interactions with one or two locals. Talk to a German you like, and you think Germany's great. Find a German you don't, and Germany's awful. Or, ask a German for their opinion, and take their answer as being a true representation for the whole country. The fact is, like America, each nation has individuals of many different perspectives and attitudes, and so trying to understand a country by talking to a few invariably leads to skewed outlooks.
Rating: A-
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