The Impressionist

Can't remember when I have been so captivated by a novel. The reviewers who complain that the main character hasn't much depth are right--but they don't really get that this is the whole point. Kunzru is making a comment on the flexibility of identity. Pran's initial identity is a lie (although he doesn't know it), subsequent identities are forced upon him by necessity and others' needs and expectations, and he eventually learns that he can manipulate his own identity to his advantage. An absolutely stunning, yet playful, story that demonstrates the ways in which we perceive ourselves and others and how we shape personal and cultural values. Outstanding--I can't recommend it highly enough and wish I could give it 10 stars!

Hari Kunzru's "The Impressionist" is one of the most promising debuts to have been published this last year and yes, the novel is excellent, though not nearly as assured or accomplished as the hype would have us believe. The premise of the novel is certainly interesting and an ideal vehicle for Kunzru to explore issues of race, culture and identity in an ironic tongue-in-cheek manner through the life of one half-caste, Pran Nath. From the moment he was conceived, Pran needed only nature's endowment, the instinct to survive. Born into a wealthy Indian family, our pampered hero finds himself unceremoniously dumped into the streets one day when his true paternity comes to light. Kidnapped by pimps, he is forced into prostitution, servicing a bent colonialist until his incredible escape into the shelter of a half-demented Scottish missionary and his native friendly wife. But that's only half the story. When fate presents the opportunity for a total makeover, the light skinned Pran seizes it, acquiring the false identity of a young Englishman and before we know it, he finds himself "back" in England living on trust money and the life of an Oxford undergraduate, chasing after an airhead. After many more twists and turns, our young protagonist lands up in Africa. As we witness Pran's multiple transformation, we come face to face with the realization that perhaps, just perhaps there's no real person underneath the skin and bone. Watching this beautiful butterfly morph into a moth and back again is like watching a snake shedding its skin, an ongoing process powered by nature and instinct. While "The Impressionist" is undoubtedly an impressive and intriguing novel, Kunzru may have overreached himself and the minisaga pays the price of being overwritten. In my opinion, the author seems to have bitten off more than he can chew. Apart from his tendency towards bombastic vocabulary and his occasionally awkward sentence construction, the novel also suffers from eclectic characterisation and a slightly unsteady tone. The madcap resolution in the forest between the Nawab's retinue and the colonialists dissolves into camp and farce, like a scene from "A Midsummer?s Night Dream". Major Privett-Clamp and his wife Charlie are cartoon characters to laugh at. The MacFarlanes are eccentrics, though I suspect I've met the demented missionary before in Matthew Kneale's "English Passengers". Star, the heartless bimbo and object of Pran's desire, is clearly the English cousin of Daisy Buchanan (from Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby") from across the Atlantic. But most disappointing of all are the final chapters in Africa. Turgidly written, obscure and confusing, they are a terrible letdown. That said, don't let the overhype surrounding "The Impressionist" put you off. It may not be the realised masterpiece critics claim it is, but it is definitely worth your time reading it. Despite its poor ending, I enjoyed it immensely.

One of the best books I have read in years. Full of wonderful details of life under the Raj,and a fascinating psychological character study as well. This is a very different book from The Raj Quartet, yet both are really morality tales at heart. I could not put this novel down.

The theme is familiar but rarely has it been expressed so hauntingly as it is here; and hardly ever has it been explored so completely by a first time writer. Ethnic identity kindled in the heat of miscegenation is beyond love or passion; it tugs at the very essence of who we say we are as individuals and how we claim our nationalities. Add to that mix a colonial setting with issues of wealth and privilege set against powerlessness and self doubt and you've got a rich tableau of human emotion from which to craft your novel and develop characters. This story is set in early 20th century colonial India. That and the central character Pran being the child of an English father and Indian mother immediately creates the setting for exploring the big question of "who am I?" This is the theme of much of V.S. Naipual's writing such as the MIMIC MEN.There is no need for Pran to mimic anyone at least not for the first 15 years of his life. He is brought up by a Kashmiri lawyer who takes him as his own son. "His father will not hear a word spoken against him...when his aunties come visit, they pinch his cheeks and coo...Pran Nath, so beautiful! So pale! Such a perfect Kashmiri!". Pran's mother died with her secrets in childbirth and his real father - Englishman Ronald Forrester - is also long gone having died the night Pran was conceived. Pran is therefore not a perfect Kashmiri and this is eventually revealed to his lawyer father who promptly throws the youth out onto the streets. Pran falls into the hands of a eunuch who pimps him out to Major Privett-Clampe a bizarre colonial character. No longer Pran the boy is now Clive. We see the beginnings of the chameleon. At first changes are for survival but soon he is learning, adapting, realizing that by being different people according to others needs he can achieve what he wants. Identity becomes a tool Pran uses with great skill in social climbing. We next meet him in Bombay where he has become Robert, the foster-child of Scottish missionaries. This is only his day time persona because at night he's back on the streets as Pretty Bobby. Still another reincarnation takes place and now we see THE IMPRESSIONIST emerging and developing to his full potential.He stumbles upon a passport and ticket to London. They belonged to an orphaned heir named Jonathan Bridgeman who was killed in a Bombay back alley. No longer satisfied with mimicking those around him, the impressionist assumes Bridgeman's identity and returns to England and Oxford. It's no coincidence that the author has him studying anthropology because he has become something of a curiosity himself. He says to himself "how easy it is to slough off one life and take up another". Perhaps if he had heeded the implicit warning in his own thoughts he would have realized that a fluid identity is also no identity whatsoever. When Pran falls in love and realizes that his real Indian identity is appropriate for this situation it is too far gone and he can't recover.Li

Sometimes surreal, always fascinating, British journalist Hari Kunzru's first novel is a masterful and imaginative tale of one who can transform himself to suit situation and desire. Mr. Kunzru provides an arresting reading of this nonpareil adventure. Although he is the child of an Englishman, Pran Nath Razdan, is presented by his mother as the offspring of her wealthy Indian husband. It is the early 1900s, and the boy is raised with every advantage. However, in his early teens, Pran's real father is discovered by the affluent man, and the boy is thrown into the streets to fare as best he can. His sanctuary is a brothel where he is dressed in women's clothes and offered as such. Later, for the satisfaction of a deviant military man he transforms himself into perfection incarnate in the guise of an English schoolboy. Following his escape to Bombay he adopts a double life as the compliant son of a missionary couple, and as an errand boy for the prostitutes of the city. Pran has learned his lessons well - he knows how to reinvent himself in order to survive, and later learns that these same transformations can be used for his baser, more selfish desires. With a story that ranges throughout the globe, Kunzru takes readers on an unforgettable journey through distant locales while examining our awareness of what is perceived and what is real. - Gail Cooke