Her entry begins:
I just yesterday finished reading David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. It is sort of six smaller books collapsed into one great tome, the sum of which is far greater than its constituent parts. It requires you to buy into the concept of reincarnation, at least for the time you are between its covers.About The Grammarian, from the publisher:
If for nothing else, Mitchell should be given a standing ovation from anyone who has ever tried to write something, because his writing is so bloody fearless. He’s a white British guy who takes on the voices of a Hispanic woman, of a native New Zealander slave, and on and on. That he pulls it off seamlessly and authentically is incredible. That he...[read on]
In the fall of 1911, Alexandre Lautens, an ambitious French philologist, sweeps into a remote part of India to study the Telugu language. Hosted by a local wealthy landowner and his family, Lautens arrives at a moment of change for the Adivis: Mohini, the younger and strikingly beautiful daughter is about to marry, an act which will inevitably condem her older sister,Learn more about the book and author at Annapurna Potluri's website.who suffers from being plain and disfigured, to spinsterhood.
Intellectually curious by nature, the elder sister Anjali is beguiled by Lautens, and as they find an intimacy within language, an unexpected relationship develops. After Anjali confesses that her disfigurement – a lasting injury from polio – has kept her from swimming since her childhood, Lautens surprises her with a trip to the beach. Regardless of what might have happened between them, Adivi is outraged when he hears word of their outing. Thinking his daughter a tramp and Lautens a predator, both are swiftly kicked out, left to fend for themselves—separately—as they try to navigate what really happened.
Lautens returns to France, never sure if he should have remained part of Anjali’s life. Anjali flees too, seeking a life of political activism she never knew possible. Despite a life brimming with independence and bravery, Anjali never loses sight of the man who, however briefly, filled her heart.
My Book, The Movie: The Grammarian.
The Page 69 Test: The Grammarian.
Writers Read: Annapurna Potluri.
--Marshal Zeringue
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