The Far Pavilions, M.M. Kaye

For whatever reason I feel faintly guilty about my pleasure in reading this book. That may perhaps be because it contains so many of those elements traditionally found in romance novels -- impossible love, exotic locations, foreign culture, corsets. For all that, The Far Pavilions went down like a satisfying dessert (with the added advantage that its length meant it could be savored for some time). I'd give a lot for a second helping. The Far Pavilions takes us from the birth in the Kashmiri mountains of our hero, Ash, an English boy that by chance is raised Indian woman. His Anglo origins are eventually discovered and as an adult he serves as a military officer, where he never quite feels either English or Indian. Though Ash's dilemma is fairly obvious, there are few of us that cannot identify with the story's theme of isolation, of being torn between two ideas and unable to fully identify with either. I love a long, absorbing read and a good story; The Far Pavilions is all these things.
Posted by supersusie at August 3, 2003 10:42 PM