The Glass Palace

By: Amitav Ghosh

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in Burma during the British invasion of 1885, this masterly novel by Amitav Ghosh tells the story of Rajkumar, a poor boy lifted on the tides of political and social chaos, who goes on to create an empire in the Burmese teak forest. When soldiers force the royal family out of the Glass Palace and into exile, Rajkumar befriends Dolly, a young woman in the court of the Burmese Queen, whose love will shape his life. He cannot forget her, and years later, as a rich man, he goes in search of her.

The struggles that have made Burma, India, and Malaya the places they are today are illuminated in this wonderful novel by the writer Chitra Divakaruni calls “a master storyteller.”

©2002 Amitav Ghosh (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Ghosh renders the polite imprisonment of the Burmese royal family in India and the lush, dangerous atmosphere of teak camps in the Burmese forest with fine detail––a perfect balance for the broad strokes of romance and serendipity that drive the story forward." ( The New Yorker)

"Ghosh ranges from the condescension of the British colonialists to the repression of the current Myanmar (Burmese) regime in a style that suggests E. M. Forster as well as James Michener. Highly recommended." ( Library Journal)

One of the best books I've ever listened to.

Not only did I love the audible version but I've downloaded the digital words. The performance was flawless but some books must be read.

Compelling historical fiction

The story is well suited to audio listening although the numerous characters can be confusing.

unheardof brilliance

Would you listen to The Glass Palace again? Why?

i will listen again. so much detail

What other book might you compare The Glass Palace to and why?

this is a generational story. many are so. nothing comes to mind that would relate

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

not sure

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

many

Any additional comments?

one should listen/read this story. i doubt any person could be disappointed

Very compelling political history told as a novel

What made the experience of listening to The Glass Palace the most enjoyable?

The second half of the book telling the story of the impact of WWII on Burma and India

Who was your favorite character and why?

I think Arjuna, although as I listened I would have said others. Now looking back, I think it was him. Also Dinu, who is the most compelling, though I learned more from Arjuna's characte.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Simon Vance?

He isn't my absolute favorite, but I really do like the books that he narrates so probably yes.

If you could rename The Glass Palace, what would you call it?

Not sure, but I think I would use part of the title from Gosh's later book, history told in the guise of a travelers tale. That's really what most of his books are.

Any additional comments?

Like all of the Gosh books I have listened to, the very best parts of this book are when he enacts the historical drama in very torn characters. He is wonderful at capturing the ambivalence and complete lack of clarity about what is the right thing to do. I enjoyed so many of his insights, it was the best way to learn about the history of that period. His romantic sections are not so great, in my opinion, they are very predictable and don't shed much light on the characters themselves. He is much more compelling when he writes about conflict and confusion. He is really outstanding at capturing unanswerable dilemmas about the Indian identity and the impact of colonialism on the psyche of those colonized.

The Glass Palace, adventure in South East Asia

I The author sketches descriptions of everything and everyone in light, fast evocative strokes; gorgeous and other worldly.
We first meet Rajkumar in a food store in Mandalay. He was a poor Indian boy of 11, invisible, except that he alone knew the distant booming sounds were English cannon. We follow the boy from this moment that presages an adventure filled life as a ship's boy, to eventually as a man creating an empire in the Burmese teak forest. A child, still, he finds himself among a mob in the King's palace and sees a girl, a handmaid to the queen, who so captivates him that he never forgets her and finds her years later and she becomes his wife and his queen of his empire.

Sweeping History

This my favorite kind of novel - sweeping in scope and placed within real history. Even as a fan of Southeast Asian history, I learns lots of new perspectives from the novel. Of the overall genre, this is a very good but not great iteration. The plot lines were sometimes jumbled and abrupt. There was a ton of close listening to the characters, but it never added up to knowing them as fully formed characters. This felt rather like a shadow puppet show, with characters entering and leaving the stage over a very long period f time, but remaining always two-dimensional. It isn’t that I would not recommend this story. It is very very good. It is more that I wish I could read it again. in an edition revised by the author after sufficient time away to have energy and focus to fatten up the characters and smooth the plot lines. One more edit would take it over the top to a great 5 star book.

The narration was good. Some voices were a bit forced, but there are an awful lot of characters to represent, so that’s very understandable.

I struggled to finish... enough said.

I can appreciate the story - young boy grows up during a rough time but ends up becoming very successful, both in his business and personal life. I can even appreciate the author's ability to help you "see" the story. I feel like I got a real sense of how it was in Burma during this time. What I can't appreciate, are some of the long stretches of (seemingly) unnecessary details and conversations. I expect to have loads of details in an unabridged version, but sheesh, those details are usually helpful in telling the story. Not this time; instead I felt like there was a bunch of fluff added in. On top of that, the end read as if the author had gotten tired of writing, but still wanted to cover a 10? 20? 30? year timespan so he just threw it all out there with no clear indication of the year, or the amount of time that had passed. 2.5 stars for the idea of the story, -2.5 stars for making it sooo difficult to finish. (I actually gave up about 5 times).

A Delicious Escape into the Past

Wow, I cannot remember why I selected this, as I had not read Ghosh before. It has been too enthralling an audiobook to put down! It has remarkable language portraits of India, Burma and Malaya, complete with smells, people, built environments, economics and politics. Sometimes it feels that too many historic events directly affect its players, but the reader is extraordinary and the novel's ability to evoke a place and time is superb.

Extraordinary Universal and Moving Saga

Based on real events, this incredible story takes us through several generations of intertwined families in India, Burma (Myanmar), and Malaysia .

I loved following the generations through their struggles, while also learning some of the history of this region.

Despite the 'foreignness' of the setting, this is a universal story. It unfolded beautifully, and I was moved by its magnificent humanity.

I highly recommend this!

Excellent

FANTASTIC book! Couldn't stop listening. Now, can't stop thinking about it. I did not find the narrative too long. I would highly recommend this book.