Book Review - A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

3.5 / 5.0


Way back in the day, I remember reading 'A Room with a View' and really enjoying it. If my flawed memory is correct, I like that novel more than 'A Passage to India'.

There's a lot to love in this 'India', but I feel that it's an imperfect blend of two novels. One, a "crime" drama, and two, a slow burn story of the simmering tensions between two friends (which plays as a metaphor). I think on this count, the blend isn't super successful. The "crime" drama overrides the other plot and as a result the last quarter of the book feels like we're on autopilot, sort of coasting on the flats after a fun downhill ride.

What the novel gets right, is the nuanced quirks and foibles of friendship between two people from difference socials classes and cultures.

I'd recommend this book, but if you have to choose and you're only reading one Forster, maybe read 'A Room with a View'.

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