{"id":42935,"date":"2017-11-06T11:12:48","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T16:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/?p=42935"},"modified":"2017-11-03T17:03:23","modified_gmt":"2017-11-03T21:03:23","slug":"state-freedom-neel-mukherjee-library-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/state-freedom-neel-mukherjee-library-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee [in Library Journal]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"*STARRED REVIEW<\/strong>
\nThe five “narrative parts” of this work, designated only with Roman numerals, comprise five styles: short story; first-person, faux memoir; folktale of sorts; 10-parts-plus-epilogue novella; and no-punctuation vignette. The connections require attention, with results well worth the reader’s intriguing participation.<\/p>\n

An Indian American professor’s tragedy-ensuing pilgrimage with his six-year-old son to iconic Indian landmarks amid hordes of destitute locals confirms “the plush West had made him skinless like a good, sheltered first-world liberal.” A London-based writer visits his parents in Mumbai and develops a relationship with the family’s cook that challenges employer\/employee boundaries. A bear cub is brutally trained to perform by his desperate owner. Two childhood village friends experience diverging adulthoods. A disjointed voice confronts impending death.<\/p>\n

Man Booker Prize shortlisted<\/a> Neel Mukherjee<\/a> (for The Lives of Others<\/em>) gathers a cast of untethered characters to present urgent, even beseeching, testimony on how the titular “state of freedom” is too often more impossible dream than achievable reality. A book’s end Q&A with Hanya Yanagihara reveals Mukherjee’s intent that Freedom<\/em> be “an homage, a conversation” with V.S. Naipaul’s In a Free State<\/em>; familiarity with that work is unnecessary to be awed.<\/p>\n

Verdict<\/strong>: Libraries with internationally savvy audiences should prepare for substantial demand.<\/p>\n

Review<\/strong>: “Fiction,” Library Journal<\/em>, November 1, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n

Readers<\/strong>: Adult<\/p>\n

Published<\/strong>: 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*STARRED REVIEW The five “narrative parts” of this work, designated only with Roman numerals, comprise five styles: short story; first-person, faux memoir; folktale of sorts; 10-parts-plus-epilogue novella; and no-punctuation vignette. The connections require attention, with results well worth the reader’s intriguing participation. An Indian American…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,330,6,52,6535,17],"tags":[84,6608,10,11,68,51,25,70,7574,39,64,7573],"class_list":["post-42935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adult-readers","category-british-asian","category-fiction","category-indian","category-repost","category-south-asian","tag-betrayal","tag-bookdragon","tag-family","tag-friendship","tag-haves-vs-have-nots","tag-identity","tag-immigration","tag-library-journal","tag-neel-mukherjee","tag-parent-child-relationship","tag-pets-animals","tag-state-of-freedom"],"yoast_head":"\nA State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee [in Library Journal] - BookDragon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/state-freedom-neel-mukherjee-library-journal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee [in Library Journal] - BookDragon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"*STARRED REVIEW The five “narrative parts” of this work, designated only with Roman numerals, comprise five styles: short story; first-person, faux memoir; folktale of sorts; 10-parts-plus-epilogue novella; and no-punctuation vignette. The connections require attention, with results well worth the reader’s intriguing participation. 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