Bhowani Junction,: A novel

by John Masters

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0007DKMW6
• Release Date: January 1954
• Publisher: Viking Press
• Length: 394 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Hollywood Does Indian Independence

I reviewed this book many years ago, and don't see it here anymore, so this is a re-write. I have to start, again, by repeating that this review is by someone who has a voracious appetite for books about the Raj... extending into the present day. I particularly favor "half-caste" books in which the protagonist is of mixed race, or mixed cultural allegiance, so Bhowani Jundtion pleased me. Bhowani Junction has the additional recommendation of being a Train book, another genre I favor. Set in 1946-47, the story has resonance for modern day readers by featuring a great terrorist villain, (although if the terrorists become successful, like Ben Gurion, history drops the t-word label and calls them 'father of the nation' I notice...) So the Indian saboteur, plotting to blow up trains, tracks and (mostly Muslim) passengers to foment violence for the WWII-weary British rulers to contend with, tries to recruit among the loyalty-challenged mixed race caste the British have put in charge of running the railways. There's a pretty interesting portrayal of the railroading Anglo-Indian community, which I have no ability evaluating as to accuracy. But these little sub-cultural pockets exist all over the sub-continent, so I bought it. There's another great thread in this story - the love triangle between the British officer in charge of hunting down the terrorist, the Anglo-Indian train engineer's daughter, struggling to find her cultural identity, and Patrick, the clutzy, incompetent Anglo-Indian engineer who wants to marry her honorably. Victoria's choice is surprising and true and not the Hollywood ending you expect.

A novel about an Anglo-Indian's search for her identity.

Victoria Jones is a 28-year old Anglo-Indian (mixed Indian and European blood) living in Bhowani in the turbulent months leading to Indian independence. This novel explores her search for where she will belong in the "new" India- she does her searching through her liaisons with a fellow Anglo-Indian, an Indian (Sikh) and a British officer. It is a very good book, especially reading it from a historical/feminist perspective. It falls well will other novels of the British Raj - where Anglo-Indian women are depicted as sexual objects. The movie version of the book starring Ava Gardner does it justice, but it is always better to read the book instead!