My favourite section was Letters from Zedelghem. I found it very witty and a good personality study. I somewhat enjoyed all of them but I'm not a fan of science fiction or fantasy genres so they don't resonate as much with me. I think the human experience represented in books is the most rewarding part of reading for me, so even though in science fiction and fantasy there can be an element of that I often find all the fantasy stuff distracting and meaningless to me. I much prefer reading historical stories than futuristic ones. The past is my fantasy I guess. Two of my favourite authors are Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. They have great character studies and tales of human failings and redemption. The part I enjoyed most about Cloud Atlas was just comparing the different genres and voices that can be created by one author.
It wasn't even the story that really bothered me most about Midnight's children, it was more that I did not enjoy the writing. When I read books that I really enjoy they either impress me with the quality of the writing or the story really touches me in some way. This book was so far from doing either of those for me. A Fine Balance actually gave me a whole new perspective and I appreciate that. It had a real impact on me. It changed my view of human nature a little bit.
I don't think that Life of Pi is quite as good as some people have made it out to be but it wasn't bad. As I stated, luckily it was short.
Have you ever read Joseph Boyden's books? I read Three Day Road and Through Black Spruce and loved both of them.
i think the style that is practiced by Mistry is a more mannered style, "this is what good writing is". but, this style is more appropriate for this novel, because it is written from omniscient narrator perspective. but the style of Midnight's Children is a lot more vernacular, because it is described from the point of view of a narrator who is also a character in the narrative. so it is messy, because it is intended to portray how a real person would be in that circumstance. one of the reasons i like Rushdie is that he is such a master of style that he can so convincingly write "badly", and it is such a natural, integrated part of the voice of the speaker.
as i have made a whole thread about a particular thread about a particular genre, it is probably obvious that i have my own tastes and genre preferences. my genre preference is for mass market romance, literary magic realist, and literary gothic. i also love 18th century texts by and about women. im not really interested in other genres. as a similar example, i have always despised hip hop music. i have always thought it is just people talking about how good they are. but over the past few weeks i have been listening to the album "Arular" by M.I.A. tonight i was listening to it on the train, and i became completely lost in it, and afterwards i was kind of like felt like my mind had been blown to smithereens, things that i had believed were ruined by my experience with getting lost in the music, and discovering part of what it is about. so, although my preference is not for Sci Fi, i have read some amazing science fiction books that have completely blown my mind. sometimes i think although the genre is not my preference, it is the best way for the artist to describe the insights that they are trying to share. for very modernist literature, the generic conventions are the only most sensible way to approach total moral chaos. for magic realist writers, the genre is the most reasonable way to deal with the destructive nature of pain and violence that is inherent to this world. if they tried to deal with those messages through more conventional generic forms, it wouldnt work properly. so although nothing can stop me from enjoying my favourites, keeping an open mind is key for me, because otherwise i would not be enjoying hip hop.
but i can never argue with what touches another person, as you say, resonates with us to just the right extent, to change perspectives. i think youre right and thats what anyone has to follow. maybe i should have made my advice be, that we should read more, and more, and more of what appeals to us.
i have read a little bit of Dickens, i do see the great appeal, but have not read much, i think that i have only read Great Expectations and Christmas Carol. (i have purchased, and kept in my cupboard, much more than i have read.) i have not read Hardy, but he was my grandmother's favourite. i havent read Joseph Boyden, thank you for the recommendation, and will check his writing out.