The Home and the World is such a conflicting novel for me. The prose itself is beautiful and clearly written by a poet, and I love that Tagore’s nephew was able to translate the original Bengali into such a stunning English text. However, as a narrative and a story, this novel is extremely lacking. The Home and the World is deeply political and is entirely built around contemporary discourses arisen by the partition of Bengal and the Swadeshi movement, and this heavy focus causes the book to read more as a political manifesto rather than a fleshed-out narrative.

Unfortunately, the small amount of narrative we are given is narrated by three central characters, two of which are essentially insufferable. Nikhil is the best character in the book by default as he is the only rational, believable, and level-headed person to be seen, while Bimala’s decisions are ridiculous and Sandip’s extremism borders on parody at times. I feel more informed on the politics of early 20th century India now, but in no way do I feel fulfilled in the way that fiction would normally make me.

I would love to read Tagore’s poetry, as the writing itself is nothing short of stunning. As a prose writer though, he falls victim to having an over-reliance on metaphor - everything is an analogy or a conjuration of a complex image which makes the reading experience have a complete lack of fluidity. This style, when executed in verse, is usually far more poignant, which is why I would love to delve into Tagore’s poetry, especially now that I am more informed on his political views and what his influences may have been.

One final criticism I’ll give this novel is the quality of the voices of the characters narrating the book. Though many of them communicate extremely philosophical and thought-provoking ideas, they often sound far too melodramatic for their own good, which made me physically cringe at parts.

I will be studying this text for uni next week, so I may update my review if a more academic analysis of the novel changes my opinions.