Sunday, September 6, 2020

Selection Day - Aravind Adiga

 So here's what I know about cricket: 

-It's a sport

-It's played in many places around the world but mainly those that have had a British presence of some kind

-The uniforms are cool 

-Most people don't understand how it's played, scored, etc. 

Now you know what I had in mind while reading this book, which is set in India and is about two brothers raised by their single-minded, ambitious, and controlling father to become cricket champions. I won't lie, this book wasn't exactly uplifting... among other things, it deals with the realities of privilege, and how people who have the "right" connections have a much easier time to get ahead in life; how a super controlling parent can disrupt a child's development, and push the child to become someone they'd rather not be; and how it's difficult to be "different" in a society that won't readily accept you. In the end, I now know a little more about cricket, and the story has left me thinking about life and the near-cliche Fitzgerald quote about how we're all "borne back ceaselessly into the past." 

As it happens, there was also a Netflix series based on this book, which intrigues me - I will definitely check that out. 


No comments:

Post a Comment