The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye, narrated by Vikas Adam.

The narration by Vikas Adam is excellent.

I picked the audiobook up last year in a sale, largely due to the narrator.

The story is full of colonialism and very not okay things however so I can’t recommend it. I read the book many years ago before I knew much about anything (I was about 15 I think) and it was an interesting “experiment” to reread/listen to it now when I have somewhat of a clue. (I realise the privilege inherent in that statement.) Nobody really needs my white lady hot take on the detail though. I guess it’s a book which shows how shitty white people have been to Brown people but I think that kind of book would be better written by a Brown person. South Asian opinion about the book is much more important than anything I have to say about it.

I’m not giving the book a star. I can’t in good conscience rate it highly but the narration is very good – honestly just about everything Vikas Adam did with the performance was flawless. There were only a couple of words which revealed he’s an South Asian-American rather than South Asian-Brit but that’s hardly a thing to worry about given how much was good about his narration. But I can’t rate the book based on the narration alone. Hence, no rating. Continue reading