As I mentioned in a comment to a previous post, my copy of The Far Pavillions arrived this morning, and this solved the mystery of the unknown binding.
The book is a sturdy hardback, originally published in 1981 by an Italian mail order book club. Not very exciting, for an unknown whatever, but it’s ok.
Including the postage expenses it cost me less than half the English paperback (that was, in turn, two bucks cheaper than the ebook), and if the cover is pretty blah, well, it’s the story that counts, right? Continue reading
Bhowani Junction, the novel
I mentioned a few days back that I was going to read John Masters‘ 1954 novel, Bhowani Junction.
The book kept me up late for three nights, basically compromising my already messed-up sleep patterns.
Because yes, it is that good.
Comparison with the 1956 movie featuring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger was unavoidable, but I’ll concentrate on the novel in this post.
The novel is set in 1946, as the British are facing increasing independentist pressure in India. In the(fictional) railway town of Bhowani Junction, historical events catch up with a number of characters, and in particular with Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones, fresh out of WAC service and in search of her cultural identity in a rapidly changing nation. Continue reading
Character profile – Genghiz Kitty
Time to take a look at another one of the bad guys from The Ministry of Thunder.
A very dangerous lady.
It’s time to talk about Elizabeth Kalaratri von Hungern Sternberg, Lady of Khrom, Warden of the Agarthi, Mistress of the Migoi, Mother of Destruction, She That Must Be Obeyed.
The evil lady with the airship.
Sabatini calls her Genghiz Kitty.
It’s faster like that. Continue reading
As you read this, the counter for the visits on Karavansara has probably passed the fifty thousand hits, just as the blog enters its third year of life.
I’m taking just a moment to thank all the readers, the followers and the nice people that stopped by to leave a comment.
On we go to better things.
Hope I’ll see you soon at the one hundred thousand hits celebration.
Dravot & Peachy
Yesterday afternoon we were discussing favorite adventure movies, with some friends online, and John Huston‘s The Man Who Would be King came up.
I saw the movie in the Colosseo cinema, in Via Madama Cristina, in Turin, in 1976, with my mother and my grandmother.
I wonder if today they’d let a not-yet-ten-years-old kid in the cinema to watch a movie that features (according to the current advisory)
Sex and Nudity, Violence and Gore, Profanity, Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking, and Frightening/Intense Scenes.
Quite a package, and without mentioning British imperialism.
But those were different times, I guess1. Continue reading
The Far Pavilions, the Musical
So I decided to read a few books about India in 2015.
I’ve been trying to track a cheap copy of M.M. Kaye‘s The Far Pavilions for a while.
I was about to get me a paperback copy in English when I tracked a fine used copy of the Italian edition for about five bucks.
“Unknown binding” it said in the seller’s description… ah, the thrill of a small mystery.
Meanwhile, I found out a musical was made of this big romantic melodramatic adventure novel – after all, the theme was well suited to a stage adaptation with song and dance.
And here’s a few songs from the West End production – that despite what the poster said, did not last.
I usually find modern musicals weirdly disquieting – the adaptation of Hugo, Dickens and, indeed, Kaye, gives us people singing about pretty grim stuff.
And yet, Melodrama’s so much fun, as the poet said
Enjoy!
Changes
In this strange alchemy that is writing, in the last 24 hours I’ve worked on transformations and permutations:
- in my novel, a thirty-something black haired woman turned into a forty-something gray haired woman
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in one of my stories, a Russian biplane turned into a Chinese truck
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a snowbound London suddenly was consumed by a great fire
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a whole small nation was outlined on a scrap of notes paper (now I’ll have to copy it on file)
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Aculeo & Amunet suddenly did an about-turn and their story is catching speed
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and I’ve finished outlining the first novelette in the GreyWorld project
Great fun, despite my aching fingers.
Were it not that payments are erratic and people look at you like you are a piece of floatsam, this writing thing would be just what I’d like to do for a living.
Karavansara 