I'm enjoying this novel almost as much as I thought I would. It's very much like "Troubles" but a slightly more difficult read for me, mainly because I'm not familiar with some of the Indian phrases. But I'm managing. I'm not finding it as witty as "Troubles" was either, however I suspect that's due to the slightly darker subject matter. While it's true that both novels deal with a small group of British 'colonists' living under the threat of a 'native uprising' while trying to maintain appearances and uphold their British moral superiority (ha! Haha!) the actual threat is much more Real in this novel than it was in the situation in "Troubles". In that novel, the violence was usually a few steps removed and sometimes just the result of over-active imaginations, but here there is actual blood in the drawing room (that's a bit of a lie, but I'm trying to avoid any Spoilers!) so the humour of the situation is slightly lessened.
Other interesting similarities between the two novels include main characters being referred to by title rather than name, the location (country and building) as a rich character in their own right, and to a certain extent the portrayal of the female characters. At first, I admit, I was slightly disappointed by these similarities, especially since "Troubles" struck me as such a unique story. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised since these are the first two novels of Farrell's so-called 'Empire Trilogy' which implies a certain amount of continuity, and now that I'm nearly half-way through I don't even mind it anymore. The writing is top notch, and the setting and action are sufficiently different that it is a highly entertaining read.
Speaking of which, this was meant to be a short post. Thank you for reading, I'm off to do the same!
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