Share for friends:

Read A Division Of The Spoils (1998)

A Division of the Spoils (1998)

Online Book

Author
Genre
Rating
4.36 of 5 Votes: 5
Your rating
ISBN
0226743446 (ISBN13: 9780226743448)
Language
English
Publisher
university of chicago press

A Division Of The Spoils (1998) - Plot & Excerpts

The fourth book of the Raj Quartet, and the war is over in Europe, the Americans have dropped their atom bombs, but there is still Malaysia to be taken back from the Japanese. In India, demission of power from the UK is a certainty – the socialist government back home are focusing on domestic issues, and are not interested in Empire. This novel introduces Guy Perron, played by Charles Dance in the TV adaptation (and probably the character most remembered after Timothy Piggot-Smith’s Ronald Merrick), who despite his privileged background has managed to stay a sergeant throughout the war. He meets Merrick, who is now a major dealing with the Indian army deserters who joined the Germans and Japanese, and is detached to his staff. Through Merrick, he also meets Sarah Layton, whose narrative figured prominently in both The Day Of The Scorpion and The Towers Of Silence. Also prominent in the narrative is Nigel Rowan, who made a brief appearance in one of the earlier books. Rowan and Perron are old school-mates, as was Hari Kumar – whose false imprisonment as a political detenu by Merrick, who is wrongly convinced Kumar raped Daphne Manners (the events surrounding this form the core of the first book, The Jewel In The Crown). Through Rowan, Perron and the Laytons, Scott examines the route to independence and its effect on Britons living in India, weaving in and out of the plot of the preceding three books as they relate to Perron, Rowan and Sarah Layton (the TV adaptation went for a straight chronological structure, and misses a lot of the books’ arguments and subtleties). Scott is quite scathing in his critique of the Raj, and of the British who ruled India. It’s not hard to understand why these four books are considered classics, they’re certainly amongst the best post-war British literature I’ve read. I suspect I’ll be rereading them again one day.

Finished listening to the Raj Quartet today. This really is a marvelous series of books. The five is for the cumulative effect of these books. They circle from multiple perspectives around the same group of characters. The book moves from 1939 through the war and then partition. Manages to touch on so many issues from that period, British, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh. Class. Race. Sexuality. Memorable characters. The BBC version is really quite good. Have been watching again. Much of the dialogue from the books. Moving on to read a biography of Scott and listen to Staying On.

What do You think about A Division Of The Spoils (1998)?

Like my Mom, I now count The Raj Quartet as one of my all-time favorite series, and this, the concluding book of the series, was the most complex and possibly the best. I read it ahead of the History Book Club, and I'm looking forward to re-reading it more slowly with them because I know there are many subtleties I missed. Some may think it a silly comparison, but to me, The Quartet shares its best qualities with my other all-time favorite series, Harry Potter. Both feature immensely complex universes where details hidden early on turn out to be the linchpin of completely unpredictable plot twists. J.K. Rowling has the advantage of magic to dazzle and surprise us, but Paul Scott does it with plain old mundane reality, which makes him the even greater master. I would not be at all surprised if J.K. Rowling considers him an influence.This book is probably the most political of the series, and it's those parts that I most need to re-read. I'm ashamed to say that I followed the threads of the British characters' stories much better than I did the Indians'. And there was one more very pleasant surprise in this book: a minor character whose raunchy humor made me laugh out loud. So hats off to Paul Scott. Not only is he a brilliant wordsmith and worldsmith, he's got a sense of humor, too.Read the entire series. It's spectacular.
—Kressel Housman

All RIGHT. After the third book, which was a bit of a disappointment and which sent me off into a reading crisis of epic proportions, A Division of Spoils was not only a welcome return to the quality of writing and plotting that I had come to expect of Scott, but it was also a bit like I read the last one and then I brushed my teeth and everything's fine now. More than fine. The plot finally moves on past the events that made up two books in a row, Barbie Batchelor's dead, and Guy Perron, most a
—Jackie

I found this book to be annoying in it's repetition of previous events. At the same time it was compelling. The English of the Raj find themselves left behind from the politics of England. All of their sacrifices for the Empire seem forgotten by the very insularity of their lives. The internal conflicts between Indian States, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh were well captured by Scott. As were some great characters - Perron who brings the academic insight into the story of the Raj. Sarah seems so strong but at the same time seems constrained by her family duties and the evil Merrick is slowly built into one of the great villains of all time. So many lose threads though...did anyone live happily every after?
—Calzean

Write Review

(Review will shown on site after approval)

Read books by author Paul Scott

Read books in series the raj quartet

Read books in category Fiction