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He is reverential about the Exhibition, almost to the point of worship.įleury, on the other hand, views the advancement of the spirit to be the most important thing that humans can aspire to. Hopkins has fitted out the Residence at Krishnapur with items he believes represent advancement, especially items from The Great Exhibition. This was primarily played out by Mr Hopkins and Fleury. Materialism and Advancement through Invention of things versus the importance of Advancement of the human spirit.Are character and world view interlinked and changeable? The Poisonwood Bible seemed to suggest a strengthening of existing character traits and views, while The Siege of Krishnapur seems to suggest a person could go either way with an extreme strengthening of convictions or a complete weakening of convictions, even to the point of altering them diametrically. One aspect that this novel shared with The Poisonwood Bible is the theme of people under stress and what that brings out of their character. The political & philosophical themes were primarily voiced in the observations of each main character given page time by Farrell, although behaviour was also used, especially by the minor players. Admittedly they came to me one morning in the half-dozing state that occurs when you are on the cusp of waking up. In the end I was fascinated by the characters and the way the author grew them and altered their views through the trials and deprivations of living through a siege situation.Īnd for the first time in an absolute age, I actually felt like I picked up on some of the themes. Fortunately as I went further through the book and when the siege finally began it all started to flow for me. I felt that the story started off very slowly and I was dreading another reading trial like The Poisonwood Bible. The central characters are Mr Hopkins, the Collector Fleury, a recent arrival to India and his widowed sister, Miriam the Dunstaple family – father, the local physician – son, a young military man and daughter Louise, the season’s beauty Mr Willoughby, the Magistrate and the Padre. The story is told from the perspective of a number of British residents in Krishnapur.

This is the 1973 Booker Prize winner by J.G.Farrell. Book #343 Reviewer: Ms Oh Waily (first published 2008)