Review by Booklist Review
Dutta and Robinson chronicled the grand and panoramic sweep of the complicated life and personality of Nobel laureate Tagore (1861^-1941), "the myriad-minded man," in their 1995 biography. Now, in the first Tagore anthology to be published in some years, the entire breadth of his richly hued oeuvre is showcased in all its emotional resonance and artistic greatness. Here is Tagore's cherished play "The Post Office," poems, memoirs, letters, travel writings, essays, short stories, excerpts from novels, and epigrams such as "Faith is the bird that feels the light / and sings when the dawn is still dark," which often serve to introduce readers to his work. With the current surge in new Indian literature, readers should revisit masters of the subcontinent's glorious past. Reading Tagore is not only illuminating but deeply moving. --Donna Seaman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The remarkably versatile Bengali Rabindranath Tagore wrote poetry, short stories, novels, memoirs, essays and plays; he traveled extensively, painted, counseled politicians, lectured Einstein on the necessity of humanism in science and founded a college outside his native Calcutta. Although he has since largely disappeared from Western cultural discourse, in his lifetime he was universally esteemed. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 (the first Asian author to receive the award), and his works were translated by Yeats and Gide. His play "The Post Office" was performed on the radio in Paris the night before the city fell to the Nazis. Unfortunately, the bulk of this anthology is given over haphazardly to Tagore's letters, essays and occasional pieces, which are wide-ranging but often unworthy of his other writings: as the introduction admits, "Tagore was not an analytical thinker, always an intuitive one." That intuitive ability, however, lends grace and power to the small collection of short stories in this anthologylovely little parable-like tales about ungrateful wives or sycophantic upper-class Babus too enamored of the British. "The Post Office"about a young boy who is dying and is under the misapprehension that the local Raja will soon come to visit himalso stands out for its gentle spirit. The anthology allows the casual Western reader to see Tagore's greatness, but it fails to offer anything more than a mere glimpse. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Though Tagore won the Nobel prize in literature in 1913, he and his work have been largely forgotten. Any publication of his work for an English-speaking audience is welcomed, yet this anthology falls far short of what it could have accomplished. It contains his famous play, The Post Office; selections from a novel; and memoirs, short stories, letters, and essaysa broad spectrum that appears to offer an ample sampling of his work but does not. For instance, his famous poem "Gitanjali" is represented by only four stanzas, and though Tagore was a prolific songwriter, the words of only one song are included. The editors (Rabindranath Tagore, LJ 2/1/96) have also limited the scope of chosen works to Tagore's philosophy of spirituality and religious beliefs. To obtain a passing acquaintance with Tagore, this minor anthology suffices; a more comprehensive work is still needed to do justice to the works of this great writer.Glenn Masuchika, Chaminade Univ. Lib., Honolulu (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
