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Title: A Passage to India by Kate Reading, Edward Morgan Forster ISBN: 0736667652 Publisher: Books on Tape, Inc. Pub. Date: September, 1901 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 8 List Price(USD): $29.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.97

Rating: 5
Summary: Thought-Provoking
Comment: I have always been a fan of E.M. Forster. His ability to understand the way that society and humanity works has always managed to astonish me. This work is thought by many to be the greatest that he ever wrote. I tend to agree "Howards End", "A Room with a View", and "Where Angels Fear to Tread" were stepping stones to this novel. The story is simple. A man is accused of doing something his friends believe him to be innocent all others believe him to be guilty. Yet, the story is not at all simple. It explains how horribly off things in India were when Britain still maintained an empire there. That man accused is an Indian. The person accusing him is an English woman. In these two characters, Britain and India are made real. The reader sees how wrong the whole situation was . Be prepared to leave the book angry at the British for doing what they did in India. Read and learn this book!

Rating: 4
Summary: Forster's best novel
Comment: Miss Quested and Mrs. Moore are good Brits in turn of the century India. They have the best intentions and want to meet real Indians and see the real India. When Dr. Aziz takes them to visit the Marabar Caves, they seem to be penetrating deep into the heart of India. However, Miss Quested is overwhelmed by the caves & accuses Aziz of attacking her & for all their good intentions, they are shown to be just as incapable of understanding Indians as the worst of their fellow Brits.

This is certainly the best of Forster's novels. The clash of cultures makes for interesting reading. However, after a century of decolonization and independence, it's legitimate to ask whether places like India are better off today, as independent nations, than they were in 1900, as colonies. Forster makes the point that the English will never understand the Indians & can never be friends with them, but will Hindus ever understand Moslems & can they ever be friends? More importantly, even if the English never could befriend the Indians, wasn't their governance, at least, enlightened & constructive? Whereas, the Hindus who feel actual hatred towards the Moslems (& vice versa) have governed in a backward and destructive manner? Should ethnicity be the deciding factor in who governs a country or are governing principles (democracy, capitalism, religious tolerance) more important to the welfare of the population?

It seems to me that Forster & his ilk bet on ethnicity & events have shown them to be catastrophically mistaken.

GRADE: B

Rating: 2
Summary: Very confusing
Comment: I had to read this book in 10th grade for my history class and it was one of the worst, most confusing books that I have ever read in my entire life. For one, it was very difficult to understand who was talking because Forster's narration was incorrectly phrased, in my opinion. Secondly, all types of foreign vocabulary was introduced to me, and lastly--Forsters whole way of writing was just too complex. Then to add to all this, the story was not interesting at all. Who (but boring people, of course) cares about those boring people anyway. Maybe I didn't like the book because it was so difficult and I was not grasping the deeper meaning behind it. All I know is that this book was certainly not my cup of tea.