A Passage to India
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for £15.99
-
Narrated by:
-
Sam Dastor
-
By:
-
E. M. Forster
About this listen
Exclusively from Audible
Dr. Aziz is a young Muslim physician in the British Indian town of Chandrapore. One evening he comes across an English woman, Mrs. Moore, in the courtyard of a local mosque; she and her younger travelling companion Adela are disappointed by claustrophobic British colonial culture and wish to see something of the 'real' India. But when Aziz kindly offers to take them on a tour of the Marabar caves with his close friend Cyril Fielding, the trip results in a shocking accusation that throws Chandrapore into a fever of racial tension.
Set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s it deals with the common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and the British who ruled India.
Many of Forster's novels observed class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society including A Passage to India, the novel which brought him his greatest success. A secular humanist, Forster showed concern for social, political, and spiritual divisions in the world.
Time magazine included A Passage to India in its All-Time 100 Novels list and it was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English literature by the Modern Library.
Directed by David Lean, a film adaptation was released in 1984 that won numerous awards including two Oscars.
Narrator Biography
A Cambridge graduate who trained at RADA under the direction of Sir Laurence Olivier, Sam Dastor has long featured on screen and stage. He is best known for The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004) and for twice portraying Gandhi in both Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986), and Jinnah (1998).
Sam Dastor has starred in many West End productions with roles such as Ariel in The Tempest, and Orlando in As You Like It. His most recent work has included starring on stage at the Wolsey Theatre in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016). He has narrated a large catalogue of audiobooks including V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr Biswas.
Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.Critic reviews
Good story, some poor quality recording
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautifully observed
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A passage to India
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
These clashes are examined through the relationship between Dr. Aziz, a Moslem and an assistant medical officer at the Chandrapore Hospital, and Mr. Fielding, principal of the College. The main point of the story is “Is it possible for the Indians to be friends with the English?" Can there be tolerance as well as appreciation with each other. It is an exploration of the divides between the English and Indian cultures.
Although Forster portrays Indians in the novel in a more sympathetic light than the British he does however show that they too can succumb to racism. This is also highlighted with the attitudes of Muslims and Hindus towards each other. Despite this however in his satirization he doesn’t seem to condemn the British Empire but suggests that the English should improve their attitudes and relationship towards Indians. A Passage to India is a novel of contradictions at times. As well as the racial conflicts and the effects of imperialism A Passage to India also examines sexism. If Indians are considered lowly then Indian women are more so.
The cultural clashes come to head after an incident at the Marabar Caves where an English woman accuses an Indian man of indecency. Rather than devolve into a mystery story where the guilt or innocence of an individual needs to be established Forster focuses on the racial tensions that occur as a result of this. Forster also places Cyril Fielding, an Englishman as the defendant of the accused and puts him in direct conflict with the police superintendent Mr McBryde, who has a theory that Indians have criminal tendencies because of the climate—thus, the Indians’ behavior is not their fault. Fielding treats the world as a group of individuals who can connect through mutual respect, courtesy, and intelligence.
A Passage to India is an interesting and sympathetic examination of the British Raj and their attitudes towards the Indians they ruled. It does lean towards the British in so much as it suggests the difficulties they had in confronting the problems of racial tensions rather than the problems they caused by being there at all. It falls short of condemning either nationalist movements in India or colonialism itself. It also tends at times to portray its subject in stereotypical ways, however this criticism could levelled at both the Indian and British characters. Although on the whole I feel it is a sensitive presentation of the subject and in the last few paragraphs of the book Forster seems to predict India’s independence which wouldn’t occur for another 22 years after the book’s publication.
The narration and characterisation by Sam Dastor is superb and enhances the story. There is a technical issue regarding sound in chapter 2 but this is minor.
Classic story of British Colonialism
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
one of the best audiobooks
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.