British Novelists and Indian Nationalism: Contrasting Approaches in the Works of Mary Margaret Kaye, James Gordon Farrell and Zadie Smith

This is an intriguing and groundbreaking study by a scholar who not only is not British nor Indian but belongs to a society that has had its own imperial history as well as having a strong, revitalizing nationalist movement in the 20th c. It is through this prism that Dr Kapakli discusses, compares and contrasts Indian nationalism in three seminal novels. The novels in question are
Shadow of the Moon
(1957) by Mary Margaret Kaye, the
Siege of Knishnapur (1973) by James Gordon Smith and
White Teeth
(2000)by Zadie Smith. The literary analysis undertaken focuses on the changes in attitude and expectation the British writers demonstrate in navigating the issues of race, class, gender, religion, education and age in both Indian and European characters and settings. Especially interesting is the discussion of male/female relationships and the transgressive engeries of nationalism in re determining power and position in pre and post independent India and, indeed, in England itself. Religion is also discussed especially the collision of Christian, Hindu and Muslim practice in the face of historical imperatives and societal tension.