Prof. Dr. K.V. Dominic & Dr. MahboobehKhalegi,
eds. Multicultural Studies on Three Nobel
Laureates: Rabindranath Tagore, Toni Morrison & Alice Munro. New Delhi:
Authorspress, 2016, 327 pp. Price: Rs. 1200, $ 60. HB. ISBN: 978-93-5207-217-0.
Dr. Ketaki Datta
This book is a novel attempt in the arena of
‘criticism’, focusing on the works of three Nobel Laureates like Rabindranath
Tagore, Toni Morrison and Alice Munro at one go. Tagore’s versatility and his
contribution to various genres of literature stands unquestioned, is beyond
doubt. And again, the critical domain is swamped by numerous articles on his
multifaceted talents. Tagore winning Nobel Prize in 1913 was not just a matter
of pride for Bengal or India as a nation or Asia, by and large, but, his
literature and philosophy, his poetry and music stand unique with universal
appeal till date.
This
book contains eight thought-provoking research articles on Tagore [1861-1941]
making us think anew about his multifarious creations. All articles are unique
in their own way but Nalini Nambiar’s “Rabindranath Tagore, the Transcendental
Ecologist,” “Classic Representatives of Womanhood: A
Critical Examination of Tagore’s Heroines in Short Stories” by K. V. Dominic,
one of the editors of the book, are quite contemporary in their dealing with
the topic, as modern tools of critical theory like Ecocriticism and Feminism
came handy for them. Six other articles are also good, no doubt.
Writing
on Toni Morrison [born 1931], a Nobel Laureate in 1993, is not at all easy
as the ‘black identity’ which she
emphasizes in her novels and short stories lies embedded in her growing-up
years in rural belt of Ohio. The local touch of the soil, the conceit of the ‘colour
of skin’ all find considerable place in her writings. Apart from Nobel Prize,
she had also bagged Pulitzer Prize, American Book Award and Presidential Medal
of Freedom at different times. Thus, to justify critical analyses of her works,
it is essential to have a thorough knowledge of the deprivation of the
Afro-Americans in those times, role of a ‘black’ woman writer to raise her
voice in protest against all inequalities based on race, identity and colour.
Eleven papers on Morrison are there in this volume and five of them are on The Bluest Eye, the most widely read novel
by her, which already has been able to carve a niche in the syllabus of Afro-American
studies in quite a few universities, here and abroad. And all these five essays
judge the novel from five different thought-provoking angles. Though the six
other essays are no less scholarly in merit, Swati Samantaray’s “The Search for
Identity: An Appraisal of Toni Morrison’s Novels” and Mohammad Roshan’s
“Postcolonialism and Identity Crisis in Toni Morrison’s Beloved” embrace wider aspects in respective fields of discussion
and analysis.
Alice
Munro’s [born 1931] short stories are read widely in the West, but in India,
she is not yet so popular among the literature-lovers. Naturally, all the four
essayists have done a commendable job by highlighting different perspectives of
Munro’s writing. J. Pamela’s “Elective
Solitariness in Alice Munro’s Dear
Life” is a pleasant read apart from its scholarly appeal.
One
must read the book thoroughly to get a solid taste of literary articles on three Nobel Laureates from three different parts of the globe. Kudos to Dr. K. V. Dominic and
Dr. Mahboobeh Khalegi for their untiring effort to make this joint editorial
endeavour a success. The publisher has brought out the book in a smart jacket
and legible fonts.
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