Sorry, I got about 50 pages in... another reviewer calls this book "languid". I agree. But it would be interesting to those who grew up in India and are familiar with the music-teaching milieu.

Ugh. I could not wait to finish.

The relationship between the son of a wealthy industrialist and his music teacher in 1980's Bombay offer opportunity to ruminate on the disconnect between the reality and idealization of the artist. Sharp writing and I found the insight into traditional Indian music fascinating.

Couldn't get through this one. Read about a third and gave up. It went no where and was very confusing with all the Indian names.

The Immortals is a tale of two families: one luxuriating in a new world of corporate affluence and the other getting by on the old world of musical tradition. Together, they are joined by a “common, day-to-day pursuit of music.”Music is the thread that ties this book together, and Amit Chaudhuri knows his stuff. He is, himself, a composer and musician and the meticulous detail and grand amount of exposition is clearly written by a man who has inhabited the world he creates.This is a populous nov...

I got this book on a whim on account of the beautifully packaged paperback and the blurbs which anointed it (from multiple sources) as among the best of books of 2009. I’m not sure if 2009 was a particularly poor year in literature, but surely this book, despite its occasionally exquisitely crafted prose, is not as good as it could have got that year. The primary problem with the novel is not even that it doesn’t have much by way of plot; it’s just that it is not particularly interesting or sati...

Change, tradition, music, hypocrisy, expectations, class, guilt and existential pang cleverly woven together in a novel of Dickensian quality.

Great book! I never knew indian classical music has so much depth and vigor. In the midst of reading this book, I started listening to the classical music mentioned and it helped me understand the author's work better. It's rich, colorful and leaving one to want more.

The novel has a long list of characters, some fresh and interesting, some dated. Am ok with how it has been written, but would have preferred it to be shorter.Didn't get the ending though.

Being a classically trained Indian musician myself, I thought reading a book about the subject by an actual musician might be right up my alley. And Amit Chaudhuri's The Immortals could have been very compelling if it weren't for a few teensy issues.The Immortals tries to tackle the guru-student relationship along with complexities of caste, socioeconomics, and education. Some of the characters are more fleshed out than others: Mallika Sengupta and Shyamji are by far the most developed. Nirmalya...

I would rate this 3.5 stars. Chaudhuri writes this story of three main characters; Shyamji the music teacher;Mrs Sengupta, the wife of a company director; and her son, Nirmalya, an introspective young man. The setting is India in the 1980; the economy is booming, the property market is soaring and there is snob value in hosting a musician to sing bhajans and ghazals. The musician is revered as a divine teacher, a guru; he could guide your destiny if he deems you have talent and ambition. Malika

Unless you are Indian or understand and care about all the different types of Indian songs this book is not an easy read. It is about a high class Indian family and the rather indolent life they lead and the relationship with their music teachers .

I have to say I was disappointed with this book. I wanted to stop reading it, but I never stop reading a book once I have started. I kept thinking there would be a redemption at the end, but there wasn't. I didn't care about the characters. I wanted to care, but I didn't. I can not recommend this. This was the first book I read by this author, not sure I would read another

I think that Amit Chaudhuri really has a way with words. The writing in this book is very emotive, as he manages to put into words the small actions and thoughts of everyday life which go into turning people happy, melancholy, frustrated, and so on. There are numerous moments (especially if you have lived in Bombay or are part of an Indian family who live in India) where the reader is compelled to laugh in recognition at the smallest of foibles. Also interesting was the focus of hte book on the

'The Immortals' was short-listed for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature and why not, the prose is beautiful and the narrative flows like the waters of River Ganga. There is no plot in this book and so there is nothing big that ever happens to any of its characters. But the book has great observational material, almost as if the author was a fly on the wall, observing how people and cities changed with the passage of time. 'Movement' is the central theme of this book and that is what I real...

'The Immortals' seems to have been written for the Booker judging panel, meticulously adopting one of the standard Booker styles: Indian subcontinent coming-of-age family saga (known for short as the Rushdie Template).Unfortunately it wasn't written for you, dear reader, so I advise you not to read it.Amazon reviewers are occasionally castigated for 'spoiling': giving away the plot of a book. There is no danger of that here because 'The Immortals' has no plot. Or, if it does have one, it is simp...

This was a beautifully written, intelligent novel about two families; one a wealthy corporate family, the other a multi-generational family of traditional musicians. These families are tied together by music, one being a teacher to the mother and son of the wealthy Sengupta family. However, the book was rather boring, and I am not opposed to slow-moving books. Perhaps it is because I did not really grasp the cultural nuances, and the number of Hindu phrases detracted from the flow of my reading

The story centres around Shyamji, singer and musician, the son of a notable singer; one of his students, Mallika, the wife of a successful businessman who herself has a voice that could make her famous; and Mallika's son Nirmalya, an increasing loner with high ideals and a critical outlook. Yet as the story unfolds we encounter many other characters, and as each is introduced given a clear image of that individual, however brief a role they play in the story.The story follows the relationship be...

An exploration of the angst of a young and talented artist whose privileged upbringing became the motivation to pursue a more minimalist and artistic life. A story brought vividly to life by the author through the detailed and insightful descriptions of India, its people and history and customs. A challenging book to read for anyone without some exposure to the fascinating place that is India.

Dropped in few chapters. As i don't feel the need of reading it further and the story line is not gripping. Also i don't like when a story as too much of names i feel overwhelming. Finally its not my cup of coffee.