The Impressionist Explained

The Impressionist
Author:	Hari Kunzru
Country:	United Kingdom
Language:	English
Genre:	Historical novel
Published:	2002
Publisher:	Hamish Hamilton (UK) E. P. Dutton (US)

The Impressionist is Hari Kunzru's debut novel, first published in 2003. Kunzru received the Betty Trask Award and the Somerset Maugham Award for the book's publication.

Plot

The novel concerns Pran Nath (known throughout the book by several other names), the child of a one-time affair between an English father and an Indian mother, and his life from birth to roughly the age of twenty-two, as he travels from India to England to Africa while colonialism begins to come to a close. As the narrative evolves, Pran takes on different personalities—some given to him by others, some willingly picked up to his advantage—as he seeks a permanent identity.^[1]

Characters

• Pran Nath Razdan – The novel's protagonist, Pran Nath assumes several identities over the course of the plot. These include Rukhsana, the name given to him during his time spent with court eunuchs, Pretty Bobby, his name in Bombay, and Jonathan Bridgeman, his name in England, which he is able to assume through the identification papers of a British man who dies in his presence.
• Reverend Andrew Macfarlane – Andrew Macfarlane is a religious man working in Bombay. He pursues phrenology as a hobby, and employs Bobby in measuring skulls and photographing living subjects.
• Elspeth Macfarlane – Elspeth is married to Andrew, although she does not interact with her husband. She eschews Christianity in favor of Theosophy as a means to communicate with her sons, who both died in World War I.
• Astarte Chapel – Referred to as Star after Bridgemen meets her towards the end of the novel, Astarte is the daughter of an Oxford professor of Anthropology. Pran, as Jonathan, meets her at a party and the two enter into a relationship.

Reception

The book was well received by critics, with praise for its prose. Kunzru's characterization of Pran was, however, faulted, with some considering him a "hollow" character.^[2] The Daily Telegraph reported on reviews from several publications with a rating scale for the novel out of "Love It", "Pretty Good", "Ok", and "Rubbish": Daily Telegraph, Times, Sunday Telegraph, Literary Review, and TLS reviews under "Pretty Good" and Guardian, Independent, Observer, Sunday Times, and New Statesman reviews under "Ok".^[3]

Notes and References

1. Agarwal. Ramlal. September 2003. The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru Review. World Literature Today. University of Oklahoma. 77. 2. 1. 10.2307/40158041. 40158041.
2. Web site: East meets West. Hamilton. Hamish. 30 March 2002. The Observer. 1. 18 September 2014.
3. News: Books of the moment: What the papers say. 19 July 2024 . The Daily Telegraph . 13 Apr 2002. 58.