The Cauliflower
A Novel

The Cauliflower is, in short, the biographical account of the life of Sri Ramakrishna. The reality is that this is so much more than that! The book is divided into short sections, varying from a few words to a few pages, with no apparent chronological or discernible order to them. Some of these sect......more

I read just over half of this and then gave up. A book about a Hindu mystic & saint, written by a Westerner who is not Hindu. A book that part relies on the Japanese form of Haiku to tell a story about India, a cultural mash-up too far in my humble opinion. It is well researched but reads inauthenti......more

When the supposedly encouraging blurbs from the critics on the back cover state that the book in question is both 'frustrating' and 'overlong', it's best to take heed. I am not sure what to make of this odd, sui generis book - even the author (in the afterward) claims it is not quite a novel, more o......more

This is not an easy book to review, not by a long shot. There are no chapters, a cast of ever-changing characters and side stories, and an almost gleeful air of frivolity. Even though I don't quite know what to think of it, I'm giving it a solid 4 because it is ingenious and wonderfully written. Fol......more

I have little to say, and enclose what I do say in a virtual wrapper for those who may wish to skip it. Historically, psychologically, intriguing. (view spoiler)[ Disappointing. Scatter-brained: the timeline (not followed!) is disorienting. Cliche'd, as for instance, "His records. Indicate. Little. Else" Incomprehe (hide spoiler)]......more