The Cauliflower, Nicola Barker
The Cauliflower, Nicola Barker
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The Cauliflower
A Novel

Author: Nicola Barker

Narrator: Sneha Mathan, Vikas Adam

Unabridged: 8 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/09/2016


Synopsis

From Man Booker–shortlisted, IMPAC Award–winning author Nicola Barker comes an exuberant, multivoiced new novel mapping the extraordinary life and legacy of a nineteenth-century Hindu saint.To the world, he is Sri Ramakrishna—godly avatar, esteemed spiritual master, beloved guru. To Rani Rashmoni, she of low caste and large inheritance, he is the Brahmin fated to defy tradition. But to Hriday, his nephew and longtime caretaker, he is just Uncle—maddening, bewildering Uncle, prone to entering trances at the most inconvenient of times, known to sneak out to the forest at midnight to perform dangerous acts of self-effacement, who must be vigilantly safeguarded not only against jealous enemies and devotees with ulterior motives but also against that most treasured yet insidious of sulfur-rich vegetables: the cauliflower.Rather than puzzling the shards of history and legend together, Barker shatters the mirror again and rearranges the pieces. The result is a biographical novel viewed through a kaleidoscope. Dazzlingly inventive and brilliantly comic, irreverent, and mischievous, The Cauliflower delivers us into the divine playfulness of a twenty-first-century literary master.

About Nicola Barker

Nicola Barker is the author of eleven novels, including The Yips (long-listed for the Man Booker Prize), Darkmans (short-listed for the Booker and the Ondaatje Prize and winner of the Hawthornden Prize), Clear (long-listed for the Booker), and Wide Open (winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award), and three story collections, including Love Your Enemies (winner of the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award). Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages. She lives in London.

About Sneha Mathan

Sneha Mathan is a voice actor and audiobook narrator. Her audiobook work has received several Earphones awards, and she is a three-time Audie Award finalist. She lives in Seattle.

About Vikas Adam

Vikas Adam is a classically trained actor with numerous credits in stage, film, commercials, and television, in addition to his over two hundred recorded audiobooks. His narrations have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including AudioFile Earphones Awards, various Best of the Year lists, and the prestigious Audie Award. He was an inaugural inductee into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dannii on May 18, 2016

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

Goodreads review by Marc on May 19, 2016

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

Goodreads review by Doug on September 17, 2016

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

Goodreads review by Erin on December 31, 2016

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

Goodreads review by Rian on May 03, 2016

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


Quotes

“Vibrant, funny, garrulous, and lovely…It is a celebration of spirituality and faith…Perfectly balanced between clownish irreverence and hushed respect for the numinous.” Sunday Times (London)

“Distinctively Barkeresque…Typically atypical, expectedly unexpected, and inexplicably good. She really is a genius.” Guardian (London)

“Barker’s antic, irreverent historical novel examines the life of real-life spiritual leader Sri Ramakrishna…Beneath the jaunty surface, the novel explores important questions about the nature of religious experience.” Publishers Weekly

“Both deeply researched and imagination-drenched, and playful in language, tone, time line, and structure.” Booklist

“Respectful, playful, and often entertaining―though just as often puzzling. Barker’s fans will enjoy the outing, forgiving her quirks.” Kirkus Reviews


Awards

  • Refinery29 Pick