Fri Apr 18 04:00:00 UTC 2025: ## Massive New Novel “Great Eastern Hotel” Receives Mixed Review
**KOLKATA, INDIA – April 18, 2025** – Ruchir Joshi’s sprawling new novel, “Great Eastern Hotel,” a 900-page epic set in pre- and post-independence Calcutta, has garnered a mixed reception from critics. While praised for its ambitious scope and evocative portrayal of the city, the novel’s character development has drawn criticism.
The book, described as belonging to the tradition of Zola and Fitzgerald, features multiple interwoven storylines centered around painter Kedar Nath Lahiri and a cast of characters including a Marxist revolutionary, a British intelligence officer, and a cunning orphan. The reviewer in The Hindu Sunday Magazine lauded Joshi’s ability to capture the atmosphere and events of 1940s and 50s Calcutta, calling the city itself “truly alive, vast, and imbued with an inner mystery.”
However, the review points to a significant weakness: the underdeveloped characters. While Joshi excels at describing settings and situations, the characters, the reviewer argues, lack depth and substance. Their interiority is shallow, and their motivations unclear. The author’s reliance on dialogue, while possessing “an ear for the right register,” leaves the characters feeling like actors reciting lines rather than fully realized individuals. The reviewer suggests that the novel’s focus on the city itself overshadows its characters, ultimately hindering their development.
Despite these criticisms, the review concludes on a positive note. The reviewer acknowledges the novel’s ambition and its considerable strengths in capturing a specific time and place. The reviewer ultimately suggests that “Great Eastern Hotel,” despite its flaws, is a bold and ambitious work.
First Piper 