A Division of the Spoils

By: Paul Scott

Narrated by: Richard Brown

Against the backdrop of the violent partition of India and Pakistan, this volume sketches one last bittersweet romance, revealing the divided loyalties of the British as they flee, retreat from, or cling to India.

A modern epic of imperialism’s human cost

The classic epics tell of figures much larger than life. The Raj Quartet is an epic for our times laying out the complex web of relationships and personalities which constitute the skein of history in its windings and unwindings, played out by ordinary people. The great unwinding is the demise of the British empire’s crown jewel which Paul Scott dissects with surgical skill from the point of view of these ordinary people. Scott has an uncanny ability to run together different people’s perspectives, weaving them together as a single narrative. This series and this book are a narrative tour de force.

OUTSTANDING

This is the last book of the 4 book series.
The author goes into the stories and events pertaining to all the characters mentioned in the first book and a few new characters in subsequent books. There are many. In a book such as this, I look the title and author up in Wikipedia and make a list of all the characters, with a short description so, as I listen, I can refer to this list.
The events will hold your attention.
The discrimination agains anybody who is not “Lilly White”, by the English, is appalling, but that is an old story in history.
The ending of the book is sad.
I will now go on and read the last book by Paul Scott, “Staying On”, not a part of the series, but also about India.
It is sad that an author, so gifted, had to pass away at a young age.
My thanks to all involved in making these books available to us, JK

A powerful, poignant and historical story

The end is so terribly awful. For me the strength of the story lies in its historical basis. The British divided to rule ( as Kassim tells the Governor), then dumped the jewel, which led to the murderous dividing of the spoils. One of my pleasures is that the barely acknowledged love affair between Guy and Sarah will, in Scott’s next book, become a happy marriage. And that Merrilck is dead.

Such a great story!

This is the final book. After reading/listening to four very involved books, and watching The Jewel in the Crown I feel as though I’m departing from some good acquaintances. Scott’s characterizations are very real. This story is a good historical novel about the British attitudes toward Indians at the end of British rule in India. A huge commitment of time but Audible and retirement made it doable.

A long story

Sometimes a long story it's just what's needed. I was sorry with the story ended. I miss it now. One unsolved mystery remains: how on earth did the English ever smoke and drink so much?