Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India
ISBN 0-307-26958-2 | |
Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India is a 2011 biography of Indian political and spiritual leader
The book is split between the time Gandhi spent in South Africa and his return to India as the Mahatma.[2]
Critical and popular reception
Response in India
The
Lelyveld has stated that the gay interpretation of his work is a mistake. Lelyveld added: "The book does not say that Gandhi was bisexual or homosexual. It says that he was celibate and deeply attached to Kallenbach. This is not news."[4]
Review by the New York Times
Writing for The New York Times, Hari Kunzru finds Great Soul to be "judicious and thoughtful". Lelyveld's book, he writes, will be revelatory to American readers who may only be familiar with the rudiments of Gandhi's life and for those readers, perhaps especially Indian readers, who are better acquainted with the Gandhi story the book's portrait of the man will still be challenging.[2]
Reports of passages within the book regarding the nature of Gandhi and Kallenbach's relationship prompted the
Review by the Wall Street Journal
British historian
Other reviews
Indrajit Hazra writing for the Hindustan Times described the book to have weaved "the unreceived narratives with the received one, and in the process presents to the reader a more complete picture of a complex, undoubtedly great man".[6]
Christopher Hitchens writing for The Atlantic wrote that the "book provides the evidence for both readings, depending on whether you think Gandhi was a friend of the poor or a friend of poverty".[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Thoppil, Dhanya Ann (12 November 2012). "New Aakash May be Tough Sell in India". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ a b c Kunzru, Hari (29 March 2011). "In 'Great Soul,' Joseph Lelyveld Re-Examines Gandhi". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ Ghosh, Palash (30 March 2011). "Controversial book on Gandhi banned in his native state". International Business Times. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ Kinetz, Erika (30 March 2011). "India state bans book hinting Gandhi had gay lover". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ Roberts, Andrew (26 March 2011). "Among the Hagiographers". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ "Review: Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India". Hindustan Times. 3 March 2013. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ Hitchens, Christopher (July 2011). "The Real Mahatma Gandhi". The Atlantic. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
External links
- How outrage gripped Gandhi’s recalcitrant nation by Thomas Weber, July 2011 from inside.com.au