Train to Pakistan

De: Khushwant Singh

Narrado por: Paul Thottam

Mano Majra is a place, Khushwant Singh tells us at the beginning of this classic novel, where Sikhs and Muslims have lived together in peace for hundreds of years. Then one day, at the end of the summer, the "ghost train" arrives, a silent, incredible funeral train loaded with the bodies of thousands of refuges, bringing the village its first taste of the horrors of the civil war. Train to Pakistan is the story of this isolated village that is plunged into the abyss of religious hate. It is also the story of a Sikh boy and a Muslim girl whose love endures and transcends the ravages of war.

©1956, 2018 Khushwant Singh (P)2018 Random House Audio

warning warning warning

I was left stunned at the end. tingling all over. Not knowing quite what just happened. the book holds a message and a warning to Indians and Pakistanis, more relevant now than ever before.

Horrible narration!!

The narrator speaks without any emotion. It’s like he’s reading for the sake of finishing the book. While the story is heart wrenching and emotional, the narrator does zero justice to it.

The book and story are great!

The book and story are great! However, several places in the audiobook repeat sentences or seem to skip forward.

the scenes of war are unforgettable

Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh is a story about the violence during Hindustan and the creation of Pakistan in 1947. It is a book about violence and war. It is about heroes and villains -- but it doesn't place one group of people in the hero category and one in the villain category. Rather it show us that there were good and bad people on both sides of the coin. It is a devastating, brutal and chaotic read because that is the truth of the events.

I learned a lot from this book. I knew almost nothing about the Punjab or the events that occurred when the partition of India occurred. I will be reading more.

There were so many scenes that linger in my mind and horrify my memory, but the most vivid were the moments when the the train was filled with corpses. I will never forget it.

Worst ever narrator

The narrator should be banned from Audible for murdering narration as such. It’s a beautiful story and what narrator is doing here? Emotionless simple reading, repetition again and again. He just tortured Khashwant Singh’s soul.

Enjoyed the symbolism

I believ this book gives us a glimpse of the conflict between the cultures in India. It was very educational. It reminds one that politics drive divisions between people. It is not a natural state of being.

The history of the formation of Pakistan, 1947

I only gave it a three star because of the importance of the history contained in this book about the separation of Pakistan Muslims from India Hindu in 1947. Horrendous situation and the book tells it from the villager’s point of view. But the writing is rather poor and the narrator is simply a reader.