elegant moments and descriptions don't make up for an utterly uninteresting (to me) plot and story. sad. bummed i didn't like this one more

Mishra's first novel in 20 years explores capitalism and globalization and how they affect individuals and communities. While I love political novels with fast plots, this one sometimes sacrifices nuance for the clarity of its message, even when more ambiguity would sometimes render certain aspects more intriguing.

Really difficult/boring to get through - I think this is mostly autofiction but it felt meandering and random in its writing and approach. I couldn't get into this and lost interest really quickly.

A unique perspective at modern life in India. While the writing is undoubtedly beautiful and captivating, the plot, characters and setting left something to be desired. This book isn't really my cup of tea, but I look forward to seeing what Mishra writes next as I think his prose and style are remarkable.

this book was really interesting in that it was a plotless, meandering internal novel about a guy (where i generally read plotless, meandering internal novels about women) and i enjoyed it to varying extents. a lot of this novel is concerned with the state of contemporary india and, to its credit, it satirises and represents and critiques the political landscape and its actors with great gusto. i think my main issue is how tediously boring much of it ended up being. there are some interesting things being done with language, for example there is quite a bit of romanized hindi and there's these copious description of the natural world, both of which i enjoyed. i think perhaps to those who don't spend much time thinking about india, this book would read like a revelation but if not, i don't think i could recommend it with conviction.

I think this book is intended to be a tale of modern India told through the experiences of Arun and his more exciting friends. The problem is that Arun isn't very interesting or dynamic whereas Alia was completely captivating. When Alia wasn't in the story I wasn’t engaged at all and it felt like a slog.

Been waiting more than twenty years! Was happy to include this novel in March’s edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for Zoomer magazine. (at link)

The description of this novel had me hooked. And while I found bits of it riveting, it did not hold my interest throughout because I found the characters to be, well, more stereotypical than nuanced. Mishra's prose, however, is always a pleasure to read. I think I'm still more of a fan of his nonfiction than his fiction.

Arun tells his story, and that of his friends Virenda and Aseem, to Alia in this novel which is as much a criticism of strivers as it is a novel. The point seems to be that we (collectively) have lost our way and hewed too much to the desire to make money, gain fame, and so on. I found Arun unlikable and the underlying commentary too overt. There's more social commentary and philosophizing than plot. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. While this wasn't for me, I'm certain fans of Mishra's writing will enjoy it.

Pankaj Mishra is a well known Indian essayist and novelist. You can read his political and literary essays in NYT, Guardian and London Review of Books. As the recipient of the 2014 Windham–Campbell Prize for non-fiction, he is well known internationally!

In Run and Hide, Mishra attempts to personalize the dream that many of us have to escape our roots. Arun is a young and poor Indian who has hit the jackpot when he is accepted into the Indian Institute of Technology. Amongst the truly horrible hazing of new students, Arun makes two friends close friends that share his impoverished history.

The. novel takes a bit of an autobiographical turn as Arun, much like Pankaj, moves to the Himalayas to write. His two friends branch out to finance (Wall Street) and political commentary at the National Level. The true purpose of the story is revealed when Alia, who is writing a book about the careers of his classmates. Arun follows her to London and is tempted by the luxury. What Arun finds next is the crux of the story. It also includes quite a bit of commentary on where India is going as a nation, and it's fascinating if you have traveled to India in the last ten years and observed the ultra quick development of the country for better or for worse.

If you are fascinated by tales in other places, cultural identities that aren't far from your own or just would like to read some true literary prose, then #RunandHide is for you! #NetGalley #NetGalleyReads. #FarrarStrausGiroux

Though I admire the writing and the intention of this book, it simply had me bogged down for much of it. I'd be willing to give it another try at a later date, though.

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook.

This book just didn't work for me. Probably closer to 2.5 stars.

This is a story of 3 friends (sort of). One of the three is the narrator of the story, the second one is one the periphery of the story and the third makes some fleeting appearances and is mostly referred to in passing.

All 3 are trying to "run and hide" from their impoverished backgrounds after getting into an elite engineering institution. My issue with such books is always the description of poverty purely for the shock value. Arvind Adiga started the trend with white tiger and a lot of others are following it blindly.

I barely made it to the end and had the question - "what's the point"? With literary fiction, the journey is supposed to be the reward but for this one, the destination was a sigh of relief.

The writing here blew me away. The author perfectly captures the humanity of the narrator. The hazing scenes in the early chapters are an example of how the narrator is both a victim, but also turns his back on his friend’s greater suffering.

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. In India, young and impoverished Arun feels like he’s won the lottery when he is accepted into the Indian Institute of Technology. The students are brutal to one another, but Arun makes two friends that have similar backgrounds to his own. Years later, one of those friends flies high in the rarified air of Wall Street and the other stakes out the life of literature and becomes a cultural voice in India. Arun seems to dip his toe into a new life, but eventually moves with his mother to a small town in that Himalayas and makes a living quietly doing translations. A woman, who is writing a book about the careers of his classmates, tempts Arun into love and a life of luxury in London. Arun finds, as his two famous classmates tragically find, that you can only reinvent yourself on the outside. Inside it’s much harder to escape your origins.