The Far PavilionsThe Far Pavilions
Score Classic
What it's about
Ash is born in India to English parents, but after their deaths he is raised as a Hindu by his foster mother, and grows up thinking of himself as Indian. Sent to England and trained as a British officer, he returns to India caught between two worlds. On an escort mission for two princesses, he meets again his childhood friend Juli, and falls in love with a woman he can never marry.
Why it's worth reading
It was voted onto the BBC's Big Read and is one of the great romantic adventures, set across nineteenth-century India and Afghanistan.
You'll love it if you liked
Memoirs of a Geisha
Gone with the Wind
The Thorn BirdsGood to know
It's nearly a thousand pages. Its view of India is a British one of its time, though sympathetic. There's war violence and a scene of a widow's burning.
By the numbers
- Readers78 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller32 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #170 of the 459 fantasy books we rank
- #349 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1180 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous, Epic, Moving
If you like this, read next
The Lord of the Rings
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Godfather
The Pillars of the Earth
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
FoundationExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The Far Pavilions worth reading?
Yes. It was voted onto the BBC's Big Read and is one of the great romantic adventures, set across nineteenth-century India and Afghanistan. It ranks #1,180 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 71.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Far Pavilions about?
Ash is born in India to English parents, but after their deaths he is raised as a Hindu by his foster mother, and grows up thinking of himself as Indian. Sent to England and trained as a British officer, he returns to India caught between two worlds. On an escort mission for two princesses, he meets again his childhood friend Juli, and falls in love with a woman he can never marry.
How long does it take to read The Far Pavilions?
About 24 hours (964 pages), or about 7 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Far Pavilions?
If you liked it, try Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell or The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough.