Biju Thomas

A Close World Apart Biju Thomas

Most people tend to identify themselves through the good of their national culture but put their blinds on when it comes to the undesirable parts of their society either unconsciously or deliberately because it's more convenient and avoids confronting the truth. This is the basic thread the author carries throughout the book and exposes the hypocrisies inherent in many cultures through the eyes of his characters. A Close World Apart is a novel that explores ideas through the experiences of some Indian students and other foreign students at an American university. The multicultural environment forces them in examining the hypocrisies they see in America but because of the multicultural cauld ron they are in, they are also forced to look at the hypocrisies of their own societies. A Close World Apart attempts to make you take a good look before you pull the blinds down again. Mammen, one of the characters in the book sums it up well, "But sadly I think it is a truth that no one speaks about but everyone knows."