Does anyone here feel that Stanley Wolpert's book 'Nehru: A Tryst With Destiny' is less of a biography and more of a... Wattpad fanfiction?
I haven't read the entire book; in fact, I've just read the first two chapters, but the book feels... weirdly sensual. It's not in the face, but there's an undertone of objectifying Nehru's looks and voice and even the time Nehru got beaten by his father Motilal(yk in those days, child abuse was the expected norm), and there's a lot of contemplating about Nehru's probable relationships starting from his homeschooling days. Like, I'm not denying that Nehru was a charming man; he was, but Wolpert kind of keeps repeating that point.
Perhaps maybe I'm acting like a Victorian prude(which would be surprising since I read and write fanfiction on AO3), but when I pick up a historical non-fiction, I do not expect it to read like an emo teen's Tumblr post. I'm not saying Wolpert should've kept the entire thing clinical and 'pure' and written only about Nehru's political life- that would not be a biography, then. A biography must touch every aspect of a human's life, including their romantic life, but... idk man the book is kinda weird ngl. At least the first two chapters are. Maybe I should read the next chapters.
Lemme know your thoughts.