Reading Club 4

I'd like to share this book that I've just completed. Although this book was published in 1999 and I am one of her fans, it was only last week that I managed to get my hands on it! Although I've read her other novels like Village by the Sea and Cry, the Peacock, this one has eluded me for some time.. Anita Desai is without doubt one of my favourite Indian writers. This book is about the web of family conflict and it is set to move your emotions. Anita captures two backgrounds- India and Massachusetts, America and shows how the characters deal with the intricacies that life has presented them. Uma, the older daughter of an Indian family dedicates her life to the demands of her parents and she is tied to the Indian household, whereas her brother, Arun, is bewildered by his life in an American college and the new surroundings. I love her interplay of language and the richness of her style and subject matter. There is a lot of depth and Anita does not worry about driving her message to her readers- it is reflected very effectively through her choice of words and style fo writing. Definitely a good read!