This is an outstanding book on many levels. The body of a woman is found frozen in the snow. As in all Badami's books, the theme is the immigrant experience in Canada and this one also features an abusive husband and the Canadian winter.
I heard Badami interviewed on CBC on this book, and she says she had not heard of or read Sinclair Ross's The Painted Room, a short story, and a Canadian definitive.
If you have not read this author before, you must.
Her previous books (all great):
Tamarind Mem
The Hero's Walk
Can You Hear the Nightbird Call
This is a collection of short stories (novelettes) by the breathtaking author of Namesake. Lahiri writes about the experiences of educated professional Indian immigrants to the US and their adjustment to their new life. But this is only the backdrop to her amazing stories and insight into the human mind and heart. Every sentence is unexpected, interesting, and smoothly woven into the narrative.
Other great Indian writers and books:
Anita Badami Rau (Tamarind Mem, Hero's Walk)
Bharati Mukherjee (Desirable Daughters)
Aravind Adiga (White Tiger)
A Suitable Boy (Vikram Seth)
A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
It's a wonder any Canadians and Americans bother writing, with Indians and other nationalities turning out writers like Adiga.
A near perfect book, you won't stop until you are finished. Adiga found the perfect voice for the story of Balram, the driver who goes from nameless village boy to 'outsourcing' millionaire. In his letters to the Chinese president, he describes his metamorphosis. He changes from innocent servant, slowly gathering courage and confidence as he learns the corrupt and hypocritical ways of the world, realizing his destiny as the White Tiger, the rare breed, when he finally decides to commit murder for money.
The reviews all mention how funny it is, but I did not read it as a funny book. The characters are very sardonic, and see the hypocrisy and injustice in every aspect of life.
My only warning is that this is not the India that you will see when you visit. India is a beautiful country full of beautiful people. Of course, you can see the dark side of any place, and that is what Adiga is exploring. Don't let this turn you off India.
Other books exploring the change of a 'good' person to a 'bad' person:
The Reluctant Fundamentalist *** by Mohsin Hamid
DeNiro's Game **** by Rawe Hage
A terrific book, similar to other books with Indian desai theme. In this one, the themes are infanticide of girl babies, and moving from village to Bombay slum. A girl baby is rescued and put in orphanage and adopted by a wealthy American couple. Highly recommended.
The overall theme of cultural adjustments is no longer original and Gowda does rely sometimes on familiar and typical incidents. However, it is a compelling story and suspenseful to the very end.
Other great books with similar themes:
Namesake *** by Jhumpa Lahiri
Hero's Walk *** by Anita Rau Badami
Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? ***by Anita Rau Badami
Another wonderful book by Badami, a Vancouver based writer. All those who wish a further understanding of how the Sikhs in Canada became militant and violent should read this book and how Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs were driven apart by politics and violence. Badami weaves several stories of immigrants together skillfully with none of these implausible turns of fate that characterize some fiction I have read recently. The characters are fascinating and, though of another culture, have traits and behaviours that I related to.
Her previous books, Tamarind Mem and Hero's Walk, are also highly recommended reads, both for the wonderful story telling and writing, and for the understanding of Indo-Canadian history.
Really interesting little book, well written.
I enjoyed every word of this densely packed 1500 page book. Serious, humorous, historical, suspenseful, fascinating, I cannot say enough about this book. Each character has foibles and likeable in some way. The descriptions of real catastrophes and political events are described in delightful detail, but one knows that a twist is coming, so you read so carefully, so as not to miss that one sentence or phrase.
