Bombay Talkie [Paperback]

Ameena Meer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1994

Sabah, a young American woman of Indian heritage, sets out to discover her identity in India, only to stumble into a decadent, upper-class demi-monde. Ameena Meer presents a portrait of a generation of young Indians as confused by Westernization as they are tied to tradition and family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Journalist Meer's first novel is as gaudy and melodramatic as the movies she evokes in her title. American-born Sabah's parents convince her to visit India, and she is thrust into the unravelling lives of an American-born friend, now married to an Indian and that of her famous movie star uncle and his family. The story is woven from the characters' inner monologues and a narrative that describes the seamiest excesses of wealth, poverty, sexism, racial consciousness, deception and hypocrisy with the pace and detachment of a journalist. The scandals of homosexuality and infidelity seem tired as plot motivators, the characters more like archetypes than the self-involved yet complex people they might be. But a wife-burning and the tragedy of Sabah's lovelorn gay cousin are shocking--the senseless loss, so emotionally portrayed, will leave readers tearful, angry and, like Sabah, a bit relieved to be back in America after all. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This paperback original takes a wry look at two families, two generations, and two cultures. At the center of the story is Sabah, a second-generation American seeking to understand her heritage. After graduating from college, she journeys to India and is soon caught up in cultural contradictions; traditional customs and modern discos create an unsettling milieu. Two tragic deaths reveal the extremes of traditional and modern cultures, as Sabah seeks a balance in multicultural identity. Interspersed with Sabah's story are chapters focusing on her parents and the family of her Indian film star uncle. This first novel has the effect of an intricate mosaic-splashes of color finally fit into a coherent whole. Recommended for public libraries.
Jan Blodgett, St. Mary's Cty. Records Ctr. & Archives, Leonardtown, Md.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: High Risk Books / Serpent's Tail; 1st edition (July 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852423250
• ISBN-13: 978-1852423254
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,486,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent page-turner with bicultural insights, June 3, 2003

By 

Evert Cilliers (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bombay Talkie (A Five Star Title) (Paperback)

This is a breezy popular novel and great read with many insights into navigating the conflicts of Indian-American identity. An Indian-American returns to India and learns more about her country and herself. The story moves fast and entertainingly, and its affecting sensational content dramatises our understanding of the character's conflicts with superb insight. Such cross-cultural differences as sexual identity and male-female relationships are delineated with acuity and power. A scene of widow-burning, for example, brings home the senseless cruelty of this Indian practise with searing effect. The novel's depiction of upper-class dilemmas -- the worlds it reveals are those of the affluent well-born -- are particularly well-drawn, with appealing and entertaining wit. A must-read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a brilliant view of modern tradition, September 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Bombay Talkie (Paperback)

Ameena Meer shows the hypocrisy of the westernised high class as, although the male characters seem to live a modern life, they still claim traditional values that oppress women.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars quick read, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Bombay Talkie (Paperback)

I think this novel sheds light on the growing majority of diasporic indians all over the world. It deals with the silent struggles of these youths who are attempting to balance western with eastern. I thought that it was a quick read and I think Meer did a really good job of story telling. The episodes flowed right into one another which made the novel seem almost cinematic. I think this is one author that has been overlooked in the recent fad of indian fiction.