Conch Bearer [Turtleback]

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2005

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. In India, a healer invites twelve-year-old Anand to join him on a quest to return a magical conch to its safe and rightful home, high in the Himalayan mountains.

--This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Anand's compassionate gesture of sharing his tea with an old man in a Calcutta market leads to radical changes in the 12-year-old's life. The stranger is a member of the Brotherhood of Healers and invites the boy to join him on a dangerous journey to return a magical conch shell to its proper home in the far-off Himalayas. Along with Nisha, a sweeper-girl who insists on joining them, Anand and Abhaydatta travel to the mountains pursued by the evil Surabhanu, a power-hungry ex-member of the brotherhood. Anand struggles in his own mind, doubting Abhaydatta's motives and the existence of magic, jealous of Nisha's comfortable relationship with the old man, and occasionally succumbing to Surabhanu's tempting illusions. When he finally reaches the Silver Valley, more challenges await him before he can enter. In the end, he faces the most difficult choice of all-to stay in the world of magic he had always dreamed of or return to his family. This quest adventure has an exotic flavor: the journey from a crowded Indian city through rural villages and the high mountains, a magical background from traditional Indian tales, and deliciously detailed description of Indian foods. Honesty, loyalty, and compassion are the virtues demanded by the Healers; Anand's actions show that he has all three. Readers can sympathize with his struggles and long for his success. This traditional story in fresh new clothing should appeal to middle graders.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. In modern-day India, a boy named Anand perseveres in difficult circumstances. His father is gone, his sister has had a breakdown, and he and his mother struggle to keep a shack's roof over their heads. Anand is kind to an old man, Abhaydatta, a healer who is charged with bringing home an irreplaceable conch shell, stolen from his brotherhood. What follows is a classic quest story in which Anand and feisty, orphaned Nisha eventually continue the quest for the shell on their own. Faced with all the conventions of the genre, they undergo various trials, and Anand makes choices that change his life. Fantasy lovers will recognize familiar elements; certain touches are reminiscent of the Harry Potter books (the evil one takes the shape of a snake) and C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (tempting food controls a child). With so many fantasies being published, what's special about this one? It's the unique setting, along with the elegance of Divakaruni's writing. The slums of "Kalcotta" are so richly created that readers can almost smell them, and the pure beauty of Anand's destination is a shimmering Shangri-La come to life. The characterizations have the same lucidity, real to the core, yet cloaked in magic. This speaks directly to children, in a very enticing voice. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Turtleback: 265 pages
• Publisher: Demco Media (February 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606333827
• ISBN-13: 978-0606333825
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's acclaimed novels for adults include the bestselling The Mistress of Spices, soon to be a motion picture. Her previous book for young readers, The Conch Bearer, was a Booklist Editors' Choice, Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and is a 2005 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee. She teaches creative writing at the University of Houston and lives with her husband and two sons in Sugarland, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exotic Magical Adventure!, August 12, 2005

By 

T. J. Jones "TJ" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Conch Bearer (Brotherhood of the Conch) (Paperback)

Divakaruni's exotic adventure "The Conch Bearer" stands out among the many palid children fantasies out there. Her characters are fresh, vivid, and 3-dimensional, and she sucks you into the Indian setting showing you and ultimately making you appreciate their culture. Anand is not enjoying his life when the story starts. Ever since his father left for a job in America, every day that passes erodes the hope from Anand that he might come back. Money becomes short and soon Anand's mother can't afford to send him or his sister to school anymore and Anand has to go and get a job for the horrible Haru. One day, Anand is kind to a strange man, Abhaydatta, who ultimately whisks him away on a grand adventure and entrusts Anand with the task to safely return the all powerful Conch to the Silver Valley; a nirvana high in the mountains. Anand must do this all the while trying to keep the Conch from the greedy Surabhanu. This story may not sound all that original, but Divakaruni's Indian setting and vivid characters give it a fresh spin that left me clamoring for the sequel. Don't miss out on this magical adventure.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Adventure Tale of a Magical Quest, November 21, 2004

By 

Janel Rodriguez (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Conch Bearer (Brotherhood of the Conch) (Paperback)

Characters to care about...food you can almost taste, weather you'd swear you feel...if you like Harry Potter-type stories (with magic and a boy with a destiny) and Lord of the Rings style adventure (a wise old man, a dangerous journey, the responsibility of bearing a powerful, sought after object) than you will love this tale. Author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has a way with words. Her descriptions are always rich and luscious and savory, at the same time her style also manages to keep you reading to the next chapter and the next. Be careful! You may miss your stop on the train reading her stuff! For children, this book and NEELA'S SONG are so exciting you won't want to put them down. Her work for adult readers is just as riveting and captivating.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great story, March 23, 2006

By 

S. Boykins (Richmond, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Conch Bearer (Brotherhood of the Conch) (Paperback)

The Conch Bearer starts with a young Indian boy named Anand in the middle of what starts off as a routine day. He is a 12-year-old boy who because of his circumstances has to labor for minimal wages under a mean and nasty boss named Haru. Anand and his family are coping as best they can after having lost contact and support from his father. He can no longer afford the luxury of going to school, which was difficult for his mother as well as himself. It also pains her that her son has to work and live in such difficult circumstances, but she also appreciates the help she gets from Anand working. Anand's love for his family is great and he is more than willing to work to help. Throughout the story the book touches on some difficult aspects about life in India. Though it would be a great read for all, perhaps it best relates to students with a background in another country or who are growing up poor having to make sacrifices for the well being of the whole family. Anand even recognizes that his own fate isn't as bad as his friend Nisha who knows no family and lives on the street every night. What helps Anand through it all is his desire to help people and a belief that things will change for the better. A self-sacrificing act of kindness sets this young boy on his journey as the conch bearer. It is not an easy journey, as Anand has to struggle mostly against his own self and through feelings of jealousy and distrust in order to successfully return the conch.

I read and reviewed this book for a book competition; the aim, to encourage young readers to read more.