In the Convent of Little Flowers: Stories [Hardcover]

Indu Sundaresan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 2008

Now in paperback, internationally bestselling author Indu Sundaresan presents a poignant collection of contemporary short stories about the challenges and consequences faced by women in Indian life today.

Like Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, Indu Sundaresan’s In the Convent of Little Flowers gives readers an eloquent and illuminating collection of stories about contemporary Indian life, exploring the cutting-edge issues that surround the clash between ancient tradition and modernity. In the collection’s title story, a young woman adopted by an American family in Seattle receives a letter from Sister Mary Theresa, a nun at the Convent of Little Flowers in Chennai, where she stayed as a child. Unbeknownst to the Indian woman, the nun is her biological mother’s sister. In another story, the grandmother of an Indian journalist begs her grandson to intervene and stop a young widow from being burned alive. And when a teenaged daughter bears a child out of wedlock, her entire family is thrown into turmoil. With their lush prose, vividly rendered settings, and complex characters, these and the other stories in this elegant collection bring readers into the experience of Indian women at home and abroad, where modernity offers them lives their grandmothers could never dream of, while at the same time taking away parts of their history. With a delicate touch, Indu Sundaresan weaves the pieces of the conflict together, presenting a nuanced and unforgettable tapestry.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sundaresan (The Twentieth Wife) bluntly questions how evolved the globalized world truly is in these stories of individuals trapped between India's archaic traditions and blitz into modernity. In Three and a Half Seconds, Meha and Chandar's arranged but loving marriage blossoms regardless of the unease they feel regarding the violent peculiarities of their son, Bikaner. As their humble but hard working lives wind down, they become victims of abuse in the home that they share with Bikaner and his wife. In The Faithful Wife, Ram, a journalist, is called home by his grandmother to intervene in a sati, the immolation of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre. The widow in this case is a 12-year-old girl. Finally, in Hunger, two women re-evaluate their own worth as well as their own definitions of love and happiness. The stories are sobering, all the more so for Sundaresan's nuanced character work and blistering social critique; she doesn't pull any punches in her heartbreaking and sometimes repulsive portrayals of oppressors and victims. (Dec.)
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About the Author

Indu Sundaresan was born in India and grew up on Air Force bases all over the country.  Her father, a fighter pilot, was also a storyteller—managing to keep his audiences captive and rapt with his flair for drama and timing.  He got this from his father, Indu's grandfather, whose visits were always eagerly awaited.  Sundaresan’s love of stories comes from both of them, from hearing their stories based on imagination and rich Hindu mythology, and from her father's writings.

After an undergraduate degree in economics from India, Sundaresan came to the U.S. for graduate school at the University of Delaware and has an MS in operations research and an MA in economics. But all too soon, the storytelling gene beckoned.

The Twentieth Wife, Sundaresan’s first novel, won the 2003 Washington State Book Award.  Her second novel, The Feast of Roses, is a sequel to the first and continues the story of Mehrunnisa, Empress Nur Jahan’s life as the most powerful woman of the Mughal dynasty that ruled India.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (December 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416586091
• ISBN-13: 978-1416586098
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #783,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Indu Sundaresan was born and brought up in India, on Air Force bases around the country. Her father, a fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force, was also an avid storyteller--as was his father, Indu's grandfather. She grew up on their stories on various themes--Hindu mythology and fictional tales of an elephant and a horse living in the wilderness.

She came to the U.S. for graduate school at the University of Delaware and has two degrees; an M.S. in operations research and an M.A. in economics. But, the storytelling gene beckoned and she began writing soon after graduate school.

The Twentieth Wife (2002), based on the life of Mehrunnisa, Empress Nur Jahan, is the tale of one of India's most powerful women. This was her first published novel, but the third one she wrote--the first two still languish on the hard drive of some forgotten old computer and are never to be revived; they were practice runs and taught her how to write a novel.
She is the author of five books so far. The Twentieth Wife (2002); The Feast of Roses (2003); The Splendor of Silence (2006); In the Convent of Little Flowers (2008) and Shadow Princess (2010).

All of Indu's work has been published, in hardcover and paperback, in the U.S. by Pocket Books/Atria Books/Washington Square Press--imprints of Simon & Schuster. Her work has been translated into 17 languages to date.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the Convent of Little Flowers Review, January 11, 2009

By 

Pooja D (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Convent of Little Flowers: Stories (Hardcover)

"IN THE CONVENT of LITTLE FLOWERS" (Atria Books; ISBN: 978-1-4165-8609-8) is a compilation of impressively elegant short stories by Indu Sundaresan.
She skillfully with utmost confidence takes the reader on a journey to the ancient culture, the unique diversity of India- its age old traditional rituals while at the same time making the reader question them and ponder over their hold on its inhabitants. The readers are introduced to compelling array of characters that are unforgettable, each is a portrait painted adeptly and even with their flaws and complexities are treated with respect by the author. The characters are struggling under the weight of thousands of years of ingrained beliefs and teachings on class, caste and sexuality- as it challenges their today's modern view, hopes and dreams. Thus the foregoing conflict within themselves and for their place in the 21st century India which influenced by western modernity cannot totally accept the age old practices or let go of their sway on them.

All the nine stories in this collection explore the intricacies of relationships between friends, neighbors, sisters, husband-wife, grandparents and children-societal ties; their deep roots, their connections to past. It is interesting to note that the names of characters that people these pages are also taken from the Indian mythological legends with consequences in present day.

In "Shelter of Rain," Padma, the American raised Indian adoptee prepares to meet her guardian nun from the orphanage 'Convent of Little Flowers'. Indu's evocative prose effectively opens our hearts to the conflict going on in the protagonist's mind and heart.

"Three and Half Seconds" story about unforgettable characters of Meha and Chander. Meha during the evening of her life reflects on the devastating consequences of giving in to their child's every want and turning a blind eye to the early warning sign. This story may be the most disturbing as the reader can identify with the helplessness of society-neighbors bound by belief of non interference.

"Fire" is a powerful story of obsessive destructive love; the power of money and the name of tradition to silence all wrongdoings. Payal, makes the most difficult journey to her childhood home to confront these issues.

"The Key Club" is formed when the eight richest, powerful men of Chennai realize that there is something which their wealth cannot give them. Sundaresan cleverly weaves in the story the main character Ram's longing for his best friend's wife who was the college sweetheart he left as she was not up to his financial stature...was of lower class.

"Bedside Dreams" is a tale of heart break of a loving couple who are sent to the retirement home by their 12 sons. The narrator of this story Kamal's wife wonders if things would have been different if their eldest daughter had lived. Indu Sundaresan impressively drives home the point when the narrator says "We had fought, at one time, so long ago, for our country's freedom, but it simply hurt too much to fight for ours. That had been easier."

"The Most Unwanted" is a riveting story about a child born out of wedlock and his grandfather's agonizing dilemma.

"The Faithful Wife" depicts the most ghastly evil `the practice of sati' and examines the influence, authority of a ritual when a woman asks her journalist grandson to come to the village, to persuade his grandfather to stop the illegal outlawed practice of `Sati', where the community is about commit the horror...force a twelve year old widow to burn alive in name of the ancient tradition.

IN THE CONVENT of LITTLE FLOWER stories are mostly drawn from real events or as Indu says in her afterword, "Everything triggers a thought, some thinking and sometimes this develops into a story," She adorns them beautifully with her creative flair, her hauntingly lyrical style enthralls and the poetic prose moves the reader so much that one becomes part of the narrative. The reader is left pondering with some answered and some unanswerable questions.

I highly recommend this book to all and give thumbs up to this engaging collection of stories.

About the Author: Indu Sundaresan was born and raised in India, but immigrated to United States for graduate school. She is critically praised and popularly loved for her brilliant historical novels. She is the bestselling author of The Feast of Roses, The Splendor of Silence and the Twentieth wife (2003 Washington state award). The Splendor of Silence is the heartrending tale set during 1942...waning of British era. The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses (sequel) are based on the life and power of Mughal empress Nur-Jahan.

Indu currently resides in Redmond, Washington.

By: Pooja Deshmukh

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the Convent of Little Flowers, December 5, 2008

By 

Anupa "reader, cook" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Convent of Little Flowers: Stories (Hardcover)

Indu Sunderesan's new book, "In the Convent of Little Flowers," is a collection of short stories set in a more contemporary time than her previous works. Set mostly in India, the stories touch on topics still somewhat taboo to mention or acknowledge in Indian society. The writing style is so vivid, it makes you feel as if you are a part of the story and you end up thinking about the events long after you have put the book away. I would recommend this book unreservedly and look forward to her next one.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From S. Krishna's Books, December 16, 2008

By 

skrishna (http://www.skrishnasbooks.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: In the Convent of Little Flowers: Stories (Hardcover)

I am a huge fan of Indu Sundaresan's work. She has written three historical fiction novels; two are about Empress Nur Jahan (The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses) and one is set in India during World War II and the Indian independence movement (The Splendor of Silence). All three are wonderfully written novels that any fan of historical fiction should pick up immediately.

When I heard that Ms. Sundaresan had a short story collection coming out, I eagerly sought the chance to obtain a review copy and was thrilled to receive one. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew that they would be amazing stories. And I was right; the stories are very different from her historical fiction work, but they evoke the same emotion within the reader.

The stories in In the Convent of Little Flowers are simply written and utterly beautiful. Some are very emotional; others are horrific (after reading the story about a son who is abusive to his mother and father, I called my own parents immediately, in tears). Each has its own quality that recommends itself to the reader. As such, there is not one bad story among them, not one lesser tale. That is quite a feat for an author, to write stories of such depth and magnitude that they are all equally moving.

All of the stories are about Indians. The majority of them are set in India, though not all. There are classic stories that people of any culture can relate to, stories about love lost between a husband and wife. But there are also stories that are appalling, that make the reader want to weep - the tale of bride burning is one of these. Each story has its own force that propels it forward. Not once did I want to put down the book, to move onto something else. Usually, I read other novels between the breaks in short stories. That wasn't the case with In the Convent of Little Flowers; I just wanted to continue with the stories, to see what Sundaresan would come up with next. With many of the stories, I wanted more. I would love to see some of them fleshed out as full novels, especially the tale of Padma and her feelings about the truth of her adoption.

I highly recommend all of Indu Sundaresan's work, and In the Convent of Little Flowers is no exception. It is a beautiful and moving set of short stories that I think anyone would enjoy.

Thank you to Ms. Sundaresan and her publicist for sending me a copy of this book to review.