Crane's Morning [Hardcover]

Indrani Aikath-Gyaltsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 1994

In the Indian village of Mohurpukur, Vikran Sen, a noted playwright recently released from a Calcutta prison, enters the life of an eccentric, traditional family. By the author of Daughters of the House. 35,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although lacking some of the impact of Gyaltsen's first novel, Daughters of the House , this finely nuanced tale of constricted lives in an isolated Indian town is marked by much of the same mixture of grace and keen observation. Ineffectual Kunal Kushari, college principal and village landlord, feels himself a failure as a teacher, a husband and a father. His proud, willful wife, Gargi, resents both her never-ending work caring for their three small daughters and her husband's elderly Aunt Kanan, whose presence in the Kushari family's dilapidated mansion prevents Kunal from selling it. The final ingredient in this concoction of clashing personalities and fading dreams is Bengali playwright Vikram Sen, Gargi's onetime suitor, who has just been released from prison after having been wrongly accused of abetting his rich wife's suicide. A subplot involves administrative infighting at the Kushari daughters' elementary school, where one of the teachers falls in love with Vikram Sen. This small gem of a book lays bare the human heart with a witty dissection of secret wishes that shape or subvert lives and destinies.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In her second novel, the author of Daughters of the House (Ballantine, 1993) deals with the problems of the Kushari family, who live in a run-down mansion in the Indian village of Mohurpukur. Oppressed by a lifelong sense of failure, Kunal, a gentle and perceptive college professor, is forced to take action when he discovers that his favorite daughter, Pia, is being mistreated at the private school she attends. His wife, Gargi, who chose the school, confronts the unhappiness of her life with Kunal after Vikram, her former lover, suddenly shows up in Mohurpukur. Aikath-Gyaltsen is a talented storyteller who creates sympathetic but very human characters. She moves her plot skillfully while painting a vivid picture of Indian village life. Recommended.
- Harriet Gottfried, NYPL
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 243 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 3, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345383664
• ISBN-13: 978-0345383662
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,940,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Like it? Read the original by Elizabeth Goudge, March 13, 2006

By 

OolooKitty (los angeles, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crane's Morning (Hardcover)

This novel is a rather famously plagiarized version of Elizabeth Goudge's "The Rosemary Tree", and I'm surprised that this is not mentioned anywhere in the description of the book. The case was rather notorious and ended with the apparent suicide of this author once the truth had come out. At any rate, if you enjoyed this book, give credit to the original delightful novel by Elizabeth Goudge, and seek out her other works which are just as good.

1.0 out of 5 stars "Crane's Morning" = an infamous case of literary theft., April 16, 2011

By 

Sarah Fox (Towson, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crane's Morning (Hardcover)

I read this book when it first came out, and immediately recognized that the characters and plot were not original, but stolen. Others did as well, and it didn't take long for the truth to come out:

"Crane's Morning" is one of the most infamous examples of plagiarism in existence. The entire plot, as well as huge chunks of exact, word-for-word dialog and description, were copied from "The Rosemary Tree" by Elizabeth Goudge. All that the "author" did was move the setting from England to India.
The book was withdrawn from publication, and all unsold copies returned to the publisher, when the theft was discovered.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening parable -- an unforgettable read., August 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Crane's Morning (Hardcover)

Crane's Morning is more than the sum of its elegant and well-crafted parts. This book explores the experience of the human condition - purity, bitterness, folly, redemption. Underlying everything is a sense of the eternal and intricate order/disorder of life.