Customer Reviews

The Crow Eaters: A Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bapsi Sidhwa is an author of rare sensitivity. Most of her work deals with life in the Parsi community . She, being a Parsi herself, provides an interesting insight into the actions and reactions of a minority caught between predominantly muslim and hindu societies in India and Pakistan. Her controversial and well known novel on partition, Cracking India (called the Ice-candy Man in India) is one such tour de force.

Crow Eaters is slightly different. Although here the story is centered around a middle class Parsi family, the novel does not have an overly political tone . Much of the novel is filled with interesting incidents in the life of the protogonists. Many of the incidents are comic witha touch of tragedy in them . This is the kind of writing Bapsi is known for and this book is a prime example of her art.

Bapsi Sidhwa along with Rohinton Mistry(Such a long journey) is one of the very few authors who have written about the Parsis; a small but prominent culture in the Indian society. This book exemplifies that form of writing .

The Crow Eaters is an extraordinary tale of very ordinary people. A fast moving and engaging story is full of humour and life. Bapsi Sidhwa has a magical tendency of writing fiction and creating very emphatic characters. The Crow Eaters is the story of a Parsee family that moves to the bustling city of Lahore. Lahore is also called the "Paris of the East" and has always served as one of the most historical cities in South Asia. Founded by a Hindu god Ram and later becoming the central part of the great Moughal Empire and the seat of the governor in the British Raj, Lahore quickly absorbed the Junglewallas in its stride. The story take twists and turns and goes from one generation to the other. The descriptions are as solid as a rock and the pace and humour make a perfect combination to transform the story in a magical tale of love, relations and experiences of a parsee family in the British India. It's a must to read...

"The Crow Eaters" is a delightfully humorous and insightful book. Bapsi Sidhwa writes with a clarity and tone that are unparalleled in modern Indo-Pak fiction. One of the book's biggest pluses is the strength of its characters. The Junglewalla's saga--or rather, sagas--are ones that we can identify with. We laugh when the Junglewalla's laugh, and we cry when they cry. The believability of every single one of the characters, as well as their uniqueness, makes for a terrific character set.

If the book has one single biggest drawback, it is that the reader ideally is familiar with some basic Pakistani customs and words, because otherwise some of the meaning is lost on the reader. This, however, does not detract from one's overall enjoyment of the book. In all, Bapsi Sidhwa's "The Crow Eaters" manages to combine a sharp sense of humor with poignant insights onto life. I highly recommend "The Crow Eaters" to anyone with 3-4 hours that they can devote to reading a wonderfully unique and refreshing novel.

The title refers to the Parsees of India -- descendants of Persian immigrants, renowned for their generosity and good citizenship, as well as their lovable eccentricities, which include their gift for talking nineteen to the dozen, chattering away like crows. The novel itself, hilarious and touching in turn, traces the history of one family in the early part of this century. Based partly on Sidhwa's own in-laws, drawing on scandals from real life, the book succeeds in painting life in the Parsee community, as well as that community's quest for an indentity in the British Raj. Sidhwa's strengths lie not so much in the language she uses (deceptively simple), but in the way she juxtaposes incidents and characters. Among the unforgettable cast, the patriarch Faredun Junglewala, and his nemesis -- his very own mother-in-law, the one and only Jerbanoo. Their thorny relationship, and the plots they devise for each other's benefit, will have the reader doubling over with laughter. In the end, however, the importance of family ties comes through in a way that is both touching and amusing. Highly recommended.

The story is very interesting, adequately paced and funny at times, however I thought the language was too flowery. Reminded me of British novels, ones you can't read through casually (even though the story is "casual"). After having read American authors with a more straightforward style, it is hard to read British or British inspired writing specially when it is not even a classic!