Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in.
Frequently Bought Together
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
by Kathleen Kent
|
by Geraldine Brooks
|
by Alan Drew
|
by Joanne Proulx
|
by Catherine O'Flynn
|
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Told largely in retrospect, this ambitious debut by Indian émigré filmmaker Vachani is narrated by Sweta, who presides over her family history with equal parts passion and uncertainty. Born in 1958, Sweta lives with her grandparents, while her father, Ranjit Ronu Kalra, serves as an Indian air force pilot. The book takes its title from the khadi cloth favored by Gandhi, and it becomes a symbol of the unhappy divide between Sweta's grandfather, a fighter for Indian independence, and her grandmother, a fashion plate. The fight for independence, WWII, border battles with Pakistan, and Vietnam permeate the novel, separating families and dividing the populace along religious and ethnic lines. Sweta darts in and out of the story as, most of the time, an inscrutable, sullen and overweight teenager. Around her swirl the stories of her grandparents' ugly marriage, of her father's childhood as a film star and of his first love. Most moving is the figure of Nanaji, Sweta's grandfather, a tender man committed to principles and making the best of the hand he's dealt. The book opens with his death and frontloads the many characters, but Nanaji and Sweta's poignant relationship pulls the reader through manifold tragedy and serendipity. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Skillfully braiding generations of an Indian family–their personal, cultural, and national struggles–into a fluid first novel, Vachani perfectly reflects the handwoven cotton tapestries praised by Gandhi. HomeSpuns fluidity extends to time, character, and perspective, with details and information needed to comprehend the whole scattered like the delicious crumbs of Indian pakoras throughout the interwoven plots. The cast here includes a future powerhouse of Bollywood cinema, a metropolitan and educated woman in love, and a beautiful and tractable future mother. The plotlines trace the tragedy of a failed marriage, the Indian Revolution, personal obsessions, the public life of Malcolm X, Indias war with Pakistan, propaganda and the media, and the mid-20th century Indian films of Fearless Nadia and Ashok Kumar. The result is zesty and enticing. Teens will find HomeSpun an engaging introduction to modern India (a thorough historical appendix is included) as well as a highlight of contemporary Indian fiction.–Shannon Peterson, Kitsap Regional Library, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
See all Editorial Reviews
Told largely in retrospect, this ambitious debut by Indian émigré filmmaker Vachani is narrated by Sweta, who presides over her family history with equal parts passion and uncertainty. Born in 1958, Sweta lives with her grandparents, while her father, Ranjit Ronu Kalra, serves as an Indian air force pilot. The book takes its title from the khadi cloth favored by Gandhi, and it becomes a symbol of the unhappy divide between Sweta's grandfather, a fighter for Indian independence, and her grandmother, a fashion plate. The fight for independence, WWII, border battles with Pakistan, and Vietnam permeate the novel, separating families and dividing the populace along religious and ethnic lines. Sweta darts in and out of the story as, most of the time, an inscrutable, sullen and overweight teenager. Around her swirl the stories of her grandparents' ugly marriage, of her father's childhood as a film star and of his first love. Most moving is the figure of Nanaji, Sweta's grandfather, a tender man committed to principles and making the best of the hand he's dealt. The book opens with his death and frontloads the many characters, but Nanaji and Sweta's poignant relationship pulls the reader through manifold tragedy and serendipity. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Skillfully braiding generations of an Indian family–their personal, cultural, and national struggles–into a fluid first novel, Vachani perfectly reflects the handwoven cotton tapestries praised by Gandhi. HomeSpuns fluidity extends to time, character, and perspective, with details and information needed to comprehend the whole scattered like the delicious crumbs of Indian pakoras throughout the interwoven plots. The cast here includes a future powerhouse of Bollywood cinema, a metropolitan and educated woman in love, and a beautiful and tractable future mother. The plotlines trace the tragedy of a failed marriage, the Indian Revolution, personal obsessions, the public life of Malcolm X, Indias war with Pakistan, propaganda and the media, and the mid-20th century Indian films of Fearless Nadia and Ashok Kumar. The result is zesty and enticing. Teens will find HomeSpun an engaging introduction to modern India (a thorough historical appendix is included) as well as a highlight of contemporary Indian fiction.–Shannon Peterson, Kitsap Regional Library, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
(learn more)
sick bay Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nilita Vachani, Miss Reza, Master Bunty, The Colonel, Bari Nanee, Inspector Kalra, Flight Lieutenant Kalra, Ashok Kumar, Vinayak Rao, Mohini Kalra, Dina Wadia, Gentle Nurse, Rider Rani, Daku Dhira, Victor Allen, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Superior, Neena Kalra, Please God, Ronu Kalra, Parikshit Basu, Sarojini Nagar, Ranjit Kalra, The Air Force Commander, Aunt Lily Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
sick bay Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nilita Vachani, Miss Reza, Master Bunty, The Colonel, Bari Nanee, Inspector Kalra, Flight Lieutenant Kalra, Ashok Kumar, Vinayak Rao, Mohini Kalra, Dina Wadia, Gentle Nurse, Rider Rani, Daku Dhira, Victor Allen, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Superior, Neena Kalra, Please God, Ronu Kalra, Parikshit Basu, Sarojini Nagar, Ranjit Kalra, The Air Force Commander, Aunt Lily Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search
No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
 |
Customer Discussions
Beta (What's this?)
New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.
|
This product's forum
(0 discussions)
Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Active discussions in related forums
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Information from the Amapedia Community
Beta (What's this?)Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.
› See featured Amapedia.com articles
Listmania!
|
|
So You'd Like to...
Look for Similar Items by Category
Hot Deals on Hitachi |
Buy Three Books, Get a Fourth Free |
|||||||||
|
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
You have no recently viewed items or searches.
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session. |
Continue shopping: Top Sellers
| ||||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
