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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Tale of A Clash of Cultures Beautifully Told, September 13, 2004
Sometimes if I read a writer's books out of the order in which they were written, I think that had I read the first one first, I might not have read any further. This certainly would not have been the case with this fine, beautifullly written first novel by Janette Turner Hospital. It certainly is as good as her other two later novels I have already read. David and Juliet, a young married couple from Ontario, along with their two children, travel to southern India where David, a college professor, will do research. They are not quite prepared for the India they discover. Ms. Hospital writes with the sensitivity and succinctness of a poet. The novel abounds in metaphoric language that works-- the image of Krishna and Radha on the swing of carved ivory keeps recurring. And this passage, for example: "It seemed that all understanding passed between them, the knowledge of all women who braid their own years into shackles, who weave with love and resentment the silken cages of their lives." The writer creates characters we will not soon forget: the overworldly beautiful and tragic Yashoda ". . .like a woman on an ivory swing -- translucent, a trick of the light, an artist's fantasy" and the boy Prabhakaran, whom we Westerners would love to tear away from his native land and take him home with us. This novel is all about what happens when two cultures clash, do Westerners have a right to impose their values on other cultures, and if so, how much, and are we ready to suffer the consequences? Do we from the West have all the answers or even the right ones?
This would have been splendid as an only novel. How fortunate for us as readers that it was not, that Ms. Hospital continues to write one fine novel after another.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
You can live in India without leaving home., September 2, 2002
I heard Janette Turner Hospital interviewed on public radio, and researched her at Amazon. I'm glad I did. If you have the least amount of wanderlust in you, with just a touch of yearning for the experiences of living in South India, get this book. You can do all the aforementioned without leaving home. Ms Turner-Hospital has written a descriptive account of life for an expatriate in India. Her story is a good one, with sufficent drama to keep you interested, all the way to the last climactic events. And she paints a very good picture as she tells the story. I felt I could draw every building and every scene. The book is hard to find. I bought mine from Amazon, second hand, in pristine condition. Now, please excuse me. I think my vindaloo is about to burn.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Magical Southern India, December 11, 2003
This book is good on a number of levels. It is one of Hospital's earlier books - which are better than her more recent attempts. There are plots/subplots and good descriptions. The spooky widow is a very well developed character. Excellent balance of expatriate life in India and the personal demons that haunt them from across the seas.
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