The Journey [Hardcover]

Indira Ganesan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1990

A first novel, set on an imaginary island in the Bay of Bengal, where sisters Renu and Manx Krishnan spent their infancy. After a decade in suburban America, they return for their cousin's funeral and begin a series of mystical adventures which lead, by unexpected routes, towards a revelation.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This promising though uneven first novel maps the voyage--actual and spiritual--of shy Renu Krishnan, 19, from America to her birthplace, the fictitious island of Pi (for Prospero's Island) off India's coast. With her mother and sister, Renu returns for the funeral of her adored cousin Rajesh, called her twin since they were born the same day. Renu's grief is compounded by rude shocks: local superstition has it that she will soon die by fire (since her "twin" drowned), and now her mother presses her to yield to a traditionally arranged marriage. Tension slackens as the narrative shifts away from Renu, who grows increasingly passive, fragile and withdrawn. Various family members are depicted in vignettes--Renu's lively, liberated sister Manx, who dates wayward Freddie, an American expatriate; their grandfather who makes a pilgrimage alone; their clownish Uncle Adda and his tragic Spanish wife. While the charm of the writing and observations about East and West engage the reader, Renu's story drifts into an arbitrary half-resolution. The author, born in India, lives in Princeton, N.J.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ganesan has produced quite a jewel in this first novel. The Krishnan family, mother and two daughters, return to their native Pi, an island off the coast of India, for a family funeral. The girls, 19-year-old Renu and 15-year-old Manx, were born on the island but have been living for the past ten years in the United States, where their parents pursued scientific careers. Renu is quite willing to go back to traditional ways while she mourns her cousin, but Manx is thoroughly American and is as confused by the actions of her sister as by those of the older relatives. Ganesan warmly portrays these cultural differences and offers surprising insights into the bravery of the girl's mother, who left behind all that she knew for a strange world in America. Recommended.
- Debbie Tucker, Cincinnati Technical Coll., Ohio
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 171 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (June 30, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394568389
• ISBN-13: 978-0394568386
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,268,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pi in the Sky, February 14, 2004

By 

Robert S. Newman "Bob Newman" (Marblehead, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Journey (Hardcover)

It seems to me that everyone, from Hemingway to earnest writing instructors at state colleges, tells you that you should write about what you know. Given America's fascination with the drama of immigration---not so hard to explain seeing that most of us are descended from immigrants, willing or unwilling-a budding Indian-American author could have used her genuine experience as background for whatever she wanted to say. Instead she set her rather murky tale in a fictional country called Pi that (perhaps) many readers will confuse with India. Like the writings of authors who really hail from India, Ganesan's novel centers around a family. India is not a land where individual will and action loom large. That is true. But Ganesan does not know India; this keeps coming home to the reader dozens of times. Monkeys, flowers, heat, dust, and strange roots and herbs do not make India. India, above all, is in the behavior, language and attitudes of its people. Here the Indian characters are too American, or at least, they are not believably Indian. India itself, or "Pi" is too American--everything is too available, too free, too individually separate. The Krishnan sisters, arriving in Pi from Long Island at the beginning of the novel are solid characters, well-defined. However the others, local Pi-ites or expatriates are not. They remain rather like stick figures. In addition, there are a number of factual faux-pas. I found it rather annoying since it seemed to me that Ganesan has got talent; the philosophical side of the novel, if I may call it that, had potential, but the author does not join it well to the awkward "Pi" cultural atmosphere, which seems to be a jumble of anything the author wanted it to be at any moment. "A girl's search for self in two very different cultures", a phrase intoned on the back cover, is thus totally off the mark. The second culture is missing. This is a purely American book and unfortunately, not a very successful one. I would hope that the author does better next time around.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Sensitive Woman, March 8, 2007

By 

Jennifer "Loves to Read" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Journey (Bluestreak) (Paperback)

Ganesan taught me about what it must be like as an American immigrant going back to India and being so out of synch with your culture. She has an accutely sensitive view of life, society, and the human condition. I highly recommend this book.