Journey to Ithaca [Import] [Paperback]

Anita Desai (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; New Ed edition (1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749396652
• ISBN-13: 978-0749396657
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,631,392 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous., October 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Journey to Ithaca (Paperback)

Desai is a writer who repays re-reading. This book is subtle and textured. The author plays marvelously with time and consciousness in ways reminiscent of Virginia Woolf, brought up to date.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 7, 1999

By 

A. Vinayak "home_owner" (Fairfax, VA 22033) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Journey to Ithaca (Paperback)

I did not find this book interesting. I had to struggle to finish it. What distinguishes Anita Desai's work is her vivid and beautiful description of nature. The second half where Sophie goes on a journey to discover the roots of 'Mataji' does not connect well with the readers. A lot of time the book was very boring and going nowhere in the name of spirituality. I read this novel with great anticipation as I liked Desai's 'Clear Light of The Day' very much. If you are expecting something like that then this novel will come as an disppointment.

4.0 out of 5 stars Subtle, ambiguous book, September 18, 2010

By 

Peter Lefanu Lumsdaine - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Journey to Ithaca (Paperback)

This was the first book of Desai's that I'd read; at first, it seemed a little dull, but as I got into the rhythm of its storytelling (gradual, gentle) I found it more and more compelling, and by the end, I loved it. The style is simple and naturalistic (places, societies and individuals all beautifully observed), and yet nothing is presented with a clear black-and-white moral meaning -- or if it is, something else will soon contradict it. But at the end, a picture has been painted, something meaningful has been set out -- something about love, the conflicts between different kinds of love, and perhaps about what it can mean to go on a pilgrimage.