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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well Crafted But Thematically Repetitive, September 14, 2007
Set mostly in suburban Boston, this debut collection of seven short stories revolves around familiar themes of cross-cultural integration. Reddi writes what she knows about, the struggle of Indians (specifically, the Telugu-speaking diaspora from Hyderabad) to reconcile their heritage and culture with life in the United States. These challenges, which are reflected quite differently among the three generations of characters, are all handled with delicacy, grace, and a certain calm tone. Unfortunately the stories trawl back and forth over the same thematic territory to such an extent that the book ends up feeling rather repetitive.
Certainly, Reddi adeptly captures a range of voices, from that of an indignant elderly ex-judge who can't accept the smallest slight, to a young teenage boy trying to fit into his white-bread Midwestern school, and all manner of husbands, wives, and aunties in between, including a fully assimilated 20something woman. This is accomplished without trotting out a kitchen sink's worth of cultural touchstones, which is a welcome change from so much writing of this kind (although food, traditional dance, and clothing all play small roles in setting various scenes, and contrary to several reviewers, arranged marriage does play a central role in one story, and is a key factor in a few others).
However, by the end, I didn't feel particularly enriched by the book. The immigrant experience is central to American literature, and I had a difficult time finding anything new or through-provoking in these stories. They're all well-written, and each has its moments of nice imagery or subtlety of tone, but there was nothing fresh to grab me -- rather, they felt like well-executed versions of a well-trod genre. Published individually in other publications (as, I believe they were, although there's nothing indicating this anywhere in the book), I can see the stories standing out more and having a greater impact, but side-by-side, they start to blur and blend.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Indians in the US, September 6, 2009
Karma and Other Stories. Rishi Reddi's debut book with short stories. Rishi was born in the Indian city of Hyderabad and then moved to the US with her parents when she was young. Her first attempt to write a book has been commendable. She is comfortable writing about the Boston area, where she spent most of her life in the US. She talks about the Telugu speaking families settled in the US. And, to an extent she has been able to create the aura. I particularly liked the story 'Lord Krishna' - it was all about standing up for something that's wrong and also about trying to forgive.
Though most of the stories are well written, in easy English, and have a logical ending, there are one or two stories that end abruptly & whose ending leave much to the reader's imagination. And there is another story that was a bit confusing - was Rishi trying to tell a story about Devdasis or about Hindu/Muslim divide?
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful stories about people, November 29, 2007
I've been reading this book at night, before going to bed. That's about the right pace; it lets me reflect on each story. And the last three nights I've found myself saying "man this is a good book."
Each story is about people, with the same motivations and conflicts that most of us can identify with. The lenses we see those conflicts through are different, but it just helps to give a different perspective, and see how much alike people are deep down inside.
The need of an elder for respect; the conflict between duty and desire for a path; the interaction beween husband and wife who have grown a little distant and are trying to figure out what's wrong; the failure of people to fit into others' preconceived roles for them.
The fact that they're mostly set in Lexington, MA, in a particular Americanized ethnic community serves more to highlight the commonality than set apart the cultures.
I think the study of people is fun and interesting. If you do, too, then this is a really great book.
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