Customer Reviews

Keeping Corner

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4 star:		(2)
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I was amazed at the way this is written. I have been looking for books that my middle years students could read in their lit circles and just happened to stumble on this at my local library. Finding a book that is real literature, shows another culture, is a finger-licking page-racing novel that even reluctant readers will enjoy is close to a miracle.
It is all that! Plus it is a novel about women without being a chick book.
Why didn't this book turn up in all the searches I've done on the amazon site?

As a member of the Brahman caste, the highest, twelve-year-old Leela doesn't notice the hardships of lower castes.Engaged at two and married at nine, Leela is soon to have her "anu," when she will move into the home of her husband. In the interim, she enjoys the life of a loved, petted member of her household which consists of her parents, her aunt and uncle, her older brother (away at school,)and Lakha, the man who takes care of their animals. Before the much anticipated anu, her husband is bitten by a venomous snake and dies. As a widow, Leela must have her head shaved, wear dull brown saris, and spend an entire year "keeping corner." She can't leave the house for an entire year. Only gradually does formerly light-hearted Leela come to understand the magnitude of the calamity that has befallen her.

Set in India during the time that Gandhi is leading non-violent protests against the caste system and the British colonists, Leela's story exposes enormous gender inequalities as well. This novel follows Leela's inner growth during the year. She is tutored by her former principal, and she begins to read newspapers voraciously, equating the injustices suffered by Indians under British colonial rule with the injustices inflicted on her. Coming to appreciate education as her only hope, Leela endures the year of keeping corner, studying, until she ultimately triumphs. With first-rate prose, this work of fiction, based on the life of the author's great-aunt, is exciting and compelling within unusual confines.

This is one of the best books I've read this year! I loved Kashmira's descriptive writing. This story keeps you on the edge of your seat to find out what happens to Leela after her husband's death and keeping corner for a year.

Set in Ghandi Era India, Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth is the story of a child-bride named Leela who is widowed at the age of 11. Tradition states that since Leela is a certain caste, she must keep corner for a year. Unfortunately, Keeping Corner involves not leaving the house, shaving your head, and giving up pretty saris for a mourning outfit.

Tradition meets change as Leela learns about Ghandi. I felt I learned a lot from Keeping Corner. Peppered throughout the book are Indian words, the meaning of which I learned by using contextual clues. Oddly enough, I generally enjoy learning. Aside from learning interesting new things about India, the best thing about this book is that it is a quick read.

As a main character, Leela was alright and her story was interesting. I felt her changes weren't gradual and they didn't really ring true in my cynical adult brain.

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I was younger, it was a little too juvenile for me. This book would be perfect for middle-grade YA fans. I could see the simplicity of the writing working well with reluctant readers, plus you can trick them into learning something.

This is the story of Leela who is a young girl (12) in India at the time of the initial rise of Gandhi. She is about to be married and enjoys the pleasures of her caste and is spoiled by her parents. Her cares focus mostly on new bangles and clothes. When her husband dies she becomes a widow and has a difficult time to adjusting to the restrictions that this places on her life- dull clothes, no jewelry, shorn head and restrictions to her family home for a year. Her brother helps her by finding a teacher for her so that she can continue her education at home and she slowly blossoms into awareness of the possibilities in life and the changes in the world around her. I found the cultural and historical aspects of the book fascinating and it was interesting to see Leela grow and change over time. This would be a great young adult book to introduce some history and customs of India.

There has been some comparison to the book Climbing the Stairs. While both are set in India during World War II, they are different books. I felt that Keeping Corner had more detail about Indian culture and I came away with a better understanding of a young woman's plight not so very long ago.

In Keeping Corner we have twelve year old Leela who has been married at a very young age. Leela is your typical girl, and that's what I love about her. She isn't bookish and she really doesn't care about politics. She is interested in looking nice and wearing pretty clothes and jewelry. That is the extent of her life, and I think that makes her so much more interesting as a character. I mean what young adult doesn't like those things? Leela's life is turned upside down when her fiancé dies. Now she is a widow at a very young age and must "keep corner." She has to shave her head; lose her pretty clothes and jewelry. The community views her as bad luck. Leela is trapped insider her house for an entire year.

While she is in mourning Leela's schoolteacher comes and helps her with her lessons. Leela doesn't want to be taught anything. She dislikes school. Yet, as time goes on Leela becomes more interested in her studies and she enjoys hearing about Gandhi. She grows as a character and realizes there maybe something out there for her. Maybe she can change how people view women.

Keeping Corner is an excellent story that has a lot of great details about the era and the plight of women. There is also an index in the back (something Climbing the Stairs didn't have).

I think students who are interested in historical fiction will enjoy this novel as well as students who enjoy reading about other cultures. There is no romance in this novel however, so that may turn some teens away from the book. However, I strongly encourage people to read this novel.

One of our units of study is Civil Rights/Human Rights. We use historic fiction to help students understand the topics better. This book does a nice job describing the role of girls, social status, and culture in India during the time of British rule. It also features a thread which runs through the story about Gandhi and his work to bring about social change. It was a good tie-in to our unit, and my students enjoyed the novel. As a tie-in to our studies it worked very well; however, most of my students would not choose this book simply to read for pleasure.

After returning home from a months' long visit to India, our one Granddaughter brought over a copy of this book, "Keeping Corner" for us to read. She had checked it out from her school library. Reading this book really took us back to how it REALLY is in India. Very seldom does one get out of their Caste system beliefs. This book was 100% about what we learned. After reading this book, I bought a copy from Amazon.com for another granddaughter. This book has been passed on to several generations within our family for reading enrichment. A Wonderful, true, reading experience to be enjoyed by all ages.

Amazing find . I an an Indian immigrant and was al to really have my 11 yr daughter who is born snd brought up here have a sense of India and its customs before and how we have come such a long way . I enjoyed reading it my self

Excellent cover to cover! I loved the insight into the culture and the viewpoint from the young girl. So eye opening! Plus I learned more about India. Highly recommend!!! My teenage daughter read it as well and LOVED it. We discussed it over an Indian meal!