Love, Stars and All That, A Novel [Paperback]

Kirin Narayan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1994

Believing her aunt's predictions, Gita, a young Indian graduate student, is certain that she will meet her jori, or Mr. Right, in March of 1984. By the author of Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels. 25,000 first printing.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Narayan's accomplished first novel is a charmer. Opening in Berkeley, Calif., but alternating regularly between America and India, the story follows young Indian-born Gita Das as she ascends rungs of the American ladder of success while also feeling the contrary tugs of her first culture. The rungs: scholarship (Gita is a gifted graduate student); love (she is a novice); and the adamant mystery of identity in a world where family and friends clamor for dominance. The novel is comic and earnest, including wonderfully vivid mockery of American and Indian academics, all but drowned by ego and high theory; the pitfalls of college towns' "alternative" pretenses; and the contrivances of elite society generally (her send-up of a "postbeat" American poet is pleasingly ruthless). But Narayan's wit is matched by the warmth in her portrayals of individuals and their complicated helter-skelter kinships at home and abroad. Only the victorious ending seems seems a bit willed. Narayan, an anthropologist and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is also the author of Storytellers, Saints and Scoundrels: Folk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching , which won the 1990 Victor Turner Prize for Ethnographic Writing.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-Prior to Gita's departure from India, an astrologer predicts that the man meant for her will appear in March, 1984. The young Hindu woman, who was educated at a convent school, is well prepared for graduate study, but is amazed at Berkeley campus life. Several men enter her world at the preordained time, and she unhesitatingly leaps to the wrong conclusion. She continues to stumble in her quest to fulfill her destiny while she proceeds faultlessly toward academic success. Narayan richly draws the textures, flavors, and smells of daily life in Bombay, Delhi, Berkeley, and a small New England college town. Characters come to life in action and third-person narrative, interspersed with personal reflection. Gita is a memorable heroine who faces challenges directly, optimistically, and serenely. She adapts to life within and without the Indian community in the USA, then readapts to India during her visits home. A sensual and beautifully written coming-of-age-and-beyond story.
Judy Sokoll, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 311 pages
• Publisher: South Asia Books; 1 edition (April 1, 1994)
• ISBN-10: 0140240551
• ISBN-13: 978-0140240559
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,106,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In search of perfection, October 20, 2005

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love, Stars And All That (Paperback)

Narayan tells of a young Indian woman's quest for perfect love - in America. According to Gita's astrological chart, she will meet her perfect mate in March, 1984, while she is a graduate student in America.

But one is boring, another has a girlfriend. Then along comes a poet, an American, sent by her aunt in India. Shy Gita, to whom dating is an unthinkable concept, pursues him as best she can, but he's not interested. Then perhaps it's the poet's professor friend who is the one. To find out Gita marries him. No, he's not the one.

Now, too Americanized to settle down as a traditional Hindu wife, Gita finds a job teaching, enters into a telephone romance with an Americanized Indian man, fantasizes a practical romance. As each of Gita's romantic dreams unravels she loses a few of the scales from her eyes and dons a few more protective layers of American self-sufficiency.

While Narayan's satire remains light-hearted, she doesn't flinch from explorations of loneliness, American-style loneliness specifically, and the friction between feminist goals and marriage roles. The novel ends on an upbeat note but Gita has not resolved her opposing desires for love and independence.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great read, March 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Love, Stars And All That (Paperback)

This book had me hooked from the word go. I couldn't put it down, and ended up reading it all in one sitting. The book is about an Indian graduate student's journey to finding "Mr. Perfect." Watching Gita grow and learn throughout the book is funny and at the end it is satisfying to see where she ends up. The characters all come alive, and the plot moves smoothly. A great book to read on the beach or just to break away from the everyday.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable., July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Love, Stars And All That (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book very much. Halfway through, I was unable to put the book down. I should tell you that that I did not like the book so much at first--until I realized that the discomfort was my own. Gita's insecurities and constraints reminded me of how I was raised--which I think falls under the label of Indian. I was often feeling embarrased for her/me in her newfound American situations. I find this interesting since I went to American Public schools and not Indian Convent schools. The details recalled by Gita are vivid in my mind's eye.

Gita's adventures with men have already provided groundwork for discussions among my friends, who are Indian and American at the same time. I think others will find that it may be useful for opening such discourse.

The author's writing style was a bit disruptive to me at first, with a fast forward between sections, and then flashback. Ultimately this technique was very effective, allowing highlighting of key events.

I have already recommended this novel to several of my friends, and will recommend it to my book club.