by SiddharthDhanvantShanghvi (Author)
As young Anuradha boards a train for Bombay, where she will marry a man she has never met, peacocks appear out of nowhere to serenade her. Such a dazzling departure can only lead to an uncertain but exciting future. Sure enough, across her path come a host of colourful characters: Nandini, the artist who walks on water and has a passion for panthers; Mr Bunkusdaas, the father of Bollywood cinema; Diva bai, the sinister old woman rumoured to have fed her sister to crocodiles; and Percival Worthington, the aristocratically limp son of the governor of Bombay. Together they conjure a forgotten world of betrayed love, of dangerous desires and unfathomable sorrow - creating an Indian melody that will haunt you long after the tale is done.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Edition: New Ed
Publisher: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
Published: 02 Sep 2004
ISBN 10: 0753818205
ISBN 13: 9780753818206
Book Overview: Massive publicity for this debut novelist on hardback publication matched by stunning reviews: 'Surrealism and magic are mixed with the more everyday traumas of life and love. This is a larger than life story with a definite Bollywood feel to it...an adventurous read' Waterstones' Books Quarterly 'What begins as an erotic fairy tale grows into an exploration of love and loss, sexuality and innocence, friendship and solitude' Times Literary Supplement '[a] magical debut..Madcap characters shimmy across the pages, throwing out slangy witticisms with insouciant charm, but underneath the glitz the mood is mythically melancholy. Delicious' Elle 'Terrific...The book reminds me of so many great debuts - Salman Rushdie's of course, but also Kiran Desai, Hari Kunzru' David Davidar, author of The House of Blue Mangoes