Showing posts with label Bapsi Sidhwa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bapsi Sidhwa. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

The Crow Eaters by Bapsi Sidhwa

At the dawn of the twentieth century in Pakistan, Freddy Junglewalla moves his family — pregnant wife, baby daughter, and Jerbanoo, his rotund mother-in-law — from their ancestral forest home to cosmopolitan Lahore. He opens a store, and as his fortunes grow, so does the animosity between Freddy and his mother-in-law. While Freddy prospers under British rule, life with the domineering Jerbanoo is another matter entirely.

This exuberant novel, full of rollicking humor, paints a vivid picture of life in the Parsee community.

Monday, May 20, 2024

Ice Candy Man by Bapsi Sidhwa

 


The 1947 Partition of India is the backdrop for this powerful novel, narrated by a precocious child who describes the brutal transition with chilling veracity. Young Lenny Sethi is kept out of school because she suffers from polio. She spends her days with Ayah, her beautiful nanny, visiting with the large group of admirers that Ayah draws. It is in the company of these working class characters that Lenny learns about religious differences, religious intolerance, and the blossoming genocidal strife on the eve of Partition. 
As she matures, Lenny begins to identify the differences between the Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs engaging in political arguments all around her. Lenny enjoys a happy, privileged life in Lahore, but the kidnapping of her beloved Ayah signals a dramatic change. Soon Lenny’s world erupts in religious, ethnic, and racial violence. 

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa

 


The novel shows the period surrounding the partitioning of India through the eyes of Lenny, a young girl who lives in Lahore, India.