Sunday August 7th, 2011 Novels from the Land of Spices

Everyone has a bucket list of things they’d like to do before they pass away. While some of the items on my list have been dropped and others added, there are a few constants; like a hot air balloon journey, a ride in a gondola in Venice and a trip to India. I first became fascinated by the land of spices when I was about eight, reading the novels of Rudyard Kipling. Trekking through the jungle in search of tigers, feeding the monkeys of Jaipur or standing in the foothills of the Himalayas stirred my imagination as a child and still fills me with a sense of longing. As a mortgage and the lack of a lottery win seem to stand between reality and an intriguing adventure, I can still smell the scent following a monsoon rain in the pages of a library book.

Many readers must share my obsession, as bestseller lists are frequently graced with books about the sub-continent. From older classics by Vikram Seth, Jhumpa Lahiri or Rohinton Mistry to the latest novel by Monica Ali, the stacks are full of stories of the far away and exotic. As the August nights begin to cool, it’s a perfect time to pick up a book or two that will whisk you away.

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

The novel opens in a small Indian village when Kavita, a young mother gives birth to a girl. Wanting only a son, the father plans to kill the baby but the new mother sneaks away to bring the baby to a Mumbai orphanage. In San Francisco, Somer and her husband, Krishnan, find that they are unable to have children and decide to adopt a child from India. While the child, Asha, goes on to a new life in America, Kavita grows melancholy with the loss of the child, and Somer has difficulty attaching to a child that seems so foreign. As Asha grows, finding herself and discovering India become her obsession.

Miss New India by Bharati Mukherjee

India is unlike any other country, as it stands on the cusp between the ancient and the modern and between eastern and western cultures. Mukherjee introduces us to 19 year old Anjali Bose, who wishes to be called “Angie”. Angie is desperate to get away from her small village and an arranged marriage, so with the help of her high school teacher, she escapes to Bangalore, the dot-com and call-centre capital of India. The world of the city is not as kind or as exciting as Angie believes, making her examine everything she thought was true and find a blend within herself of the old and new.

Tell it to the Trees by Anita Rau Badami

Mixing the story of a tight Indian family and a tense murder mystery in a small town in northern British Columbia may look like an unlikely setting, but Badami weaves together the story elements with ease. When the dead body of Anu, their tenant, is found frozen in the Dharma family’s backyard, a tale of long-held secrets begin to unravel and the wheels are set in motion for another tragedy.


Dahanu Road by Anosh Irani

A dark secret lies at the bottom of this novel, when a landowner’s son falls in love with the daughter of a tribal worker on his family’s estate. Zairos had lead a life of careless luxury until an unexpected suicide and a confession by his grandfather revealed a history of violence and hatred about the land he was to inherit exposing the truth about his family’s past.



The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar

When Frank and Ellie lose their child to sudden illness, their perfect life is shattered; an unexpected job offer to India gives them the opportunity to start again. Consumed by memories of his lost son, Frank begins a friendship with a bright and curious boy named Ramesh that eventually leads to stark repercussions.



One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Sometimes who we really are is only revealed in a time of stress, so when nine strangers are trapped in a passport office following an earthquake, with little food or drinking water, the characters are pushed to the breaking point. In order to maintain their sanity, each shares a personal tale of “one amazing thing” from their lives which they have never shared. The stories cover the gamut of personal experiences and illustrate the strength of the human spirit.


Lori Kauzlarick, Public Services Assistant