Catch up on your holiday reading. Here are some of the popular fiction of 2003 with Excerpts from some of the Lokvani reviews

A Feast of Roses – Indu Sunderesan
A sequel to the Twentieth Wife

Says author Indu Sunderesan “I wrote the two novels in this medium of fiction was because there isn’t much historical fiction available from the Mughal era, and because I think that history is better learned through this medium, where an entire life can be created in a story—the sights, sounds, aromas, the intimate details of life, the very sense of the people behind the dates of battles and years of reigns that most history textbooks tend of focus upon.

Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri picks up the story from her earlier collection in the Interpreter of Maladies. The Namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through their transformation into Americans.

For Matrimonial Purposes by Kavita Daswani

The Novel fulfills the American fascination with arranged marriage, and while loosely based on her own experiences, the writing of the book was almost entirely inspired by Daswani’s own quest for matrimony:

The Mango Season – Amulya Malladi

Malladi’s characters are well drawn and the clash of cultures portrayed is not only authentic, but heartbreaking, as well. Artistic imagination notwithstanding, Malladi may have borrowed from her own life in regards to the conflict of emotions Priya experiences in the novel.

A Breath of Fresh Air

Amulya, in clear straightforward prose, weaves past and present together to narrate a compelling story about issues that are not fresh but sparkle nonetheless because of her dramatic treatment of them.

Operation Monsoon by Shona Ramaya

These are first rate stories: accomplished, absorbing, thoughtful and implicitly philosophical. They can be read as entertainments alone, but reward deeper examination and fulfill the highest directive of art: to hold a mirror up to our rapidly changing world; to illumine the deeper recesses of the mazelike human heart.

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

A debut contemporary novel of Monica Ali, set in London of a Bangladeshi immigrant forced into an arranged marriage and her journey to the path for self realization.

Monsoon Diary by Shobha Narayan

A delightful memoir of the author and her family interspersed with recipes. Simple every day life experiences of Indian Americans in the US are described in anecdotes that make for an interesting read.

White Mughals – Love and Betrayal in Seventeenth Century India by William Dalyrmple

A historical fiction based on the love story between a British soldier Kirkpatrick who went to India in the army of the East India Company and Khair un-Nissa, great niece of Nizam¹s Prime Minister, and a direct descendant of the Prophet. Entertaining and fascinating . A personal favorite

Abandon by Pico Iyer


Pico Iyer's new novel, ‘‘Abandon,’’ deals with the story of John Macmillan, an English graduate student of Islamic mystical poetry who sets out to ''see the world in a Sufi light.'', He finds reason to explore the ecstatic verses of Rumi in real life when he meets the emotionally wounded Camilla Jensen and falls in love.

In Times of Siege by Gita Hariharan

In Times of Siege covers the span of two months (late August - October, 2000) in the life of Shiv Murthy, a fifty-two year old professor of history at Kasturba Gandhi Central University. When a middle-aged history professor at a New Delhi university writes about Basava, a medieval poet, administrator, and reformer who opposed the caste system, he unwittingly provokes protests from Hindu fundamentalists that threaten his career.

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier

Born Confused’ is a melting pot that is as much Indian as well as American as well as Chinese or Dominican for that matter. In other words, it is a cross cultural blockbuster that is looking to forging an identity in a new generation.

The Guru of Love- Samrat Upadhyay

Houghton Mifflin From the author of “Arresting God in Kathmandu,” a collection of short stories that won the Whiting Prize, we have another intriguing title called “The Guru of Love.” The second book secures Samrat Upadhyay’s reputation as a master storyteller. Like R.K. Narayanan, he shows himself to be a shrewd observer of humankind, and he tweaks family friction to the best advantage.

A Singular Hostage – By Thalassa Ali

The heroine of the book is Mariana, an Englishwoman who goes to India in 1838 to find herself a husband from amongst the army of British people stationed in India.But events take an unexpected turn.

The House of Blue Mangoes by David Davidar

The House of Blue Mangoes is a trilogy of the travails and tribulations of a Christian family in South India. With his lucid narrative style, David Davidar weaves the fictitious tale around actual Historical events. Little has been said about the place of Christians in Indian Society. This book pays a long overdue tribute to this community.

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