The Mountain of Light

by Claire Allen

The Mountain of Light, a London Indian restaurant, is Balu's great love, the delicious kulfis and dansaks he devises in its kitchen is his sole connection to the land of his childhood. When a young woman, Sarah, rents the flat upstairs, she, her boyfriend Jude, and Hari, a waiter, begin to gather after hours to chat around Balu's tables, though Jude's jealousy of Hari threatens their circle. Meanwhile Jozef, an elderly Polish man, begins to reveal a heartbreaking story to Sarah, and so inspires a journey that will lead her to discover where - and with whom - she really belongs.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jude Hawkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

How tedious can a book get? What is the most tedious book ever written in history? Well, here you go, the perfect fit for that description!

[Fiona Lambdin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect little escape

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good read. The plot is fairly slow-moving and the whole book really concentrates on the characters and their behaviours and responses to things that happen to them.

The setting of Balu's 'Mountain of Light' restaraunt is very well drawn, with mouth watering food and the everyday happenings to the folk that visit being the main part of the story.

Sarah's meeting with Josef and his re-telling of his lost love during the war is beautifully portrayed and makes Sarah reflect on her own lifestyle and relationships.

A really well written look at ordinary people and their lives with added extra of food, love, books and cats.

[Martinxo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started off enjoying this book, it is well written. But by the time I arrived at the mid-way point I was skimming and losing interest in the self-obsessed characters.

Not a bad book at all, just didn't do it for me.

Oh, it is largely set in an Indian restaurant which made me ache for a curry, i kind of enjoyed that.

[Cassidy Brinn]

The cat circles her round and round - like the characters in this book circle one another, too timid to invade each other's boundaries. A slow sad and forgettable book about lost people and good food.