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Fasting, Feasting: A Novel by the Booker Prize Finalist Author of Rosarita
This Man Booker Prize finalist is a “splendid novel” about siblings and their very different lives in India and America (The Wall Street Journal). Uma, the plain spinster daughter of a close-knit Indian family, is trapped at home, smothered by her overbearing parents and their traditions—unlike her ambitious younger sister, who has made a “good” marriage and managed to escape. Meanwhile their brother Arun, the disappointing son and heir, is studying in America, living in a Massachusetts suburb with the Patton family—where he finds himself bewildered by the culture that surrounds him . . . “Such witty writing . . . You take its suffering characters to heart.” —The Boston Globe “Stunning . . . Looks gently but without sentimentality at an Indian family that, despite Western influence, is bound by Eastern traditions.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Desai’s characters are wonderfully, fallibly human as they wend their way through the maze of everyday domestic tensions.” —San Francisco Chronicle
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1999
247 people are currently reading
4912 people want to read
About the author
Anita Desai
80 books900 followersAnita Desai was born in 1937. Her published works include adult novels, children's books and short stories. She is a member of the Advisory Board for English of the National Academy of Letters in Delhi and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in London. Anita Mazumdar Desai is an Indian novelist and Emeritus John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been shortlisted for the Booker prize three times. Her daughter, the author Kiran Desai, is the winner of the 2006 Booker prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 463 reviews
February 5, 2023
Desai's Booker Prize nominated tale manages to say so much in such a relatively short book. Based in India and America, it not so much contrasts, but actually shows what both cultures have in common, and it's not complimentary.
Desai creates an interesting supporting cast, some of whom, I wish could have had books of their own! Not always a comfortable read, looking at loneliness, betrayal, suffering and at the heart of the book, how one's gender can make you feel exiled! 7 out of 12, a strong Three Star read.
2007 read
Desai creates an interesting supporting cast, some of whom, I wish could have had books of their own! Not always a comfortable read, looking at loneliness, betrayal, suffering and at the heart of the book, how one's gender can make you feel exiled! 7 out of 12, a strong Three Star read.
2007 read
May 6, 2013
Da, da, ko još nije shvatio ovaj urednik veoma voli indijske pisce... i knjige o Indiji... :) Koje imaju to "nešto" :)
October 2, 2020
In her novel, Fasting, Feasting, Anita Desai eventually accomplishes what many writers attempt and then fail to achieve. She uses light touch, simple language, uncomplicated structure, but at the same time addresses some very big issues and makes a point.
Uma and Arun are children of Mamapapa, the apparently indivisible common identity that parents present. These parents, however, are not at all alike. Mama is protective, perhaps selfish, and not a little indolent. Papa is a parsimonious control freak who locks away the telephone because someone might use it. But they are at least together. Their relationship has survived, despite the long wait for a son, and their disappointment at his disability.
Uma and Arun also have a sister, Aruna. She is bright and pretty, but in her own way she is also disabled, because she is a woman. Arun’s disability is visible, but Aruna’s exists because of the her society’s preconceptions about women.
Uma is not pretty, nor is she academic. She wears thick glasses and has fits. And so in the middle class society the family inhabits, Uma can pursue only two possible roles. Either she can be married off, or she can become a labourer, a near slave for the family. The former, of course, is the same as the latter. Only the location is different. For Uma marriage doesn’t happen. It does, but it fails before it starts, since the groom was already married and merely wanted to collect another dowry. The arranged marriages of both Uma’s sister and her cousin also fail. Initially well starred, both end tragically.
The first part of Fasting, Feasting suggests a domestic drama, a faintly comic family trying to cope with their own cultural minority status within India’s vastness. It takes awhile for the tragic elements of the story to surface. But when they do, they also disappoint, because only the two disabled characters, Uma and Arun, eventually display any honesty or compassion, everyone else being merely selfish, even those who kill themselves to end the pain. For women, it seems, even achievement is nothing but an asset to assist their trade. When offered a place at Oxford, a girl’s duty precludes acceptance and necessity frames the letter as evidence of her greater eligibility. So what seemed to be a pleasant family tale of the idiosyncrasies of culture becomes a tragedy, and a tragedy for all women. Ugly, unmemorable Uma is the only apparent survivor, and that only because she is not even a competitor. She exists on the scraps of life she is allowed.
But what of Arun, the disabled boy? Well he is quite a bright lad. He goes to university in the USA, and to an institution with status in Massachusetts. But what is he to do in the holidays when the college is closed? We can’t afford to bring his all the way home, concludes parsimonious Papa.
So Arun lodges with the Pattons, an all-American nuclear family, an American Dream of sorts, mum, dad, two kids, one of each. But Dad is a laconic type. A beer from the fridge keeps him quiet. The son has all kinds of ambitions, and yet none that are realistic. Mom is an emotional wreck. She years for something in her confusion, but has not idea what it might be. And her daughter is bulimic. Happy families.
So through Arun’s eyes, and to some extent as a result of his culturally challenging presence, Anita Desai presents a picture of middle class American life that is utterly dysfunctional. But it is again the women who are most deeply affected. Mom does all the shopping and cooking to feed the unappreciative men and the daughter who cannot eat. She fantasises about Arun’s cultural authenticity, sees in him qualities for which she yearns. The daughter is a complete head case. She is fat wanting to be thin, eating to fast, stuffing sweets until she vomits, perhaps a slave to a male-generated concept of female perfection. And Arun witnesses all of this. Eventually, in his deformity, he is the only presence that is not self-obsessed.
The title is important. Fasting, Feasting presents apparent opposites, two contrasting, if imbalanced scenarios, India and the USA. It offers two deformed observers, Uma and Arun. It unpicks two contrasting cultures and finds that women are slaves in both. The opposites are thus ultimately similar, hardly opposed.
Uma and Arun are children of Mamapapa, the apparently indivisible common identity that parents present. These parents, however, are not at all alike. Mama is protective, perhaps selfish, and not a little indolent. Papa is a parsimonious control freak who locks away the telephone because someone might use it. But they are at least together. Their relationship has survived, despite the long wait for a son, and their disappointment at his disability.
Uma and Arun also have a sister, Aruna. She is bright and pretty, but in her own way she is also disabled, because she is a woman. Arun’s disability is visible, but Aruna’s exists because of the her society’s preconceptions about women.
Uma is not pretty, nor is she academic. She wears thick glasses and has fits. And so in the middle class society the family inhabits, Uma can pursue only two possible roles. Either she can be married off, or she can become a labourer, a near slave for the family. The former, of course, is the same as the latter. Only the location is different. For Uma marriage doesn’t happen. It does, but it fails before it starts, since the groom was already married and merely wanted to collect another dowry. The arranged marriages of both Uma’s sister and her cousin also fail. Initially well starred, both end tragically.
The first part of Fasting, Feasting suggests a domestic drama, a faintly comic family trying to cope with their own cultural minority status within India’s vastness. It takes awhile for the tragic elements of the story to surface. But when they do, they also disappoint, because only the two disabled characters, Uma and Arun, eventually display any honesty or compassion, everyone else being merely selfish, even those who kill themselves to end the pain. For women, it seems, even achievement is nothing but an asset to assist their trade. When offered a place at Oxford, a girl’s duty precludes acceptance and necessity frames the letter as evidence of her greater eligibility. So what seemed to be a pleasant family tale of the idiosyncrasies of culture becomes a tragedy, and a tragedy for all women. Ugly, unmemorable Uma is the only apparent survivor, and that only because she is not even a competitor. She exists on the scraps of life she is allowed.
But what of Arun, the disabled boy? Well he is quite a bright lad. He goes to university in the USA, and to an institution with status in Massachusetts. But what is he to do in the holidays when the college is closed? We can’t afford to bring his all the way home, concludes parsimonious Papa.
So Arun lodges with the Pattons, an all-American nuclear family, an American Dream of sorts, mum, dad, two kids, one of each. But Dad is a laconic type. A beer from the fridge keeps him quiet. The son has all kinds of ambitions, and yet none that are realistic. Mom is an emotional wreck. She years for something in her confusion, but has not idea what it might be. And her daughter is bulimic. Happy families.
So through Arun’s eyes, and to some extent as a result of his culturally challenging presence, Anita Desai presents a picture of middle class American life that is utterly dysfunctional. But it is again the women who are most deeply affected. Mom does all the shopping and cooking to feed the unappreciative men and the daughter who cannot eat. She fantasises about Arun’s cultural authenticity, sees in him qualities for which she yearns. The daughter is a complete head case. She is fat wanting to be thin, eating to fast, stuffing sweets until she vomits, perhaps a slave to a male-generated concept of female perfection. And Arun witnesses all of this. Eventually, in his deformity, he is the only presence that is not self-obsessed.
The title is important. Fasting, Feasting presents apparent opposites, two contrasting, if imbalanced scenarios, India and the USA. It offers two deformed observers, Uma and Arun. It unpicks two contrasting cultures and finds that women are slaves in both. The opposites are thus ultimately similar, hardly opposed.
December 20, 2019
Another very impressive family story in two unequal parts. The first, set in a small provincial Indian city, tells the story of Uma, a woman with neither brains nor beauty, reduced to acting as a virtual servant for her parents after they have failed to find her a husband. The shorter second part covers the experiences of her younger brother Arun in a university vacation period in New England, where he struggles to fit in to the dysfunctional family with whom he is boarding.
Desai captures the frustrations of both characters very well, and her language is a pleasure to read. The only previous one of her books I have read was Clear Light of Day, and this one covers similar ground, though it dates from much later in her career.
Desai captures the frustrations of both characters very well, and her language is a pleasure to read. The only previous one of her books I have read was Clear Light of Day, and this one covers similar ground, though it dates from much later in her career.
January 12, 2015
(A review from a 14 year old girl)
I had to read this book for school and I read it initially, with unwillingness. (I don't like to be forced to read books that aren't of my preferred genre)
I started reading this book, expecting absolutely nothing from it but before long, I found myself laughing like a mad person. Being a freethinker, I liked how Mira-masi (Uma's aunt) was a pilgrim who devoted herself to religion (or more specifically,to her chosen deity, to her Lord Shiva) and despite all that , she was no saint at all.
She was too immersed in her devotions to notice that Uma almost drowned and died and when Uma vomited due to car sickness, she looked at Uma, horrified not because of concern of her health but because of the uncleanliness of the vomit, the pollution.
Desai deals with the many ironies in our lives that we can relate to and although the concept of women being treated as objects, being trained for marriage ever since young is not new, she shone new light on it with Uma's perceptive of it as someone who was rejected by both marriage and education and whom, due to that managed to avoid the tragedy that happened to the rest.
I think that the females would be able to sympathise with Uma and the other female characters in the book whereas males would just try to analyse the situation, think of what caused it if not deeming it as a boring book altogether.
I liked how the book doesn't tries to guide me into thinking about a certain subject, or tries to change my way of thinking like what Keeping Faith did. The book just describes the everyday life of a certain family and the struggle for freedom by females. Simply put, it is just one whole load of information and whether you understand the deeper meaning behind their behaviours or actions, it is entirely up to you.
In spite of the good comments I gave, I rated it 3 out of 5 (would have given it 3.5 though) because it got boring in the second half.As it is after all, one whole load of information, it gets boring, and while reading you feel that there's no aim or anything.You're just picking up information, thinking about what was presented, continue reading, and repeating the cycle.
Despite that, I continued reading the book, unsure whether it is because of what the book initially made me felt or because I knew I had to finish reading it by hook or by crook. You see, the fact that I'm reading this book for school purposes did not occur to me in the beginning, I was just simply enjoying the book.
I also felt confused while reading as there was no clear indication of when it is a flashback or when it switches back into the present.You can read on and only realise that it is describing Uma in her younger days in the middle of it.And since they said that Uma had grey hair and was starting to stoop and shrink, I imagined Uma as someone who was around the age of fifties to sixties.Only two-thirds through the book did it reveal that she was actually forty three years old.
I, like many others would have preferred the story to be centred around Uma and see how she eventually broke free of the shackles imposed on her by society and sex discrimination.
This shouldn't be a book a 14 year old should read, because even though I understood the point the author was making, I didn't knew what the food represented and when the focus was shifted to Arun, I just lost the author (as in a conversation). This is a book that I would reread when I'm much older, to see whether I will view it differently as I did when I was 14, and to see Uma again. The characters are so well built that I think of them not as characters in the book "Fasting, Feasting" but as real people who existed, who I know really exists.
I had to read this book for school and I read it initially, with unwillingness. (I don't like to be forced to read books that aren't of my preferred genre)
I started reading this book, expecting absolutely nothing from it but before long, I found myself laughing like a mad person. Being a freethinker, I liked how Mira-masi (Uma's aunt) was a pilgrim who devoted herself to religion (or more specifically,to her chosen deity, to her Lord Shiva) and despite all that , she was no saint at all.
She was too immersed in her devotions to notice that Uma almost drowned and died and when Uma vomited due to car sickness, she looked at Uma, horrified not because of concern of her health but because of the uncleanliness of the vomit, the pollution.
Desai deals with the many ironies in our lives that we can relate to and although the concept of women being treated as objects, being trained for marriage ever since young is not new, she shone new light on it with Uma's perceptive of it as someone who was rejected by both marriage and education and whom, due to that managed to avoid the tragedy that happened to the rest.
I think that the females would be able to sympathise with Uma and the other female characters in the book whereas males would just try to analyse the situation, think of what caused it if not deeming it as a boring book altogether.
I liked how the book doesn't tries to guide me into thinking about a certain subject, or tries to change my way of thinking like what Keeping Faith did. The book just describes the everyday life of a certain family and the struggle for freedom by females. Simply put, it is just one whole load of information and whether you understand the deeper meaning behind their behaviours or actions, it is entirely up to you.
In spite of the good comments I gave, I rated it 3 out of 5 (would have given it 3.5 though) because it got boring in the second half.As it is after all, one whole load of information, it gets boring, and while reading you feel that there's no aim or anything.You're just picking up information, thinking about what was presented, continue reading, and repeating the cycle.
Despite that, I continued reading the book, unsure whether it is because of what the book initially made me felt or because I knew I had to finish reading it by hook or by crook. You see, the fact that I'm reading this book for school purposes did not occur to me in the beginning, I was just simply enjoying the book.
I also felt confused while reading as there was no clear indication of when it is a flashback or when it switches back into the present.You can read on and only realise that it is describing Uma in her younger days in the middle of it.And since they said that Uma had grey hair and was starting to stoop and shrink, I imagined Uma as someone who was around the age of fifties to sixties.Only two-thirds through the book did it reveal that she was actually forty three years old.
I, like many others would have preferred the story to be centred around Uma and see how she eventually broke free of the shackles imposed on her by society and sex discrimination.
This shouldn't be a book a 14 year old should read, because even though I understood the point the author was making, I didn't knew what the food represented and when the focus was shifted to Arun, I just lost the author (as in a conversation). This is a book that I would reread when I'm much older, to see whether I will view it differently as I did when I was 14, and to see Uma again. The characters are so well built that I think of them not as characters in the book "Fasting, Feasting" but as real people who existed, who I know really exists.
March 7, 2017
A finalist for the Booker Prize in 1999, Anita Desai’s Fasting, Feasting is divided into two parts. Part 1 takes place in India with a family of five: a father, mother, two daughters, and one son. Part 2 takes place in America with a family of four: a father, mother, son, and daughter. The connecting thread is Arun, the long-awaited for son of the Indian family who goes to Massachusetts to study and spends a summer with the American family. Although worlds apart, the two families have in common a patriarchal family structure with an inflexible hierarchy that goes unchallenged, one that forces its members into rigidly defined roles. In both cultures, women are the primary victims whether they are married or single, young or old.
Part 1 is seen through the eyes of Uma, the eldest daughter of the Indian family. She suffers from epilepsy and myopia—both of which are trivialized by her family and treated as inconveniences. She remains unmarried and lives with her parents who run her ragged with their constant demands. Uma complains but is ultimately complicit in her subordination. She has little choice. Uneducated, single, unemployed, she is totally reliant on her parents for survival.
Desai takes us to America in Part 2 where we meet the Patton family. We see them through the eyes of Arun who is shocked to recognize some of the same patterns he witnessed in his own family. In Mrs. Patton he sees similarities with his own mother. Both constantly defer to their husbands and are reluctant to assert themselves. On those rare occasions when either woman expresses her views, her husband ignores her. Melanie, the Patton daughter, is bulimic. In her angry, contorted face, Arun recognizes the same expression worn by his sister Uma whose needs have been similarly misunderstood, ignored, and neglected.
Desai uses food as metaphor (the fasting and feasting of the title) to compare and contrast the two families. In one culture, food is used as a vehicle to express communion; in the other, it is used to express isolation. In India the sharing of meals assumes almost ritualistic importance. The family is drawn together for their meals even though communication falters and all are there to cater to the father. Food is a frequent topic of discussion: when to cook, what to cook, what food to offer guests, and who should or should not be invited to share a meal. By contrast, the Patton family has a problematic attitude toward food. The mother stuffs the freezer and refrigerator with food even though what is already there hasn’t been eaten. The father grills steaks that no one else wants to eat. The daughter gorges on peanuts and candy only to vomit everything out a few minutes later. The son forages for leftover meat on the implements used for grilling. And the family never sits together for a meal. They eat in isolation.
Desai is a keen observer of human behavior. Her characters come to life within the first few pages. They are revealed through intricate details—gestures, facial expressions, words said, and words left unsaid. Desai shows rather than tells. In Part 1, for example, there is a wonderful scene where the Indian family sits at the dinner table. Having finished the main meal, the father waits with a “sphinx like” expression. The mother takes it as her cue to peel him an orange. She meticulously removes the pips and places slice by slice carefully on the father’s plate. The father then lifts each slice, placing it ceremoniously in his mouth. Everyone watches in deafening silence at this amazing feat. When he finishes, mother sits back, flushed with pride at her achievement while father maintains his stony-faced silence without so much as a nod of appreciation. This scene speaks volumes.
Unfortunately, the novel ends abruptly, lacking in closure. We are told Arun leaves the Patton household to return to the dorms at the start of a new semester. We hear no more about his family. In spite of an ending that falls short, however, Desai’s skill at characterization through telling description is impressive and makes the novel well worth reading.
Part 1 is seen through the eyes of Uma, the eldest daughter of the Indian family. She suffers from epilepsy and myopia—both of which are trivialized by her family and treated as inconveniences. She remains unmarried and lives with her parents who run her ragged with their constant demands. Uma complains but is ultimately complicit in her subordination. She has little choice. Uneducated, single, unemployed, she is totally reliant on her parents for survival.
Desai takes us to America in Part 2 where we meet the Patton family. We see them through the eyes of Arun who is shocked to recognize some of the same patterns he witnessed in his own family. In Mrs. Patton he sees similarities with his own mother. Both constantly defer to their husbands and are reluctant to assert themselves. On those rare occasions when either woman expresses her views, her husband ignores her. Melanie, the Patton daughter, is bulimic. In her angry, contorted face, Arun recognizes the same expression worn by his sister Uma whose needs have been similarly misunderstood, ignored, and neglected.
Desai uses food as metaphor (the fasting and feasting of the title) to compare and contrast the two families. In one culture, food is used as a vehicle to express communion; in the other, it is used to express isolation. In India the sharing of meals assumes almost ritualistic importance. The family is drawn together for their meals even though communication falters and all are there to cater to the father. Food is a frequent topic of discussion: when to cook, what to cook, what food to offer guests, and who should or should not be invited to share a meal. By contrast, the Patton family has a problematic attitude toward food. The mother stuffs the freezer and refrigerator with food even though what is already there hasn’t been eaten. The father grills steaks that no one else wants to eat. The daughter gorges on peanuts and candy only to vomit everything out a few minutes later. The son forages for leftover meat on the implements used for grilling. And the family never sits together for a meal. They eat in isolation.
Desai is a keen observer of human behavior. Her characters come to life within the first few pages. They are revealed through intricate details—gestures, facial expressions, words said, and words left unsaid. Desai shows rather than tells. In Part 1, for example, there is a wonderful scene where the Indian family sits at the dinner table. Having finished the main meal, the father waits with a “sphinx like” expression. The mother takes it as her cue to peel him an orange. She meticulously removes the pips and places slice by slice carefully on the father’s plate. The father then lifts each slice, placing it ceremoniously in his mouth. Everyone watches in deafening silence at this amazing feat. When he finishes, mother sits back, flushed with pride at her achievement while father maintains his stony-faced silence without so much as a nod of appreciation. This scene speaks volumes.
Unfortunately, the novel ends abruptly, lacking in closure. We are told Arun leaves the Patton household to return to the dorms at the start of a new semester. We hear no more about his family. In spite of an ending that falls short, however, Desai’s skill at characterization through telling description is impressive and makes the novel well worth reading.
January 2, 2016
Fasting, Feasting is one of those books that should not be read for the plot but for the prose. By which, if you miss the subtle punches or those great phrases, it is a pointless book.
The book is about 2 families set in contrasting cultures (India and US) through the eyes of siblings Uma and Arun respectively. Both families seem dysfunctional and suffocating to the protagonists. And the subtle similarities make for the relevance between the 2 parts (one significantly longer than the other)
Uma, the spinster sister with MummyPapa (one entity) finds herself shackled by the chains of family. The crushing force of neglect and denials makes her life seem miserable. The Indian sensibilities of the 80s which include bias against the girl child, dowry system, marriage, the abhorrence for the working woman are subtexts that run all through the first part.
Arun is fighting his own demons and an observer of the Pattons family in US. The open culture and seeming freedom carries its own set of miseries. The ending is quite tame.
The writing is simple and prose beautiful in places. A pretty short book by normal standards, but overall, could not understand the hype around it.
The book is about 2 families set in contrasting cultures (India and US) through the eyes of siblings Uma and Arun respectively. Both families seem dysfunctional and suffocating to the protagonists. And the subtle similarities make for the relevance between the 2 parts (one significantly longer than the other)
Uma, the spinster sister with MummyPapa (one entity) finds herself shackled by the chains of family. The crushing force of neglect and denials makes her life seem miserable. The Indian sensibilities of the 80s which include bias against the girl child, dowry system, marriage, the abhorrence for the working woman are subtexts that run all through the first part.
Arun is fighting his own demons and an observer of the Pattons family in US. The open culture and seeming freedom carries its own set of miseries. The ending is quite tame.
The writing is simple and prose beautiful in places. A pretty short book by normal standards, but overall, could not understand the hype around it.
April 1, 2013
This is a book I would not have finished if it weren't for a book club meeting... While the writing was sharp, the focus was not, and I was frequently left wondering, "what is the point? what can you take away from this story"? Those are questions I still don't have answers to, even after discussing with the book club. This is a well written book, technically, but so hard to read due to its unrelenting negativity and lack of any redemption or personal growth. The narrative was also lopsided, with Part 2 seemingly tacked on at the end after a much more richly painted Part 1.
If the author's goal was to make you feel the discomfort of her subjects, she succeeded, in a way - while I didn't connect with any characters, this book was an uncomfortable read. Not a good marketing strategy - I have no desire to read any more by Anita Desai.
If the author's goal was to make you feel the discomfort of her subjects, she succeeded, in a way - while I didn't connect with any characters, this book was an uncomfortable read. Not a good marketing strategy - I have no desire to read any more by Anita Desai.
January 24, 2012
Fasting, Feasting tells the story of the two main characters, Uma and Arun, in two parts. Uma, the eldest daughter in the family, is clumsy, myopic, prone to fits, and largely unsuccessful in life (report cards at school, cooking, marriages where her family is duped resulting in lost dowries and humiliation) though not for lack of effort or enthusiasm to succeed on her part. She thinks of her parents as a single entity – mamapapa – and after two failed marriages, mamapapa decide to stop making any efforts and start t their lifelong duty to ensure she is busy looking after them. Whenever Uma finds an avenue for freedom – a pilgrimage with the forever on the move Mira Masi, a job offered by an empathetic Dr.Dutt – it is rejected or cut short by MamaPapa. Her only solace is in brief moments of blankness or in her collections (glass bangles she never wears, old Christmas cards whose words cheer her). In spite of her lot in life, she does not seem to begrudge others their joys – her sister Aruna’s charmed marriage, Arun’s college acceptance in the US – but instead is the only one who notices that with all their joys, they are still unhappy. Aruna strives for a dream and Arun has become so mechanical that nothing brings out emotion in him. Desai portrays the differences between the siblings in a few sentences describing one of Aruna’s visits to her maternal home with her in-laws after marriage: “She(Aruna) spent the entire visit hissing under her breath at Uma,’Can’t you bring out a clean tablecloth? Don’t you see this one is all stained?’” and “she (Aruna) could not believe he (Arun) existed, as he did, and preferred to act as if he did not (which suited him very well”
The book suddenly shifts from Uma to show us what Arun is up to in Massachusetts. As he spends his summer with the Pattons (Mrs.Patton being the sister of Mrs.O’Henry from his hometown in India), Arun still strives to remain anonymous but realizes it is impossible to do so fully. He realizes that in his attempt to escape, he has stumbled into a ‘plastic representation’ of his life at home. He sees his family in the Pattons. He does not understand the excesses in the Pattons’ lifestyle – the loaded shopping carts, the fridge drooping with the weight of all the frozen food that no one eats, the bags of candy consumed. As Desai puts it so well ‘For the first time in his existence, he found he craved for what he had taken for granted before’ (the meals that were always there for him).
Between Uma and Arun, between MamaPapa’s family and the Pattons, between Mira-masi’s sparse meals and the Pattons’ fridge full of food, Desai cleverly integrates the title of the book.
Also brought to mind for me the part of the first line of Anna Karenina: ‘every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’
This was the first book by Anita Desai that I read. I enjoyed the wonderful play of words and the way everyday characters and happenings are brought to life here but the book left me oddly dissatisfied too, waiting for some sort of closure for the main characters at least.
The book suddenly shifts from Uma to show us what Arun is up to in Massachusetts. As he spends his summer with the Pattons (Mrs.Patton being the sister of Mrs.O’Henry from his hometown in India), Arun still strives to remain anonymous but realizes it is impossible to do so fully. He realizes that in his attempt to escape, he has stumbled into a ‘plastic representation’ of his life at home. He sees his family in the Pattons. He does not understand the excesses in the Pattons’ lifestyle – the loaded shopping carts, the fridge drooping with the weight of all the frozen food that no one eats, the bags of candy consumed. As Desai puts it so well ‘For the first time in his existence, he found he craved for what he had taken for granted before’ (the meals that were always there for him).
Between Uma and Arun, between MamaPapa’s family and the Pattons, between Mira-masi’s sparse meals and the Pattons’ fridge full of food, Desai cleverly integrates the title of the book.
Also brought to mind for me the part of the first line of Anna Karenina: ‘every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’
This was the first book by Anita Desai that I read. I enjoyed the wonderful play of words and the way everyday characters and happenings are brought to life here but the book left me oddly dissatisfied too, waiting for some sort of closure for the main characters at least.
October 4, 2009
Having recently read The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, I was eager to pick up Anita's novel. Although written by mother and daughter, there really are many similarities in their writing styles, and in their messages about the similarities and differences between the India and Indians of our perception, and those of Empire or America and their lives. In the end, Fasting and Feating demonstrates in two parts: 1) set in India and 2) set in the United States, that both lives are filled with disconnection and human struggles to survive.
The first section of the book is set in India, and established around Uma, a homely, nagged at daughter. Her life seems pretty bleak without the option of a husband for whom she can garnish his reputation. Over and over again, we see Uma being rejected and suffering the pains of being an Indian woman who is not chosen as a wife of a man, and yet, Desai also sets this shame amidst the lives of other women who have been married off and are anything but happy. In one case, what was considered an ideal marriage, is later to be seen as a devastatingly horrible one.
Section two is much shorter, but centers around the star of the family, Arun, who is in the United States going to college. You get the sense that this young man is terribly troubled, and unhappy with his life, regardless of where he's located. In no way do you see him in control of his own life, but like his sister, is very much being controlled by the wishes and desires of his family, parents, and society.
While not the cheeriest of reads, the sad ideas pointed out by Desai's novel show us that all cultures can and do put pressures on us to achieve or be things that we may or may not wish for. In a real sense, the novel is about freedoms wished for, but not seen.
The first section of the book is set in India, and established around Uma, a homely, nagged at daughter. Her life seems pretty bleak without the option of a husband for whom she can garnish his reputation. Over and over again, we see Uma being rejected and suffering the pains of being an Indian woman who is not chosen as a wife of a man, and yet, Desai also sets this shame amidst the lives of other women who have been married off and are anything but happy. In one case, what was considered an ideal marriage, is later to be seen as a devastatingly horrible one.
Section two is much shorter, but centers around the star of the family, Arun, who is in the United States going to college. You get the sense that this young man is terribly troubled, and unhappy with his life, regardless of where he's located. In no way do you see him in control of his own life, but like his sister, is very much being controlled by the wishes and desires of his family, parents, and society.
While not the cheeriest of reads, the sad ideas pointed out by Desai's novel show us that all cultures can and do put pressures on us to achieve or be things that we may or may not wish for. In a real sense, the novel is about freedoms wished for, but not seen.
May 15, 2019
I'm done with Anita Desai.
I tried too hard to like this book, only because I did not want to give up on her other books. But I couldn't.
I tried too hard to like this book, only because I did not want to give up on her other books. But I couldn't.
August 25, 2025
Dopo aver letto un romanzo (molto apprezzato) di Ghosh, nei commenti su GR salta fuori il nome di Anita Desai come scrittrice notevole ma che conosco solo come un nome. Inizio la conoscenza con questo titolo solo perché reperibile nella mia biblioteca di quartiere nella calura di agosto.
Si tratta di un romanzo diviso in due parti, protagonisti di ciascuna rispettivamente Uma e Arun, fratelli, membri di una famiglia borghese mediamente benestante dell’India rurale e tradizionale. Lascio scoprire le vicende a chi vorrà addentrarsi o semplicemente leggere delle sintesi.
Mi sembra riduttivo parlare di un romanzo sull’India o sul cibo, come si potrebbe intendere dal titolo inteso alla lettera. Il respiro e lo sguardo qui appare più ampio e ambizioso. “Digiunare” e “divorare” sono metafora della condotta dei personaggi del romanzo, che si esprimono fagocitando o sottraendosi gelidamente. Al centro della narrazione c’è piuttosto, direi, la vita di due famiglie, una indiana e una americana, forse un po’ stereotipata ma assai realistica, e la vita di coloro che crescono in seno a queste famiglie soffocanti e distruttive, contemporaneamente luogo di affetti ma anche di profonde incomprensioni. Un tema già esplorato ma qui declinato in ambientazioni e situazioni un po’ diverse.
La scrittura dell’autrice è davvero degna di nota: arguta e intelligente, sensibile e delicata, dotata di grande forza e efficacia ma composta e sobria. Una lettura comica fino alle lacrime in alcune pagine, che non copre però il dolore e il dramma che sta sotto.
Si tratta di un romanzo diviso in due parti, protagonisti di ciascuna rispettivamente Uma e Arun, fratelli, membri di una famiglia borghese mediamente benestante dell’India rurale e tradizionale. Lascio scoprire le vicende a chi vorrà addentrarsi o semplicemente leggere delle sintesi.
Mi sembra riduttivo parlare di un romanzo sull’India o sul cibo, come si potrebbe intendere dal titolo inteso alla lettera. Il respiro e lo sguardo qui appare più ampio e ambizioso. “Digiunare” e “divorare” sono metafora della condotta dei personaggi del romanzo, che si esprimono fagocitando o sottraendosi gelidamente. Al centro della narrazione c’è piuttosto, direi, la vita di due famiglie, una indiana e una americana, forse un po’ stereotipata ma assai realistica, e la vita di coloro che crescono in seno a queste famiglie soffocanti e distruttive, contemporaneamente luogo di affetti ma anche di profonde incomprensioni. Un tema già esplorato ma qui declinato in ambientazioni e situazioni un po’ diverse.
La scrittura dell’autrice è davvero degna di nota: arguta e intelligente, sensibile e delicata, dotata di grande forza e efficacia ma composta e sobria. Una lettura comica fino alle lacrime in alcune pagine, che non copre però il dolore e il dramma che sta sotto.
May 17, 2021
How is it that such sparsity in description and narration can produce a book this witty, this hilarious, this disturbing?
When I say disturbing, I don't mean disturbing as in "oh god what horrors have just been described to me in gory detail", but rather, "oh god, how complicit are all of us in accepting the norms of our respective cultures and how much are even the relatively 'powerless' also to blame for the outcomes?" ... Yeah. That kind of disturbing. Shake-you-out-of-your-comfort kind of disturbing.
I've never experienced this particular style of writing or narrative structure before. Or if I have, it certainly wasn't as memorable as this story. Basically nothing happens and everything happens. That's the true beauty of Anita Desai's writing. You would be dead wrong if you understood this novel only to showcase the daily lives of two families– one in India, one in America– because there is so much nuance and significance tied up in their prescribed roles and routines. Not to mention her ability to describe the scenes in absolute sensory detail.
I was so intrigued by her intention regarding the structure of this book. 70% of the book is narrated by Uma, a character entirely subject to her parents whims and expectations with arguably zero autonomy or power in her own life. The experience of reading about her total lack of independence put me in a very specific mindset – I felt suffocated, trapped; it was difficult to read. But Uma's inner world is rich with her understanding and critical thinking. Through her we see the hypocrisies and injustices of this particular kind of family. She can see through it all, but she is powerless to do anything without an education. And we see that even with the highest intelligence and potential for academic accomplishment, things do not always work out for women who are subject to having every decision made for them.
In the last 30% of the book, there is an abrupt shift: an entirely different narrator (of an entirely different gender) in an entirely different setting. I know that a lot of Indian families dream of an American education and American citizenship. If the Americans– with all of their undying and unquestioning patriotism– are to be believed, America really is a perfect place to land. Arun is relatively more privileged than his sister in that he is able to escape his oppressive family and take his own decisions in life. But what he finds is that the family dynamics have been similarly complicated and tainted by the individual members' "roles" in life (primarily based on age and gender) and things are not always as perfect as the expansive green lawns and two car garages would have you believe.
I think this sudden shift in the last 30% of the novel (Arun only gets about 70/230 pages) was intended to illustrate the feeling of moving so abruptly from one culture to another. The true expat experience. Things are taken for granted by the people around you, but to you they feel jarring, surreal, unusual. Many things remind you of your own culture, sometimes to a degree that produces extreme discomfort and anxiety (particularly if you have a desire to separate yourself from that culture, even if you are really missing the food and familiarity).
Does culture begin at home, or do we conduct our home lives based on the cultural expectations we've internalized?
The point of it all? It's complicated. I love a book that takes a series of vignettes, makes a series of scathing observations with just the right amount of subtle humour, and then shrugs its shoulders and says, "yes, it's complicated." I adore this book.
When I say disturbing, I don't mean disturbing as in "oh god what horrors have just been described to me in gory detail", but rather, "oh god, how complicit are all of us in accepting the norms of our respective cultures and how much are even the relatively 'powerless' also to blame for the outcomes?" ... Yeah. That kind of disturbing. Shake-you-out-of-your-comfort kind of disturbing.
I've never experienced this particular style of writing or narrative structure before. Or if I have, it certainly wasn't as memorable as this story. Basically nothing happens and everything happens. That's the true beauty of Anita Desai's writing. You would be dead wrong if you understood this novel only to showcase the daily lives of two families– one in India, one in America– because there is so much nuance and significance tied up in their prescribed roles and routines. Not to mention her ability to describe the scenes in absolute sensory detail.
I was so intrigued by her intention regarding the structure of this book. 70% of the book is narrated by Uma, a character entirely subject to her parents whims and expectations with arguably zero autonomy or power in her own life. The experience of reading about her total lack of independence put me in a very specific mindset – I felt suffocated, trapped; it was difficult to read. But Uma's inner world is rich with her understanding and critical thinking. Through her we see the hypocrisies and injustices of this particular kind of family. She can see through it all, but she is powerless to do anything without an education. And we see that even with the highest intelligence and potential for academic accomplishment, things do not always work out for women who are subject to having every decision made for them.
In the last 30% of the book, there is an abrupt shift: an entirely different narrator (of an entirely different gender) in an entirely different setting. I know that a lot of Indian families dream of an American education and American citizenship. If the Americans– with all of their undying and unquestioning patriotism– are to be believed, America really is a perfect place to land. Arun is relatively more privileged than his sister in that he is able to escape his oppressive family and take his own decisions in life. But what he finds is that the family dynamics have been similarly complicated and tainted by the individual members' "roles" in life (primarily based on age and gender) and things are not always as perfect as the expansive green lawns and two car garages would have you believe.
I think this sudden shift in the last 30% of the novel (Arun only gets about 70/230 pages) was intended to illustrate the feeling of moving so abruptly from one culture to another. The true expat experience. Things are taken for granted by the people around you, but to you they feel jarring, surreal, unusual. Many things remind you of your own culture, sometimes to a degree that produces extreme discomfort and anxiety (particularly if you have a desire to separate yourself from that culture, even if you are really missing the food and familiarity).
Does culture begin at home, or do we conduct our home lives based on the cultural expectations we've internalized?
The point of it all? It's complicated. I love a book that takes a series of vignettes, makes a series of scathing observations with just the right amount of subtle humour, and then shrugs its shoulders and says, "yes, it's complicated." I adore this book.
June 8, 2016
2/5 stars for the book.
1/5 stars for the cover.
The worst part about this book is that it is what I have to study for tomorrow's exam. Now that I'm done studying I will review it.
This book has a nice, tolerable concept that could have been delivered in a less boring way.
Yeah, this book is really, very, intensely boring. I mean I got to know the Indian culture through it and I got to know how their society regard women and men, and believe me that was okay nice (during the first time reading it) Except only I had to read it tons of times (including my goddamned notes) because I don't want to fail. Every time I read it, i figured out that the story's perception is really narrow and limited.
Uma settling for her life as what it is was horribly mistaken as character development and "preserving her imagination"... well let me ask you this Uma,What kind of dull imagination are you preserving through Goddamned CHRISTMAS FUCKING CARDS???
Complete nonsense I swear.
Uma is literally the dumbest protagonist I have ever met...
How Uma reacts every time she jumps into the river:
My reaction to the whole river symbolizes freedom bullshit:
MiraMasi was the only character I could tolerate... I mean the woman did nothing to bore me to death, and she was at the same time defying the traditions in her own personal, beautiful way.
M E D I O C R E
This whole book is mediocre and dull and boring... just no. Desai's style of writing is really annoying, I mean for a minute we're in the present... and the next sentence we jump back to Uma's childhood... JUST NO.
Part two was even more uninteresting and it was criticizing the American society as the materialistic society, as if no other society is materialistic... the disconnected families, the consumption, the bulimia, all of which could have been presented in a more exciting way that could have gotten me interested... Unfortunately, that did not happen at all.
My reaction to Melanie's bulimia
YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE CHANCE TO GET TO KNOW MELANIE OR ANY OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS AS A MATTER OF FACT.
They were all presented in a dumb, dull way that made you believe what Desai only conveys and therefore you don't know anything about them except what she told you... How can I judge a character this way???? She was practically forcing the "character development" down my throat.
By the end of the novel I'm literally dying and what Arun does is give the shawl to Mrs. Patton. Can you guess what that symbolizes? It symbolizes how he lets go of the authority his parents have over him, and how he is getting rid of his past life.. it also symbolizes how he is moving on and letting go of Uma (lets bear in mind that they were never even connected on any level... so how the fuck would he be leaving her behind if they were never even CLOSE? )
Wish me luck in my exam okay?
1/5 stars for the cover.
The worst part about this book is that it is what I have to study for tomorrow's exam. Now that I'm done studying I will review it.
This book has a nice, tolerable concept that could have been delivered in a less boring way.
Yeah, this book is really, very, intensely boring. I mean I got to know the Indian culture through it and I got to know how their society regard women and men, and believe me that was okay nice (during the first time reading it) Except only I had to read it tons of times (including my goddamned notes) because I don't want to fail. Every time I read it, i figured out that the story's perception is really narrow and limited.
Uma settling for her life as what it is was horribly mistaken as character development and "preserving her imagination"... well let me ask you this Uma,What kind of dull imagination are you preserving through Goddamned CHRISTMAS FUCKING CARDS???
Complete nonsense I swear.
Uma is literally the dumbest protagonist I have ever met...
How Uma reacts every time she jumps into the river:
My reaction to the whole river symbolizes freedom bullshit:
MiraMasi was the only character I could tolerate... I mean the woman did nothing to bore me to death, and she was at the same time defying the traditions in her own personal, beautiful way.
M E D I O C R E
This whole book is mediocre and dull and boring... just no. Desai's style of writing is really annoying, I mean for a minute we're in the present... and the next sentence we jump back to Uma's childhood... JUST NO.
Part two was even more uninteresting and it was criticizing the American society as the materialistic society, as if no other society is materialistic... the disconnected families, the consumption, the bulimia, all of which could have been presented in a more exciting way that could have gotten me interested... Unfortunately, that did not happen at all.
My reaction to Melanie's bulimia
YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE CHANCE TO GET TO KNOW MELANIE OR ANY OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS AS A MATTER OF FACT.They were all presented in a dumb, dull way that made you believe what Desai only conveys and therefore you don't know anything about them except what she told you... How can I judge a character this way???? She was practically forcing the "character development" down my throat.
By the end of the novel I'm literally dying and what Arun does is give the shawl to Mrs. Patton. Can you guess what that symbolizes? It symbolizes how he lets go of the authority his parents have over him, and how he is getting rid of his past life.. it also symbolizes how he is moving on and letting go of Uma (lets bear in mind that they were never even connected on any level... so how the fuck would he be leaving her behind if they were never even CLOSE? )
Wish me luck in my exam okay?
June 4, 2016
Desai uses such simple, subtle language to take the reader through the journeys of two middle class siblings from a small town in India across seemingly opposite cultures of, on one hand, the traditional, conservative India and on the other hand, the liberal, abundantly resourced West.
It is an important book and is power packed with various issues that continue to befuddle and hinder society's progress even today and it's all put together splendidly. Her writing is full of charm, at times (contextually) humorous and the characters she creates are extremely relatable, albeit slightly one dimensional.
My first Desai book, it has definitely made me curious to pick up her other works. 4 out of 5 stars.
It is an important book and is power packed with various issues that continue to befuddle and hinder society's progress even today and it's all put together splendidly. Her writing is full of charm, at times (contextually) humorous and the characters she creates are extremely relatable, albeit slightly one dimensional.
My first Desai book, it has definitely made me curious to pick up her other works. 4 out of 5 stars.
March 12, 2018
Not sure if Fasting, Feasting is a 2 or a 3 stars for me. I didn’t really enjoy but I didn’t hate reading it. Being driven by its themes more than anything else, it isn’t really my kind of book; the plot is nonexistent and the characters aren’t really memorable aside from some random things which happen to them externally. Having read it for my Food and Writing class, I had an eye out for all that food represented, and I must say I appreciated those moments more than any others. Overall this book felt weightless to me, unsure of where it was going with all of its tense changes and flashbacks, and didn’t make as much of an impression on me as some of the previous readings I’ve done for this class.
October 23, 2021
This is a thoroughly fascinating tale of two siblings, the oldest sister Uma, who is well on her way to being an old maid, and her young brother Arun, who gets a scholarship to study in the United States. What emerges in Anita Desai's Fasting, Feasting is a comparison between the two cultures. India is maddening, and terrible things happen, such as bogus marriages for the purpose of getting cash dowries; but America can be soulless and full of dysfunctional families.
I have read several of Ms Desai's novels in the past, and I seem to like them more and more.
I have read several of Ms Desai's novels in the past, and I seem to like them more and more.
October 8, 2025
Anita Desai has the confident touch of a seasoned storyteller and her understanding of the complex dynamics of family is equal to Austen or Trollope .
Like both her predecessors she shows how the tight noose of custom and conformity can strangle and suppress. She finds commonality within the superficially very different worlds of small town India and East Coast suburbia as we follow two siblings as they stumble through their lives without agency or impetus.
Arun and his oldest sister , Uma , are both broken by the heavy weight expectation of their narrow-minded parents . Uma is to marry and Arun is to get educated and go abroad to study . That neither is remotely enthusiastic about their fate matters not a jot .
Thei inarticulate frustrations are told here with tenderness , the one destined to act as drudge to their parents the other to move like a ghost in the incomprehensible abundance of unhappy American suburbia.
Food and fasting figure large in both places and are used as weapons for servitude or defiance . In both there is also deep dysfunction and inability to communicate hidden behind normalcy . This acts as a slow poison sedating the siblings into inertia . The only relief is the salve of water (the river or the swimming hole ) where both siblings experience a brief vortex of freedom and ecstasy. This is the spiritual feasting they crave after a lifetime of tyrannical fasting .
This novel caused division in the Booker prize where the award went to J M Coetzee's Disgrace . For me this lays bear the impossibility of a single winner as both are equally worth reading. Recommended .
Like both her predecessors she shows how the tight noose of custom and conformity can strangle and suppress. She finds commonality within the superficially very different worlds of small town India and East Coast suburbia as we follow two siblings as they stumble through their lives without agency or impetus.
Arun and his oldest sister , Uma , are both broken by the heavy weight expectation of their narrow-minded parents . Uma is to marry and Arun is to get educated and go abroad to study . That neither is remotely enthusiastic about their fate matters not a jot .
Thei inarticulate frustrations are told here with tenderness , the one destined to act as drudge to their parents the other to move like a ghost in the incomprehensible abundance of unhappy American suburbia.
Food and fasting figure large in both places and are used as weapons for servitude or defiance . In both there is also deep dysfunction and inability to communicate hidden behind normalcy . This acts as a slow poison sedating the siblings into inertia . The only relief is the salve of water (the river or the swimming hole ) where both siblings experience a brief vortex of freedom and ecstasy. This is the spiritual feasting they crave after a lifetime of tyrannical fasting .
This novel caused division in the Booker prize where the award went to J M Coetzee's Disgrace . For me this lays bear the impossibility of a single winner as both are equally worth reading. Recommended .
January 31, 2011
I was bought this book as a present a while ago, and I knew very little about it or the author. The cover picture is very inviting and reminded me of my own time in India, those warm, earthy tones and splashes of colour.
We are transported into the life of a family in India, where 2 sisters, Uma and Aruna, live with MamaPapa, a fusion of 2 people who, although individuals, present a force of tradition that dictates the family's way of life. Into this situation is born a son, Arun, a boy who unwittingly changes the course of the family's dynamic with his potential and his value.
The novel begins with emphasis on Uma, the bespectacled, clumsy, childlike older sister. Forever a disappointment to her controlling parents , she is expected to help bring up Arun, and is emotionally neglected by her parents in favour of the other siblings. Uma also has fits and her family finds this embarressing and unnecessary, as if she deliberately courting attention. Two unsuccessful marriage attempts after many rejections before she is even met, lead to 2 stolen dowries, and a stigma that is neither of her making, nor one she can ever hope to escape.
Uma's only allies are 2 outer family members who are disapproved of, her aunt who pays random visits on religious pilgrimages, and her cousin who hides his physical afflictions by being brash and loud, but eventually turns his back on his family and becomes a hermit. Uma's aunt believes her fits are a mark of the lord. 'You are the lords child' she says, and Uma is given some respite from her family when she accompanies her aunt to an ashram. It seems Uma's only real happinesses come in brief and desperate bursts, while viewing her Christmas card collection when her parents are out, or more sadly, when she nearly drowns after stepping off a boat and is disappointed to be pulled from the peaceful waters. It is not a suicide attempt, merely somewhere quiet, non-judgemental.
Interspersed with Uma's story we learn of Aruna's marriage to a successful business man and her move to fashionable Bombay and 2 children. However, despite her deliberate flaunting in front of her parents, and Uma in particular, she is also unhappy at heart, as her obsessions with having the best overtake her life and render it sterile. There is also their beautiful cousin's marriage which ends in cruelty and then tragedy. Are their any women who triumph in this novel? Any women who are allowed to be themseves? It seems only the next door neighbour is content, and only after a long battle with her mother-in-law.
Two-thirds the way through the book we have a sudden shift in direction. We are taken to USA where Arun is at university and staying with a family during the holidays. Arun is now a timid and reclusive individual, weighed down by his fathers aspirations and relentless education, and thrown into an alien environment he finds baffling. Surprisingly this forms the most humourous part of the book, and I laughed out loud at some parts. The American family are drowning in their own problems of Western psychological neuroses, of obsession, delusion and dysfunction. Arun is horrified, but also recognises similarities with his sisters situation, and instead of embracing his freedom, he retreats further inwards, missing his own dysfunctional family.
The title of the book clearly comes from the comparison of those who have little and those who have too much. A lot of the imagery and episodes and comparisons take place around food but this is only used as a metaphor to illustrate constraints or abundance of freedom and its subsequent problems.
This book is not for those who enjoy plot driven novels full of action or even conclusions. It is a beautifully written study of characters, a skillful set of observations, but it offers no answers, only presentations of comparisons. Although I enjoyed the last part in America, it was the weakest part of the book because of its abruptness, and its stereotypes. I just did not believe in the family being so unredemptive and hopeless. I longed to get back to see if Uma had hauled herself away from her prison with her family. We never find out. And for all of their faults I never viewed her family as hopeless.
There are many beautiful and colourful descriptions in both parts of the novel and I was attatched to Uma, willing her to find a way out and knowing she probably would not. I enjoyed this novel because of these things and its subtle comedy. My favourite quote comes after a painful evening with the Pattons at a compulsory barbecue (Arun is vegetarian), the episode is wryly wrapped up by the author...
"The blue oblong of electric light that hangs from a branch of the spruce tree over the barbecue is being bombarded by the insects that evening summons up from the surrounding green. They hurl themselves at it like heathens in the frenzy of their false religion, and die with small piercing detonations. The evening is punctuated by their unredeemed deaths."
We are transported into the life of a family in India, where 2 sisters, Uma and Aruna, live with MamaPapa, a fusion of 2 people who, although individuals, present a force of tradition that dictates the family's way of life. Into this situation is born a son, Arun, a boy who unwittingly changes the course of the family's dynamic with his potential and his value.
The novel begins with emphasis on Uma, the bespectacled, clumsy, childlike older sister. Forever a disappointment to her controlling parents , she is expected to help bring up Arun, and is emotionally neglected by her parents in favour of the other siblings. Uma also has fits and her family finds this embarressing and unnecessary, as if she deliberately courting attention. Two unsuccessful marriage attempts after many rejections before she is even met, lead to 2 stolen dowries, and a stigma that is neither of her making, nor one she can ever hope to escape.
Uma's only allies are 2 outer family members who are disapproved of, her aunt who pays random visits on religious pilgrimages, and her cousin who hides his physical afflictions by being brash and loud, but eventually turns his back on his family and becomes a hermit. Uma's aunt believes her fits are a mark of the lord. 'You are the lords child' she says, and Uma is given some respite from her family when she accompanies her aunt to an ashram. It seems Uma's only real happinesses come in brief and desperate bursts, while viewing her Christmas card collection when her parents are out, or more sadly, when she nearly drowns after stepping off a boat and is disappointed to be pulled from the peaceful waters. It is not a suicide attempt, merely somewhere quiet, non-judgemental.
Interspersed with Uma's story we learn of Aruna's marriage to a successful business man and her move to fashionable Bombay and 2 children. However, despite her deliberate flaunting in front of her parents, and Uma in particular, she is also unhappy at heart, as her obsessions with having the best overtake her life and render it sterile. There is also their beautiful cousin's marriage which ends in cruelty and then tragedy. Are their any women who triumph in this novel? Any women who are allowed to be themseves? It seems only the next door neighbour is content, and only after a long battle with her mother-in-law.
Two-thirds the way through the book we have a sudden shift in direction. We are taken to USA where Arun is at university and staying with a family during the holidays. Arun is now a timid and reclusive individual, weighed down by his fathers aspirations and relentless education, and thrown into an alien environment he finds baffling. Surprisingly this forms the most humourous part of the book, and I laughed out loud at some parts. The American family are drowning in their own problems of Western psychological neuroses, of obsession, delusion and dysfunction. Arun is horrified, but also recognises similarities with his sisters situation, and instead of embracing his freedom, he retreats further inwards, missing his own dysfunctional family.
The title of the book clearly comes from the comparison of those who have little and those who have too much. A lot of the imagery and episodes and comparisons take place around food but this is only used as a metaphor to illustrate constraints or abundance of freedom and its subsequent problems.
This book is not for those who enjoy plot driven novels full of action or even conclusions. It is a beautifully written study of characters, a skillful set of observations, but it offers no answers, only presentations of comparisons. Although I enjoyed the last part in America, it was the weakest part of the book because of its abruptness, and its stereotypes. I just did not believe in the family being so unredemptive and hopeless. I longed to get back to see if Uma had hauled herself away from her prison with her family. We never find out. And for all of their faults I never viewed her family as hopeless.
There are many beautiful and colourful descriptions in both parts of the novel and I was attatched to Uma, willing her to find a way out and knowing she probably would not. I enjoyed this novel because of these things and its subtle comedy. My favourite quote comes after a painful evening with the Pattons at a compulsory barbecue (Arun is vegetarian), the episode is wryly wrapped up by the author...
"The blue oblong of electric light that hangs from a branch of the spruce tree over the barbecue is being bombarded by the insects that evening summons up from the surrounding green. They hurl themselves at it like heathens in the frenzy of their false religion, and die with small piercing detonations. The evening is punctuated by their unredeemed deaths."
April 3, 2014
I have really enjoyed reading this novel. It is written well, flows smoothly but not blandly, and is compellingly interesting. The characters in it are well-portrayed and extremely believable. Ms Desai makes sharp but pertinent observations about life in India and the USA. The pictures that she paints with her prose are startlingly realistic, yet also gentle.
The book is divided into two parts. The first and longest is set somewhere in India. We are shown the intimate details of a family consisting of two sisters, a son, and their ageing parents. Uma, the older of the two daughters, is what many people might call a ‘clutz’. She is practically and intellectually inept. Her parents, whose dreadful behaviour is frustratingly credible, try to make her into their domestic servant. They try to get her married more than once, losing a great deal of dowry money in their attempts to do so. Eventually, she is ‘married off’, but this turns out to be disastrous although through no fault of her own. Yet, despite her disappointing aspects, the reader learns that she is a real human with her own peculiar spiritual interests and aspirations.
Uma’s sister marries well, and moves to Bombay. What is initially considered to be a successful marital coup eventually proves otherwise. Meanwhile, the son of the family Arun goes to the USA to study.
The second shorter part of the novel follows Arun’s life in the USA. A bleak but utterly credible picture of life in suburban America unfolds. Arun, regarded as being an oddity by his hosts, feels the same about them.
If the first and second parts of this beautiful tale about dysfunction in families are somehow connected, then I must have missed the connection. Nevertheless, this did not detract from my enjoyment of a wonderful piece of writing.
Review by author of "SCRABBLE WITH SLIVOVITZ", a book about Yugoslavia
The book is divided into two parts. The first and longest is set somewhere in India. We are shown the intimate details of a family consisting of two sisters, a son, and their ageing parents. Uma, the older of the two daughters, is what many people might call a ‘clutz’. She is practically and intellectually inept. Her parents, whose dreadful behaviour is frustratingly credible, try to make her into their domestic servant. They try to get her married more than once, losing a great deal of dowry money in their attempts to do so. Eventually, she is ‘married off’, but this turns out to be disastrous although through no fault of her own. Yet, despite her disappointing aspects, the reader learns that she is a real human with her own peculiar spiritual interests and aspirations.
Uma’s sister marries well, and moves to Bombay. What is initially considered to be a successful marital coup eventually proves otherwise. Meanwhile, the son of the family Arun goes to the USA to study.
The second shorter part of the novel follows Arun’s life in the USA. A bleak but utterly credible picture of life in suburban America unfolds. Arun, regarded as being an oddity by his hosts, feels the same about them.
If the first and second parts of this beautiful tale about dysfunction in families are somehow connected, then I must have missed the connection. Nevertheless, this did not detract from my enjoyment of a wonderful piece of writing.
Review by author of "SCRABBLE WITH SLIVOVITZ", a book about Yugoslavia
November 6, 2015
I really liked this book. It's all about family relationships and you can't help but feeling sympathy for the main character, Uma, as her family is clearly disappointed in her because she has failed to find a suitable husband, and as her parents don't listen to what she really wants out of life. The heroine is not a fascinating woman but a plain, nice and simple one and I liked that, I liked being able to understand her and to see her as a person rather than a two-dimension character. It was beautifully written as well, simple and efficient.
November 25, 2015
sharp book centred around food. I'm not sure how the second part fitted with the first, but no matter, the second was a satirical look at USA food and customs seen through the eyes of an Indian lad on a University placement in Massachusetts, while the first part concerned his put upon sister Uma and her parents' attempts to marry her off. Both protagonists are quite passive and used to show the odd customs and hierarchies around them. It is all beautifully written.
June 5, 2021
Anita Desai is a writer I've been meaning to try for a long time, and I will definitely read more of her work after enjoying this book. Although it is categorised as a novel, it is really two linked novellas, a longer one about Uma, a middle-aged daughter in a small Indian town who finds herself trapped in a life of caring for her demanding parents, and a shorter one about her younger brother, Arun, who goes to study in America.
There are some similarities of theme between the two sections, with food playing a key role in both parts, as suggested by the title. (I admit I had hoped for more feasting than actually features!) I thought the first story was the stronger of the two, with more space to develop and a larger cast of characters.
I wasn't quite sure what the time period is, but as the later part with Arun in America seems to be set in the present day (the book was published in 1999) presumably the earlier part is in the 1970s. The portrayal of the marriage market, with husbands being wooed by parents on behalf of their daughters, in return for dowries, is powerful and haunting.
The American section shows a young girl under different pressures, Melanie, who has an eating disorder, but we never really learn enough about her to understand why she is suffering. Arun is very well drawn in this section, though, and I enjoyed seeing through his eyes.
There are some similarities of theme between the two sections, with food playing a key role in both parts, as suggested by the title. (I admit I had hoped for more feasting than actually features!) I thought the first story was the stronger of the two, with more space to develop and a larger cast of characters.
I wasn't quite sure what the time period is, but as the later part with Arun in America seems to be set in the present day (the book was published in 1999) presumably the earlier part is in the 1970s. The portrayal of the marriage market, with husbands being wooed by parents on behalf of their daughters, in return for dowries, is powerful and haunting.
The American section shows a young girl under different pressures, Melanie, who has an eating disorder, but we never really learn enough about her to understand why she is suffering. Arun is very well drawn in this section, though, and I enjoyed seeing through his eyes.
August 7, 2024
A book that promised much, but delivered little.
All along, Desai kept building up the story. But the dramatic shifts never happen. It's still evocative, because Desai is a masterful writer. But although the blurb says this is a novel in two parts, the second part is barely even 50 pages. We hear of Uma, and what seems to be a possessive, claustrophobic relationship with her parents. The back-and-forth shifts in time make for some difficult reading, and you never really become invested in Uma, although you feel for her.
The second part with Uma's brother, Arun, is short and reads almost like a short story. Like Desai didn't know what to do, and had to add these pages.
All along, Desai kept building up the story. But the dramatic shifts never happen. It's still evocative, because Desai is a masterful writer. But although the blurb says this is a novel in two parts, the second part is barely even 50 pages. We hear of Uma, and what seems to be a possessive, claustrophobic relationship with her parents. The back-and-forth shifts in time make for some difficult reading, and you never really become invested in Uma, although you feel for her.
The second part with Uma's brother, Arun, is short and reads almost like a short story. Like Desai didn't know what to do, and had to add these pages.
August 9, 2015
Anita Desai is now one of my favourite authors after I finished reading this book and I am going on a quest to find out why she didn't win the Booker Prize the year this came out (1999). Fasting, Feasting is not plot-driven but the language is vivid and very evocative. I liked the juxtaposition of part one and part two.
From the back cover:
Uma, the plain, spinster daughter of a close-knit Indian family, is trapped at home, smothered by her overbearing parents and their traditions, unlike her ambitious younger sister Aruna, who brings off a 'good' marriage and brother Arun, the disappointing son and heir who is studying in America.
Across the world in Massachusetts, life with the Patton family is bewildering for Arun in the alien culture of freedom, freezers and paradoxically self-denying self-indulgence.
I could really relate to the contents of this book, coming from an Indian background myself. What I really loved was Desai's narrative, which some may describe as rambling but what I think is actually very accurate of how Indians speak and think. It makes it very real and her dialogue is quite believable as well. I found myself laughing out loud countless times throughout and thinking, oh boy I feel you, Uma!
Making you empathise with her characters is really a huge part of Desai's success in writing this book. Indian or not, you will surely feel for Uma with Desai's convincing language and clear prose. If you're expecting a fast-paced or action-filled plot, I don't suggest this book although if you are willing to put in the patience, you will find yourself wondering and anxious to know about Desai's memorable characters Uma and Arun as well as their insufferable parents who are known as MamaPapa.
Anita Desai writes for the pure pleasure of it and raises some interesting observations about people that will linger with you, long after you've finished the book. I know that it did for me. All in all, a great book that requires a fair bit of attention due to the intense details, worth your time and effort.
Lines from the book: ***WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD***
Papa's frown has grown so deep he has become locked inside it, he can't emerge into speech, and Mama speaks for him because displeasure always makes her articulate.
Then there were the exams when the pace of study would work itself up in its annual crescendo, the tutors in a frenzy, having to make sure their wards performed creditably in order to ensure another year of lucrative tuitions, Arun staying up night after night, sunk into his books while mosquitos hovered above his head and perspiration slid stickily down his collar.
He settles back in silence, and his face closes to all these annoying hints and suggestions being thrown out by the two women; it is like a gate closing on unwanted visitors.
It was a day as all days ought to be, not just a single one in the whole year, a single one in a whole lifetime. If Uma was asked to paint a picture of heaven, then heaven would have paper lanterns hanging from the trees along the drive and around the school courtyard, pots of white and yellow chrysanthemums like great boiled eggs in freshly painted flowerpots on the veranda stairs.
They go out onto the veranda and sink onto the swing which seems to rock upon an ocean of heavy, sultry air that heaves with the expected monsoon.
The glassy water of the river, swollen by rains up in the mountains from which it comes, seems solid, weighty, a huge mass of grief holding them up on its heaving surface, flowing swiftly and unheedingly beneath.
Arun makes his way slowly through the abundant green of Edge Hill as if he were moving cautiously through massed waves of water under which unknown objects lurked. Greenness hangs, drips and sways from every branch and twig and frond in the surging luxuriance of July.
Together they wheeled the card around and avoided walking past the open freezers where the meat lay steaming in pink packages of rawness, the tank where helpless lobsters, their claws rubber-banded together, rose on ascending bubbles and then sank again, tragically, the trays where the pale flesh of fish curled in opaque twists upon the polystyrene, and made their way instead to the shelves piled with pasta, beans and lentils, all harmlessly dry and odour-free, the racks of nuts and spices where whatever surprises might be were bottles and boxed with kindergarten attractiveness.
She smiles a bright plastic copy of a mother-smile that Arun remembers from another world and another time, the smile that is tight at the corners with pressure, the pressure to perform a role, to make him eat, make him grow, make him worth all the trouble and effort and expense.
From the back cover:
Uma, the plain, spinster daughter of a close-knit Indian family, is trapped at home, smothered by her overbearing parents and their traditions, unlike her ambitious younger sister Aruna, who brings off a 'good' marriage and brother Arun, the disappointing son and heir who is studying in America.
Across the world in Massachusetts, life with the Patton family is bewildering for Arun in the alien culture of freedom, freezers and paradoxically self-denying self-indulgence.
I could really relate to the contents of this book, coming from an Indian background myself. What I really loved was Desai's narrative, which some may describe as rambling but what I think is actually very accurate of how Indians speak and think. It makes it very real and her dialogue is quite believable as well. I found myself laughing out loud countless times throughout and thinking, oh boy I feel you, Uma!
Making you empathise with her characters is really a huge part of Desai's success in writing this book. Indian or not, you will surely feel for Uma with Desai's convincing language and clear prose. If you're expecting a fast-paced or action-filled plot, I don't suggest this book although if you are willing to put in the patience, you will find yourself wondering and anxious to know about Desai's memorable characters Uma and Arun as well as their insufferable parents who are known as MamaPapa.
Anita Desai writes for the pure pleasure of it and raises some interesting observations about people that will linger with you, long after you've finished the book. I know that it did for me. All in all, a great book that requires a fair bit of attention due to the intense details, worth your time and effort.
Lines from the book: ***WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD***
Papa's frown has grown so deep he has become locked inside it, he can't emerge into speech, and Mama speaks for him because displeasure always makes her articulate.
Then there were the exams when the pace of study would work itself up in its annual crescendo, the tutors in a frenzy, having to make sure their wards performed creditably in order to ensure another year of lucrative tuitions, Arun staying up night after night, sunk into his books while mosquitos hovered above his head and perspiration slid stickily down his collar.
He settles back in silence, and his face closes to all these annoying hints and suggestions being thrown out by the two women; it is like a gate closing on unwanted visitors.
It was a day as all days ought to be, not just a single one in the whole year, a single one in a whole lifetime. If Uma was asked to paint a picture of heaven, then heaven would have paper lanterns hanging from the trees along the drive and around the school courtyard, pots of white and yellow chrysanthemums like great boiled eggs in freshly painted flowerpots on the veranda stairs.
They go out onto the veranda and sink onto the swing which seems to rock upon an ocean of heavy, sultry air that heaves with the expected monsoon.
The glassy water of the river, swollen by rains up in the mountains from which it comes, seems solid, weighty, a huge mass of grief holding them up on its heaving surface, flowing swiftly and unheedingly beneath.
Arun makes his way slowly through the abundant green of Edge Hill as if he were moving cautiously through massed waves of water under which unknown objects lurked. Greenness hangs, drips and sways from every branch and twig and frond in the surging luxuriance of July.
Together they wheeled the card around and avoided walking past the open freezers where the meat lay steaming in pink packages of rawness, the tank where helpless lobsters, their claws rubber-banded together, rose on ascending bubbles and then sank again, tragically, the trays where the pale flesh of fish curled in opaque twists upon the polystyrene, and made their way instead to the shelves piled with pasta, beans and lentils, all harmlessly dry and odour-free, the racks of nuts and spices where whatever surprises might be were bottles and boxed with kindergarten attractiveness.
She smiles a bright plastic copy of a mother-smile that Arun remembers from another world and another time, the smile that is tight at the corners with pressure, the pressure to perform a role, to make him eat, make him grow, make him worth all the trouble and effort and expense.
June 3, 2013
SPOILERS ALERT
I truly enjoyed reading Fasting, Feasting, by Anita Desai. In terms of plot, I liked how I was kept on the edge of my seat for the duration of the story. I was constantly wondering what was going to become of Uma, one of the main characters. Uma lives in India, continuously trying to make something of her life yet struggles for so many different reasons. I never knew when the next obstacle was going to present itself, nor did I know what that obstacle was going to be. For example, I was shocked to see her two potential marriages fail. As Uma's siblings go on to live happy lives, she is left in the dust with nowhere to go. The plot only becomes more interesting when the story turns to the direction of Uma's brother, Arun. This change in plot is exciting because this part of the story takes place in the United States instead of India. I enjoyed learning about the Indian culture in the first part of the story, but the part that is focused on Arun is very interestingly in Massachusetts. Because Arun comes from India to go to school, I was intrigued by the culture shock that he experiences. I was interested in the adjustments that he has to make to adapt to this totally different lifestyle.
I also like the writing style that Desai utilizes. Having the story narrated in third person allowed me to experience the story without the sole opinion of one character. I also like how Desai got through the setting in India before moving on to the setting in the United States. This avoided any confusion that would have occurred if the two story lines were told simultaneously. In addition, the very descriptive language allowed for a vivid picture to be painted inside my head.
Not only are the physical appearances of the characters in this story described with detail, but there personalities are even better described. I really got a sense of standing right next to these characters as their lives unfolded.
The main issue addressed in this book is the dramatic difference between life in India compared to life in America. Food is a huge difference between these two countries. For one, as a lot of Americans enjoy meat, a lot of Indians are vegetarians. When Arun is staying at the Patton's house over the summer, Mr. Patton is cooking up steak on the barbecue when Arun has to nervously explain, “I—I don't eat meat” (Anita Desai, Chapter 18). It is also addressed how a lot of Americans are very wasteful and take food for granted. For example, as Arun is helping Mrs. Patton unpack a massive amount of groceries, he becomes, “worried that they would never make their way through so much food but this did not seem to be the object of her purchases” (Anita Desai, Chapter 19). These concerns are very relevant in today's world. As a lot of Americans enjoy large feasts and then throw extra food away, around the world there are staring people. This a huge problem that must eventually be remedied and this book perfectly depicted the drastic difference between American culture and other cultures around the world.
It would definitely recommend this book to others. By reading this book the reader is offered the unique experience of not only learning about the culture of India but also seeing the American culture compared side-by-side to this.
I truly enjoyed reading Fasting, Feasting, by Anita Desai. In terms of plot, I liked how I was kept on the edge of my seat for the duration of the story. I was constantly wondering what was going to become of Uma, one of the main characters. Uma lives in India, continuously trying to make something of her life yet struggles for so many different reasons. I never knew when the next obstacle was going to present itself, nor did I know what that obstacle was going to be. For example, I was shocked to see her two potential marriages fail. As Uma's siblings go on to live happy lives, she is left in the dust with nowhere to go. The plot only becomes more interesting when the story turns to the direction of Uma's brother, Arun. This change in plot is exciting because this part of the story takes place in the United States instead of India. I enjoyed learning about the Indian culture in the first part of the story, but the part that is focused on Arun is very interestingly in Massachusetts. Because Arun comes from India to go to school, I was intrigued by the culture shock that he experiences. I was interested in the adjustments that he has to make to adapt to this totally different lifestyle.
I also like the writing style that Desai utilizes. Having the story narrated in third person allowed me to experience the story without the sole opinion of one character. I also like how Desai got through the setting in India before moving on to the setting in the United States. This avoided any confusion that would have occurred if the two story lines were told simultaneously. In addition, the very descriptive language allowed for a vivid picture to be painted inside my head.
Not only are the physical appearances of the characters in this story described with detail, but there personalities are even better described. I really got a sense of standing right next to these characters as their lives unfolded.
The main issue addressed in this book is the dramatic difference between life in India compared to life in America. Food is a huge difference between these two countries. For one, as a lot of Americans enjoy meat, a lot of Indians are vegetarians. When Arun is staying at the Patton's house over the summer, Mr. Patton is cooking up steak on the barbecue when Arun has to nervously explain, “I—I don't eat meat” (Anita Desai, Chapter 18). It is also addressed how a lot of Americans are very wasteful and take food for granted. For example, as Arun is helping Mrs. Patton unpack a massive amount of groceries, he becomes, “worried that they would never make their way through so much food but this did not seem to be the object of her purchases” (Anita Desai, Chapter 19). These concerns are very relevant in today's world. As a lot of Americans enjoy large feasts and then throw extra food away, around the world there are staring people. This a huge problem that must eventually be remedied and this book perfectly depicted the drastic difference between American culture and other cultures around the world.
It would definitely recommend this book to others. By reading this book the reader is offered the unique experience of not only learning about the culture of India but also seeing the American culture compared side-by-side to this.
November 5, 2016
I began it, very excited after reading the introduction and began to like it more and more with every page, until when something changed and made me feel like I do while reading every other internationally acclaimed book by an Indian author, like it's missing something and that they're trying too hard and being too elusive and ambiguous. I don't like that about texts, not at all.
I liked how the story began, with the description and attachment to food; the characters, their traits and their stories were very interesting and beautifully written. However, the nagging characters of MamaPapa began to be too irritating by the middle of it. And then the part two of the novel, it was a little incomprehensible to me. Why was Arun like that? He was so beyond introversion. Granted, his childhood was too sheltered and felt claustrophobic to him, but I didn't understand why he could not tell Mr Patton that he was a vegetarian and how the hell could the American family not eat anything at all? Melanie's bulimia is something I can understand, however, what about Rod? Only once is he found eating, and that too, scraping off the barbecue leftovers. I also did not understand Mrs Patton's behaviour at home, though I did understand that she feels free and confident when in the supermarket, but I still can't relate to the whole situation.
The language was easy and not that inflated as God of Small Things had been, however, it is again a half-solved puzzle to me.
I liked how the story began, with the description and attachment to food; the characters, their traits and their stories were very interesting and beautifully written. However, the nagging characters of MamaPapa began to be too irritating by the middle of it. And then the part two of the novel, it was a little incomprehensible to me. Why was Arun like that? He was so beyond introversion. Granted, his childhood was too sheltered and felt claustrophobic to him, but I didn't understand why he could not tell Mr Patton that he was a vegetarian and how the hell could the American family not eat anything at all? Melanie's bulimia is something I can understand, however, what about Rod? Only once is he found eating, and that too, scraping off the barbecue leftovers. I also did not understand Mrs Patton's behaviour at home, though I did understand that she feels free and confident when in the supermarket, but I still can't relate to the whole situation.
The language was easy and not that inflated as God of Small Things had been, however, it is again a half-solved puzzle to me.
June 25, 2012
Meh. The intended comparisons between Indian life and American life didn't work for me. Uma's story comprises about 2/3 of the book, and ends extremely abruptly, as if Desai forgot to finish, and her brother Arun's experiences in the US felt flat - the Pattons are dripping with stereotype - the carnivore father who doesn't understand why Arun's a vegetarian, the mother who's lost her entire personality to her family, the running-obsessed athletic son, and the bulimic teenage daughter.
Two things that were mildly interesting about the book:
1) At one point Uma begins having seizures that her aunt attributes to being "chosen" by Shiva. In contrast to every other aspect of her plain, unremarkable life, this potential blossomingof Uma's into a Hindu mystic seems bursting with mystery. Until nothing ever comes of it and one day she nearly drowns and never has a fit again.
2) As Mrs. Patton takes Arun under her wing and enlists him to help her become a vegetarian, their relationship develops a fair amount of sexual tension - something Arun, as the POV character, seems intensely aware of, although he never does anything about it. It's possible that Mrs. Patton is aware of it, too, or that she's completely oblivious - you never really get that far into her head. And, like Uma's mysticism, the sexual tension never goes anywhere.
Two things that were mildly interesting about the book:
1) At one point Uma begins having seizures that her aunt attributes to being "chosen" by Shiva. In contrast to every other aspect of her plain, unremarkable life, this potential blossomingof Uma's into a Hindu mystic seems bursting with mystery. Until nothing ever comes of it and one day she nearly drowns and never has a fit again.
2) As Mrs. Patton takes Arun under her wing and enlists him to help her become a vegetarian, their relationship develops a fair amount of sexual tension - something Arun, as the POV character, seems intensely aware of, although he never does anything about it. It's possible that Mrs. Patton is aware of it, too, or that she's completely oblivious - you never really get that far into her head. And, like Uma's mysticism, the sexual tension never goes anywhere.
February 13, 2017
Anita Desai is a wonderful Indian writer but with this one I had difficulty understanding what message she is trying to send through her novel earlier, however despite that I kept reading and: a great decision!
It is a story about two dysfunctional families in two different cultures. The first section of the book is set in India, and the second in the USA. The story has its female characters in focus. The beautiful title is important. "Fasting, Feasting presents" apparent opposites, two contrasting, India and the USA. offers two deformed observers, Uma and Arun. It unpicks two contrasting cultures and finds that women are slaves in both. It's not depressing as it sounds in my review by the way. Her language draws us into sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic, swirl of life: " Fasting, Feasting "
Recommend.
It is a story about two dysfunctional families in two different cultures. The first section of the book is set in India, and the second in the USA. The story has its female characters in focus. The beautiful title is important. "Fasting, Feasting presents" apparent opposites, two contrasting, India and the USA. offers two deformed observers, Uma and Arun. It unpicks two contrasting cultures and finds that women are slaves in both. It's not depressing as it sounds in my review by the way. Her language draws us into sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic, swirl of life: " Fasting, Feasting "
Recommend.
December 23, 2016
So much conveyed in such easy writing style and so much left to be thought of and understood by the reader!
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