Sampath Chawla was born in a time of drought that ended with a vengeance the night of his birth. All signs being auspicious, the villagers triumphantly assured Sampath's proud parents that their son was destined for greatness.
Twenty years of failure later, that unfortunately does not appear to be the case. A sullen government worker, Sampath is inspired only when in search of a quiet place to take his nap. But the world is round, his grandmother says. Wait and see! Even if it appears he is going downhill, he will come up the other side. Yes, on top of the world. He is just taking a longer route. No one believes her until, one day, Sampath climbs into a guava tree and becomes unintentionally famous as a holy man, setting off a series of events that spin increasingly out of control. A delightfully sweet comic novel that ends in a raucous bang, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is as surprising and entertaining as it is beautifully wrought.
Kiran Desai was born in India in 1971, and was educated in India, in England, and the United States. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard and The Inheritance of Loss.
I found The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai a challenging read that richly repaid perseverance. Sai, a teenage girl lives with her anglicised grandfather in the town of Kalimpong in the Himalayas. This novel is a fascinating exploration of inequality, multiculturalism, globalization, fundamentalism and brutality – in every sense a search for identity. The author’s prose is lithe as a snake and a joy to read.
