Product Description

Upon the recent publication of Fasting, Feasting, critics raved about Anita Desai: "Desai is more than smart; she's an undeniable genius" (Washington Post Book World). The Wall Street Journal called Fasting, Feasting "poignant, penetrating . . . a splendid novel, " while the Boston Globe celebrated Desai's "beautiful literary universe." Now, in this richly diverse collection, Desai trains her luminous spotlight on private universes, stretching from India to New England, from Cornwall to Mexico. Skillfully navigating the fault lines between social obligation and personal loyalties, the men and women in these nine tales set out on journeys that suddenly go beyond the pale -- or surprisingly lead them back to where they started from. In the mischievous title story, a beloved dog brings nothing but disaster to his obsessed master; in other tales, old friendships and family ties stir up buried feelings, demanding either renewed commitment or escape. And in the final exquisite story, a young woman discovers a new kind of freedom in Delhi's rooftop community. With her trademark "perceptiveness, delicacy of language, and sharp wit" (Salman Rushdie) in full evidence here, Anita Desai once again gloriously confirms that she is "India's finest writer in English" (Independent).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #944598 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The nine stories in this collection from Desai (Fasting, Feasting) are served up with characteristic perspicuity, subtle humor and attention to the little hypocrisies of the middle class. Diverse settings and domestic dramas frame universal themes, often involving the complex relationship between an individual and her/his family and culture. In "Winterscape," Rakesh's "two mothers" fly to Canada from India to attend the birth of his first child. Rakesh, now "a husband, a Canadian" and fairly alienated from his past, has trouble explaining to his wife, Beth, the love and sympathy with which his mother gave him to her childless sister. "Tepoztlan Tomorrow" offers a familiar Desai scenario of "aging daughters taking care of their aged parents," and features a young man, studying in the States, back to visit his family in Mexico; Louis finds himself groundless, unable to regain footing in his past and unwilling to accept the encroaching future as exhibited in his rapidly transforming hometown. Especially vivid and rewarding are the stories set in India, illuminating the ways familial ties and various aspects of Indian culture can nourish or suffocate. In the title story, Diamond, a huge black dog, terrorizes the conservative suburb of Bharti Nagar, but is cherished by his owner, the "reputable government servant" Mr. Das, who lives vicariously through the spirited, unruly beast. Moyna, in "The Rooftop Dwellers," lives in a New Delhi "barsati" (a small room built atop a flat-roofed house), seeking independence from her family and traditional roles; amid a community of struggling young adults, she finds support in resisting the common social attitude of "fear and loathing for the single working woman." As always, Desai explores her subject with sensitivity while maintaining the perfect authorial distance, achieving a compassionate and subtle irony. 3-city author tour.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Originally hailing from Delhi and presently living in Cambridge, MA, Desai here demonstrates why she has been chosen as a Booker Prize finalist not once but three times. Desai continues her remarkable career with another short story collection. Whether living in a small town in Mexico or on a Delhi rooftop, her array of characters traverse cultural and class boundaries like seasoned veterans. Desai's greatest strength is her accurate depiction of the postcolonial reality of Indian life for Indians, especially evident in two of the nine stories, "The Rooftop Dwellers" and "Winterscape," both of which portray Indian women negotiating nontraditional roles. In "Winterscape," two sisters who have shared mothering responsibilites for the same child visit their Americanized son in the United States. In "The Rooftop Dwellers," Monya, a member of Dehli's rooftop community, confronts outmoded notions about single working women. Desai's exquisite descriptions of settings, her perceptive insights into human nature, and her bountiful humor make this book a valuable addition to a multitude of library collections.DFaye A. Chadwell, Univ. of Oregon Libs., Eugene
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
This scintillating collection of jewel-like short stories follows the triumph of Desai's last novel, Fasting, Feasting. As before, Desai, an impeccable craftsman with a keen wit and a profound sense of place, unerringly exposes the many ironies of daily life. In each tale, her characters are enmeshed in and shaped by their immediate surroundings, be it a family compound in Mexico, a precarious and charming rooftop apartment in New Delhi, or a Massachusetts suburb. Each setting is gorgeously rendered, and each character struggles against his or her circumstances like flies in a spider's web. Desai specializes in long-term marriages, unbalanced friendships, and brilliant variations on the theme of the stranger as a catalyst for change. In the title story, a New Delhi bureaucrat's wife and colleagues look on in dismay as he gives himself over to his love for a devilish dog he calls Diamond. In "Royalty," an old friend easily dominates his friends' lives, and in "The Artist's Life," a young girl discovers that art does not provide protection from hate. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Jewels on a platter - dazzling and colourful stories
Like that enticing assortment of your favourite chocolates laid out invitingly in a tray, each with its own flavour and aroma but broadly speaking, all from the same family, these stories sparkle with life and dazzle you with their charm. They are utterly delightful and exuberant pieces of craft, with a lingering aftertaste. Although each stands distinctly apart from the other, they all have in common the aim to capture the most exquisite and unspeakable moments of human life (and for a majority of stories, Indian life ). These snatches of Indian life, a sister to ours, remind us that the subcontinent is one big cultural brotherhood, in fact if not in spirit.

Bypassing the obvious to capture the evasive is a quality particular to the short story, whose genre is ideally suited to treat the ephemeral. Its constraints allow to expand only sufficiently what the leniency of the novel would lose in all its space. A genre more purely aesthetic and much less moral-bound than its counterparts in prose, it's all about conveying impressions and creating impact. Its constraints rule out indulgence and superfluousness, making it the ideal genre to tackle the subtle.

It is exactly this attribute that Anita Desai capitalizes on. She captures moments and emotions high in delicacy and measures an exact number of words to draw them up - one word less and the sketch is left wanting, one word more and it's already redundant. Her expression is the language of fragility itself and she tackles the most discreet of subjects with effortless poise. Her stories move between a whole range of moods; from exuberant to mellow, from exultant to creastfallen, from delight to ennui, from expectant to disappointed. Her word, like the stroke of the seasoned artist, is sure of itself, it never wavers or falters and fits in its place like a jewel.

In some stories, characters try to grapple with figments of their past which surface unexpectedly, This is the case in `Royalty', `Underground', `T Tomorrow' and `Winterscape'. Characters from the past reappear after long absences and are incompatible with the present. Efforts to accommodate them are slowly swallowed by the demands of routine and changed priorities. This causes disappointments, regrets and sadness. Sometimes, this visit by an `appariton of the past' can momentarily relieve the monotony of life. And it is this moment in time that the story freezes - this strange relief before life resumes its regular drone.

On the lines of James Joyce's `Araby', only a lot more fathomable is `The Artist's Life' - about youth's disillusion...that fraction of a second in which by the slightest jolt an idol falls and an icon breaks. The intensity of this moment in youth, so ridiculously melodramatic and absurd in retrospect - that is the story.

`Five hours to Simla' sketches a colourful, entertaining and exasperating interlude in a family's drive to Simla. Animated by spashes of local colour - Indian sights, Indian sounds and some very Indian loonies.

In a clear Kafkaesque vein, with all its brooding mood is the freaky `The Man Who Saw Himself Drown'. As intriguing as it is irresistible, the story mingles absurdity with sorrow. Very floutingly Sarterian. Less brooding but as tragic, `Diamond Dust' probes the limits of human devotion.

The last and my favourite, `Rooftop Dwellers' is about a young girl embracing the odds of independent life in pursuit of her goals. Her new lodging is her dream house but is not without its inconveniences. This newfound freedom is an exhilarating feeling, one she chooses over everything else.

Much short of grandiloquence but not the least embarrassed of it, these stories appeal to you with all the miniature beauty of trinkets. Surrender to them and let them seduce u with their dainty appeal.

Good Read
Some of these stories are excellent, some just good. Winterscape was one of the best stories I've read. I found the collection to be an excellent observation of "East" meets "West." "Underground" had an especially excellent exploration of this theme.

Amazing diversity of themes
I enjoyed reading Desai's Diamond Dust and other Stories due to the wide range of themes she explores in these stories, ranging from insensitivity to others as in" Royalty" , human obsessions as in the title story ,the need for privacy in " Underground " ,sibling and filial relationships in a cross-cultural framework as in "Winterscape" , a nostalgia for the bygone days and times as in " Tepoztlan Tomorrow " .The sense of place is very strong in these stories , bringing about a confluence of cultures ,and casts an undeniable influence onthe characters ,moulding their perceptions and affecting their choices . The stories are memorable due to the powerful delineation of characters reflecting the subtle shades of the complex human personality .The stories stir up the feelings of the reader through the psychological depth and the perceptive tone .The element of drama and climactic conflict seems to be lacking in these stories , yet it is the imaginative vitality and the poetic vision of the author which becomes the tour de force of these stories .