Product Description

Between the pressures to marry and become a traditional Indian wife and the humiliation of losing her job in Silicon Valley, Devi is on the edge–where the only way out seems to be to jump. . . .

Yet Devi’s plans to “end it all” fall short when she is saved by the last person she wants to see: her mother. Forced to move in with her parents until she recovers, Devi refuses to speak. Instead, she cooks . . . nonstop. And not the usual fare, but off the wall twists on Indian classics, like blueberry curry chicken or Cajun prawn biryani. Now family meals are no longer obligations. Devi’s parents, her sister, and her brother-in-law can’t get enough–and they suddenly find their lives taking turns as surprising as the impromptu creations Devi whips up in the kitchen each night. Then a stranger appears out of the blue. Devi, it appears, had a secret–one that touches many a nerve in her tightly wound family. Though exposing some shattering truths, the secret will also gather them back together in ways they never dreamed possible.

Interspersed with mouthwatering recipes, this story mixes humor, warmth, and leap-off-the-page characters into a rich stew of a novel that reveals a woman’s struggle for acceptance from her family and herself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #379081 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-26
• Released on: 2004-10-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Booklist
In Malladi's third novel, following A Breath of Fresh Air (2002) and The Mango Season [BKL Ap 15 03], the characters keep referencing "bad Hindi movies." Indeed, the plot of this very readable novel does resemble something out of Bollywood, but the characters are drawn so clearly and strongly that readers will immediately be taken by the triumphs and tribulations of the Veturi family. Devastated after being fired from her job at a Silicon Valley startup and suffering a miscarriage, Devi feels she has strayed far outside the expectations of her traditional Indian family and attempts to commit suicide. However, her intrusive mother, a continual source of aggravation for Devi, saves her life. Devi then moves in with her parents, but she refuses to speak, taking up cooking instead. Channeling all her emotions into the elaborate meals she prepares, Devi prompts her family to engage in a series of completely honest conversations that draw all of them closer to each other. A reading-group guide is bound into this heartfelt novel, which also provides a candid snapshot of fractious mother-daughter relationships. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
It's not that Devi is the black sheep of her family. It's just that she can't seem to succeed at anything. Not even suicide. Rescued at the last minute by her interfering mother, Devi is returned to the family home to recover from the 'incident.' While Devi refuses to talk, she insists on cooking - and what food she creates! Drawn back to the table again and again by her stunningly successful dishes, the other members of the family talk, argue, joke and worry. Soon, secrets emerge, unshakeable family relationships lurch into new patterns, and success and failure don't seem quite as clear-cut as they used to be. This delightful, hopeful book sheds a warm light on three generations of women. Traditional and modern values and the cultures of Southern India and California are stirred and blended into surprising new flavours, much like one of Devi's own curries. (Kirkus UK)

Review
“A feast of a book, sizzling with the humor and tensions that bind its characters together. Amulya Malladi’s writing is as hot as her protagonist’s fiery cooking.”
–GEMMA TOWNLEY, author of When In Rome… and Little White Lies

“Reading this is like spending time with a warm, witty, and honest friend. Malladi isn’t afraid to tackle the big issues head-on, and above all this is a life–and love–affirming book.”
–SARAH SALWAY, author of The ABCs of Love

“A refreshingly candid portrayal of the Indian immigrant experience in America. At times darkly comic, at others profoundly moving, the characters will linger in your mind long after you turn the final page.”
–KAVITA DASWANI, author of For Matrimonial Purposes

Customer Reviews

My FAVORITE Book by Amulya Malladi! Serving Up a GREAT Read!
I learned out about this WONDERFUL book by Amulya Malladi, entirely by accident. I just happened to be checking out books along the themes of Jhumpa Lahiri, and other Indian, or Indian-American authors when I came across "The Mango Season".

After reading "The Mango Season" which I liked, I looked to see what other books she had written, and then I checked out her other 2 books.

Out of ALL the books by Amulya Malladi, "Serving Crazy with Curry" is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!

"Serving Crazy with Curry" is about an Indian-American woman, Devi Veturi, who after losing her job in a Silicon Valley company, and suffering a miscarriage, which even her own family did not know about, ponders her life, and then decides to kill herself.

Before taking the final steps to end her life, having been up all night worrying about her decision, Devi calls her father, Avi, which ostensibly is an obvious cry for help, as she calls him pretty early for a weekend morning.

In an effort to put off her decision to commit suicide, Devi calls her father, hoping that in talking to him, he will make things better, but knowing deep down that he can't. She realizes that everything that has happened to her is her own fault, and she can only deal with it as only she knows how.

So with tears brimming in her eyes, and hearing her family in the background, Devi talks to her father, never letting on about all the problems in her life, just telling him that everything is fine before hanging up, and going ahead with her decision.

However, Devi's plans to end her life are quashed when she is saved by the last person in the world she wants to see......her mother.

Saroj, who has been a constant source of pain, and aggravation for Devi, keeps a spare set of keys to her daughter's home, and she has a habit of often dropping by unannounced, and uninvited. Saroj just happens to come over, probably because of mother's intuition or a sixth sense, and finds her daughter lying in her bathtub in a pool of blood. Unconscious Devi is rushed to the hospital by ambulance, where she is joined by her mother, father, sister, Shobha, her husband, Girish, and her grandmother, Vasu.

Once Devi finally wakes up, she refuses to speak, and when she is discharged from the hospital, her parents bring her home to recuperate, and force her to move in with them until she is fully well. Devi remains mute, instead expressing herself through cooking.

Commandeering the kitchen from her mother, who never before had allowed any of her family members to cook anything in "her kitchen", Devi starts cooking with gusto, and not content making regular food, she starts coming up with wacky variations on Indian classics like Blueberry Chicken Curry, and Cajun Prawn Biryani. Soon, the rest of the Veturi family realize that Devi has a talent for cooking, unrecognized before, and now family meals are no longer obligations. Devi's parents, sister and brother-in-law, can't get enough.

Also as part of her therapy, Devi starts writing in a journal, communicating her thoughts and emotions through her recipes, and as she slowly begins to recover and heal, a dark secret starts to emerge, and as one marriage finally collapses, the love is rekindled in another marriage once believed to be on its last legs.

As the reader comes to realize, through Devi's writing and the dishes she cooks, how the many long-buried traumas have affected the whole Veturi family and ultimately, Devi, they are able to get inside her head and truly understand what she is going through.

The core of her depression, however, is not fully revealed until much later in the book when the reason why Devi wanted to kill herself finally comes out. Through exposing some shattering truths, the secret also brings the whole family back together in ways that they never dreamed possible.

I LOVE this book! Being the daughter of Indian immigrants, like Devi, I can totally relate to the characters in this book. "Serving Crazy with Curry" is a truly wonderful and worthy book.

I highly recommend this book for everyone to read - especially ABCD's (American Born Confused Desi's) and women.

"Serving Crazy with Curry" is one of the best (if not the best) Indian American books I have ever read.

If I could give this book 100, or 1000, or a MILLION, BILLION stars, I would. I LOVE IT!!!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!!!!

The title says it all
I like books with inventive titles and this one has a really cheeky one. I picked up the book just yesterday because of the title and the book cover and I am so glad that I did. I read it in one day! This writer certainly knows her stuff and she should as this is apparently her third book. "Serving Crazy with Curry" is the story of Devi, a second-generation Indian living in Silicon Valley and how her life and her family's live and perception about life changes after she survives a suicide attempt. That is the story in a nutshell. A worthy read!!

A Delicious Literary Morsel
What an enjoyable novel! For once an Indian writer who isn't convuluting everything for the sake of convoluting everything. This was a wonderful novel and gave me a better insight into the immigrant experience than so many other books I have read.