Product Description

Now in paperback, the prize-winning coming-of-age novel about a young Indian girl in northern England. Winner of the Betty Trask Award and finalist for the Guardian Fiction Award, Anita and Me, which has been compared to To Kill a Mockingbird, tells the story of Meena, the daughter of the only Punjabi family in the British village of Tollington. With great warmth and humor, Meera Syal brings to life a quirky, spirited 1960s mining town and creates in her protagonist what the Washington Post calls a "female Huck Finn." The novel follows nine-year-old Meena through a year spiced with pilfered sweets and money, bad words, and compulsive, yet inventive, lies. Anita and Me offers a fresh, sassy look at a childhood caught between two cultures.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #665923 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Library Journal
Syal's debut paints a humorous and quirky portrait of a 1960s British mining town and a young girl stuck between her Punjabi family and her white, working-class neighbors. Meena Kumar, one of four nonwhite kids in her school, spends her time eavesdropping on the Yard Ladies, lying to her parents, perfecting her accent, and chasing after Anita Rutter and her gang. Even the arrival of a new brother and a visit from her grandmother do not manage to keep Meena out of trouble. It is only when Meena stands up to Anita's racist boyfriend, Sam, that things begin to change. Syal gives the reader a real feel for the neighborhood and its residents. At times you can almost smell the fish fingers and hear the Yard Ladies yelling back and forth over their fences. Syal has a gift of comedy that she uses to weave this delightful story. Recommended.?Editha Ann Wilberton, Kansas City P.L., Kan.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Nine-year-old Meena Kumar's cheeky narrative of her life as the only Punjabi girl in a small English village unfolds through wonderfully evocative description. Tollington, a once-thriving Midlands mining village, is, in the early '70s, on the decline. When the mines shut down, the men are idled while the town's suddenly assertive women form the Ballbearings Committee, a name to designate their employment at the local factory (among other things). A highway threatens to take away part of the village, the grammar school is closing down, skinheads are beginning to loiter in the kiddie park, and suburban sprawl is inching closer. These ominous changes form the background of the inventive Meena's life. She is alternately amused and embarrassed by her family and idolizes the roughest, brassiest girl in town, Anita Rutter. Meena is, much to her parents' chagrin, no angel: She lies, commits minor thefts, and has the bad habit of making vulgar remarks when her prim and proper aunties are around. Each small incident that Meena tells about leads to an arsenal of vividly described related anecdotes before the linear narrative is finally regained, a process that forms an endearing, richly three- dimensional picture of Meena and her family. Meanwhile, the story of the girl's relationship with Anita nicely illuminates the difficult, unspoken politics of childhood friendship. The two girls lead a gang, bully others, and engage in exuberant antics even though, in an increasingly poor and tense England, there is always an ominous undercurrent to events. Anita's black poodle is named ``Nigger,'' a local Indian bank manager is the victim of a racial attack, and Meena's secret love becomes a boot-stomping skinhead. Meena's loss of innocence, and her recognition of her heritage, coincides with her realization that her seemingly harmonious village also harbors violence, hatred, and fear. Syal handles all of this with an expert hand. Far from just another coming-of-age saga, Syal's impressive debut offers a charming yet troubling evocation of recent times. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
A beautifully specific portrait. . . [of] people touched by the turbulence of the times. -- The Observer

A well-observed comedy about the clash of two cultures. . . Syal has put her comic talents to good use. -- The Times [London]

Humorous and quirky. Syal has a gift of comedy that she uses to weave this delightful story. -- Library Journal starred review