Comments (20)

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Aug 26, 2019
Tea & Talk Book Club / August 2016
Jun 07, 2019Merikes rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Author does such a great job on describing each characters inner thoughts. That´s why I love books way better than movies, hard to read the blank facial expressions.
Nov 29, 2018SurreyLibraries_Reads rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Anita Rau Badami does an excellent job depicting the modern day life in India (I literally felt like a tourist submerged into the environment except there was also a good story and I didn’t have to physically travel anywhere). It focuses…
Aug 24, 2018jjharvey1971 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This was a fantastic book. A very well written story that captures you throughout the story.
Aug 05, 2018DanglingConversations rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Well written and emotionally evocative. I think the underlying message is that India has to change. Children are not the projection of their parent's ego and social status. I am not sure who the hero was doing the walking, maybe it was the…
May 28, 2018MillieBT rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
There is a lot of food for thought....should we walk the Hero's Walk---a life of dignity and courage or should we live our lives to gain what we can from it and break all the rules of humbleness, dignity and courage....beautifully written
Oct 18, 2016
I can't say enough good things about this book! The writing was flawless and the story, interlaced with an intricate array of memorable characters, was amazing. From crochety grandma Ammala to the trio of girlhood bullies who torment…
Aug 30, 2016Liber_vermis rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I was bewildered that Sripathi's elderly mother, Ammayya, didn't learn from her son's estrangement from his daughter, Maya, when she opposed her Brahmin daughter, Putti, marrying the rags-to-riches milkman's son. The scenes in this book…
Jul 13, 2016hRuth rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Another Canada Reads novel completed. One sure way to get a good read. I liked this story a lot. It saddens me that so many cultures restrict personal feelings and desires for one's own future. So much sadness in this eastern/western…
Jul 10, 2016Margush rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Loved this book! The book is well organized and beautifully written with a great sense of kind and good humour. One of the main characters - a mother-in-law - may remind someone you may know!
May 21, 2016writermala rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Badami deals very well with the Inter and Intra generational conflicts of a South Indian Brahmin family beset by a tragedy. Will the tragedy bring them together or pull them apart? Badami is a great storyteller and handles the delicate…
May 10, 2016ritarufus rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book. The struggle of culture and maintaining traditions threaten this Indian family. Letting go and following their hearts finally allowed them happiness. A young girl orphaned in Canada is brought to live with…
The_Whiz
Mar 26, 2016The_Whiz rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Sripathi, an Indian man estranged from his daughter, hears she died in a car accident in Vancouver, Canada, leaving only her daughter behind. Reluctantly, he brings her back to India, where both lives start anew. Sounds interesting,…
Mar 23, 2016kathy7777 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Finalist in Canada Reads 2016 and I absolutely hope it wins tomorrow. I think this book is so beautifully written and takes me to India to see a world I don't know.
Mar 10, 2016dirtbag rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
If there is any justice this book will win Canada Reads. The quality of writing; characterization; and setting far exceeds any other of the short-listed books
Feb 25, 2016wyenotgo rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This book is all about character and place, the story being almost inconsequential. Sripathi, the main protagonist is, as noted in the title to chapter 12 "an ordinary man." In many ways, he has been a failure, first having failed to live…
Jul 05, 2015tamram78731 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
You can see, hear, and smell the world of this family, inside and outside their home in Toturpuram, India. It explores life for parents after they lose a grown child. And much more. Beautifully written, with realistic dialog and…
Dec 16, 2014WVMLStaffPicks rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The premature death of an estranged but beloved child foreshadows the re-examination of a family’s life. Set in a small seaside town on the Bay of Bengal, this wonderfully lyrical and uplifting novel transports the reader to the very…
Sep 23, 2011ownedbydoxies rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is such a wonderful book I went out and bought it, which I rarely do.
Oct 20, 2009
Although nothing of great importance happens in this story, it is still a fascinating narration of one man's dignified passage through life with its mixture of choice and chance. A lovely portrayal of life in one part of India.