<![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]>

false 271734 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 271734 8 2938959 3 2 2000 Fasting, Feasting total:354|5:32|4:100|3:151|2:58|1:13| 354 1142 505 32 8841 3.33 1032 119 30627068 1391890 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.26 285 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 1 false Wed Aug 20 00:40:19 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 00:40:32 -0700 2008
Uma and Arun are children of Mama...more...]]> 73326090 1836567 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 4 0 false Sat Oct 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 13:18:15 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 12:29:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 49659796 163919 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 2 0 false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Mar 18 08:48:09 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 08:10:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 39203218 1262267 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 2 0 false Wed Dec 03 10:36:28 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 10:40:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> 69013608 1802652 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 4 0 false Wed Aug 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 16:49:46 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 17:05:10 -0700 2009 73513511 2684509 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 0 false Wed Sep 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 09:58:19 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 10:00:44 -0700 2009 1 42952100 698464 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 0 false Wed Jan 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 15:52:08 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 11:45:26 -0800 2009 21572643 649904 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 0 false Wed Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 10:12:23 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 10:25:51 -0700 2008 more...]]> 26958291 1319826 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 4 0 false Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Jul 11 09:44:22 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 10:02:41 -0700 2008 more...]]> 13793356 824792 36003 0618065822 9780618065820 4 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168656684m/36003.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168656684s/36003.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36003.Fasting_Feasting 3.06 66 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents. So united are her parents in Uma's mind that she conflates their names. "MamaPapa themselves rarely spoke of a time when they were not one. The few anecdotes they related separately acquired great significance because of their rarity, their singularity." Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.

Uma flounces off, her grey hair frazzled, her myopic eyes glaring behind her spectacles, muttering under her breath. The parents, momentarily agitated upon their swing by the sudden invasion of ideas--sweets, parcel, letter, sweets--settle back to their slow, rhythmic swinging. They look out upon the shimmering heat of the afternoon as if the tray with tea, with sweets, with fritters, will materialise and come swimming out of it--to their rescue. With increasing impatience, they swing and swing.

Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible. "Her words make Arun wince. Will she never learn to leave well alone? She does not seem to have his mother's well-developed instincts for survival through evasion. After a bit of pushing about slices of tomatoes and leaves of lettuce--in his time in America he has developed a hearty abhorrence for the raw foods everyone here thinks the natural diet of a vegetarian--he dares to glance at Mr. Patton."

Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie

]]> 2000 1 0 false Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Jan 28 01:04:32 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 29 03:58:52 -0800 2008 more...]]> 72393369 1900221 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 0 false Fri Aug 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 17:30:33 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 17:33:04 -0700 2009 23494149 457958 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 0 false Sun Jun 01 22:31:56 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 01 22:35:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 79834475 1055116 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 0 false Mon Dec 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Dec 03 21:31:18 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 14 20:30:19 -0800 2009 69987299 2689455 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 4 0 false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 18:44:35 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 18:44:35 -0700 2009 26747031 647858 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 0 false Wed Jul 09 08:26:29 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 08:31:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> 45963622 45199 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 4 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 10 14:17:38 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 14:19:31 -0800 2009 19134171 310961 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 0 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Mar 31 14:54:44 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 15:00:47 -0700 2008 more...]]> 14121782 857791 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 5 0 false Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Wed Jan 30 20:19:30 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 30 20:31:12 -0800 2008 more...]]> 11129832 137626 271734 0099284723 9780099284727 28 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780m/271734.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173310780s/271734.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271734.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents.
Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.
Arun, in college in Massachusetts, is none too happily spending the summer with the Pattons in the suburbs: their refrigerator and freezer is packed with meat that no one eats, and Mrs. Patton is desperate to be a vegetarian, like Arun. But what he most wants is to be ignored, invisible.
Desai's counterpointing of India and America is a little forced, but her focus on the daily round, whether in the Ganges or in New England, finely delineates the unspoken dramas in both cultures. And her characters, capable of their own small rebellions, give Fasting, Feasting its sharp bite. --Ruth Petrie]]> 2000 3 0 false Thu Dec 27 21:52:16 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 27 21:44:36 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 27 21:51:44 -0800 2007 more...]]> 32326138 999723 36003 0618065822 9780618065820 4 <![CDATA[Fasting, Feasting]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168656684m/36003.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168656684s/36003.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36003.Fasting_Feasting 3.23 354 Fasting, Feasting, is the tale of plain and lumpish Uma and the cherished, late-born Arun, daughter and son of strict and conventional parents. So united are her parents in Uma's mind that she conflates their names. "MamaPapa themselves rarely spoke of a time when they were not one. The few anecdotes they related separately acquired great significance because of their rarity, their singularity." Throughout, Desai perfectly matches form and content: details are few, the focus narrow, emotions and needs given no place. Uma, as daughter and female, expects nothing; Arun, as son and male, is lost under the weight of expectation. Now in her 40s, Uma is at home. Attempts at arranged marriages having ended in humiliation and disaster, and she is at MamaPapa's beck and call, with only her collection of bracelets and old Christmas cards for consolation.

Uma flounces off, her grey hair frazzled, her myopic eyes glaring behind her spectacles, muttering under her breath. The parents, momentarily agitated upon their swing by the sudden invasion of ideas--sweets, parcel, letter, sweets--settle back to their slow, rhythmic swinging. They look out upon the shimmering heat of the afternoon as if the tray with tea, with sweets, with fritters, will materialise and come swimming out of it--to their rescue. With increasing impatience, they swing and swing.

]]> 2000 3 0 false Sat Sep 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 06:54:35 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 07:00:33 -0700 2008 more...]]> 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=271734