Anita Desai's new book, hailed as "unsparing, yet tender and funny,"* brilliantly confirms her place among today's foremost Indian writers. FASTING...
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Aug 20, 2008
Philip
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In her novel, Fasting, Feasting, Anita Desai eventually accomplishes what many writers attempt and then fail to achieve. She uses light touch, simple language, uncomplicated structure, but at the same time addresses some very big issues and makes a point.
Uma and Arun are children of Mamapapa, the apparently indivisible common identity that parents present. These parents, however, are not at all alike. Mama is protective, perhaps selfish, and not a little indolent. Papa is a parsimoni More...
Uma and Arun are children of Mamapapa, the apparently indivisible common identity that parents present. These parents, however, are not at all alike. Mama is protective, perhaps selfish, and not a little indolent. Papa is a parsimoni More...
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Aug 06, 2011
All dysfunctional families are dysfunctional in their own special way…
Uma, a myopic and mentally deficient girl, gives penetrating insight into her Indian family. Her dominant father asserts his iron will over his family. Her obsequious mother enforces the father’s wishes, helping to force a rigorous education on the quiet son and arranged marriages on her two daughters. Through Uma’s eyes, we see the disastrous consequences of failed arranged marriages, the unfairness of prejudice, and the repr More...
Uma, a myopic and mentally deficient girl, gives penetrating insight into her Indian family. Her dominant father asserts his iron will over his family. Her obsequious mother enforces the father’s wishes, helping to force a rigorous education on the quiet son and arranged marriages on her two daughters. Through Uma’s eyes, we see the disastrous consequences of failed arranged marriages, the unfairness of prejudice, and the repr More...
Jan 24, 2012
Lady
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Fasting, Feasting tells the story of the two main characters, Uma and Arun, in two parts. Uma, the eldest daughter in the family, is clumsy, myopic, prone to fits, and largely unsuccessful in life (report cards at school, cooking, marriages where her family is duped resulting in lost dowries and humiliation) though not for lack of effort or enthusiasm to succeed on her part. She thinks of her parents as a single entity – mamapapa – and after two failed marriages, mamapapa decide to stop making a
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Jan 01, 2012
Wanxuansoh
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(A review from a 14 year old girl)
I had to read this book for school and I read it initially, with unwillingness. (I don't like to be forced to read books that aren't of my preferred genre)
I started reading this book, expecting absolutely nothing from it but before long, I found myself laughing like a mad person. Being a freethinker, I liked how Mira-masi (Uma's aunt) was a pilgrim who devoted herself to religion (or more specifically,to her chosen deity, to her Lord Shiva) and More...
I had to read this book for school and I read it initially, with unwillingness. (I don't like to be forced to read books that aren't of my preferred genre)
I started reading this book, expecting absolutely nothing from it but before long, I found myself laughing like a mad person. Being a freethinker, I liked how Mira-masi (Uma's aunt) was a pilgrim who devoted herself to religion (or more specifically,to her chosen deity, to her Lord Shiva) and More...
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Aug 11, 2011
Fasting, Feasting tells the story of a unmarried woman Uma, who waits hand and foot on two parents who continually abuse her emotionally and through benign neglect. I enjoy reading about different cultures. I have enjoyed other novels featuring life in India, but Fasting Feasting is the first disappointment.
Poor, poor Uma. she suffers because she is a girl, and a tall, ungainly, unattractive girl at that. Her parents are so eager to marry her off, they allow themselves to be swindled out of More...
Poor, poor Uma. she suffers because she is a girl, and a tall, ungainly, unattractive girl at that. Her parents are so eager to marry her off, they allow themselves to be swindled out of More...
Jan 16, 2011
Sonia
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I read this as part of my Reading Group with Walthamstow Library. It was very definitely a book of two halves – or more like a book of two-thirds and then one third, LOL.
The first part of the story centres around Uma, a (now) middle-aged spinster, living in India with ‘MamaPapa’, her parents who never leave each other’s side, thus seemingly one entity. Uma is the oldest of three children. Her thick glasses, plain looks, below-average intelligence and lack of knowledge of how to attr More...
The first part of the story centres around Uma, a (now) middle-aged spinster, living in India with ‘MamaPapa’, her parents who never leave each other’s side, thus seemingly one entity. Uma is the oldest of three children. Her thick glasses, plain looks, below-average intelligence and lack of knowledge of how to attr More...
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Oct 04, 2009
Becky
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Having recently read The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, I was eager to pick up Anita's novel. Although written by mother and daughter, there really are many similarities in their writing styles, and in their messages about the similarities and differences between the India and Indians of our perception, and those of Empire or America and their lives. In the end, Fasting and Feating demonstrates in two parts: 1) set in India and 2) set in the United States, that both lives are filled with
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Oct 15, 2011
Vyjayanthi
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This book is a subtle statement on nourishment and deprivation in two different worlds....
The social impoverishment suffered by Uma and social expectation imposed on Arun are both harsh each trying to escape the oppression rather than collide. That is so embedded in India, the infinite nuances of accommodating the oppression of culture rather than changing it. The death of the most eligible bride Anamika and the haunting search for a God by Mira Mausi. Religion being the only s More...
Jan 09, 2012
I loved this book. From the first page, I was captivated by the dynamics of this family. Uma, the daughter whose role was to take care of her parents and the household, was well rounded and always sympathetic. I wanted so much for her to move beyond the confines of the house but that was a western wish. This story clearly shows how one thing affects another when dealing with a formal hierarchy of control. I really appreciated the idea of Mamapapa as one person. Isn't that the case in so ma
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Apr 18, 2011
Lilyrose
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Fasting, Feasting has long been on my list of books I've wanted to read, for two reasons. One, because Anita Desai is considered one of the best Indian writers and it seemed almost blasphemous that I had never read her books. Two, because this book was shortlisted for the Booker prize in 1999. Fasting, Feasting didn't disappoint me, but it isn't the flawless masterpiece it could have been either.
Set for the most part in India, Fasting, Feasting starts out as a chronicle of the life o More...
Set for the most part in India, Fasting, Feasting starts out as a chronicle of the life o More...
Aug 09, 2011
Leonie
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"Fasting Feasting" is another one of these novels which describe the overwhelming weight and influence tradition and the concept of social image play in the lives of many Indian families.
Parents are despotic rulers (especially the father), daughters are considered less important and all that counts is to marry them off into a family who has a good image and wealth (if possible). Education and/or emotions are factors that hardly count compared to the possibility of a " More...
Parents are despotic rulers (especially the father), daughters are considered less important and all that counts is to marry them off into a family who has a good image and wealth (if possible). Education and/or emotions are factors that hardly count compared to the possibility of a " More...
Jun 06, 2011
Adrian
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the main character in this book, uma, seems to be a very squishy person in her family. she obeys all order from her father like all other members of the family does. Uma is the eldest of 3 children, she has a sister, Aruna and a brother, Arun. i feel very bad for Uma, she isn't smart and she isn't pretty like her sister Aruna. then, she doesn't get as much love as her younger brother Arun, which makes her feel worst about herself. like her, i have 2 siblings, but i'm the youngest of 3 children.
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Mar 07, 2011
Heather
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My thoughts are a bit up and down with this book. I found the 1st section fascinating and irritating at the same time. Sometimes I really struggled to get into it and yet at other points I became totally absorbed. The writing style is very easy and fluid but I had issues with the tense that each chapter started in, which seems to disappear. I kept wanting to correct the first couple of lines in each chapter.
I thoroughly enjoyed the second section - Arun's summer with the Patton fami More...
I thoroughly enjoyed the second section - Arun's summer with the Patton fami More...
Oct 30, 2010
Indu
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The beauty of the book is the intricate and fine detailing of the very familiar scenes and people around us. Familiarity is probably the best tag line. We can easily relate to the scene described. The people whose mannerisms and behaviours that so irritated or amused us are on display. Really if there's one element in the story telling that kept me with Anita Desai, it's the utter ease of her craft with which she describes those domestic scenes as if she's mopped it up from our eyes.Brilliant ey
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Aug 08, 2011
Desai's writing is always beautiful, illuminating and worth reading, but I was disappointed by the cliffhanger feeling. It not so much left me hanging as wondering why it was organized with 9/10s of the book following the frustrated, anonymously tragic life of the slow daughter in India and the final smidgen about the bewilderment of the brother who transplants to the States. It felt disconnected and unsatisfying because there were so many vignettes and points being made, but no common thread
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Mar 24, 2009
Saima
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A story about a family and their three children. Arun, the son moves away to the US for further studies, Aruna the younger daughter gets married and again moves away to the US and Uma the eldest daughter still lives at home with her parents. I feel quite frustrated for Uma's character, treated as a slave by her parents, not allowed to get a job, still waiting to get married ... she isn't even allowed a pair of glasses to wear - grr! Overall an ok book to read but felt quite frustrated at the sto
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Jan 31, 2011
Leah
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I was bought this book as a present a while ago, and I knew very little about it or the author. The cover picture is very inviting and reminded me of my own time in India, those warm, earthy tones and splashes of colour.
We are transported into the life of a family in India, where 2 sisters, Uma and Aruna, live with MamaPapa, a fusion of 2 people who, although individuals, present a force of tradition that dictates the family's way of life. Into this situation is born a son, Arun, a boy who More...
We are transported into the life of a family in India, where 2 sisters, Uma and Aruna, live with MamaPapa, a fusion of 2 people who, although individuals, present a force of tradition that dictates the family's way of life. Into this situation is born a son, Arun, a boy who More...
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Feb 06, 2012
Lee
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I really did like this story and I recommend it. Anita Desai is an excellent writer. This story was quite sad. Most of the book is set in India and tells the story of the oldest daughter in a family. Her much younger brother goes to school in Massachusetts and the end of the story is about a summer of his life, there. I liked the part about India best even though there were some very sad aspects of it. The sense of place is masterfully and elegantly drawn in that part of the book.
Dec 28, 2009
Mary
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Anita Desai offers some good writing in Feasting/Fasting. She does not, however, integrate the two main story lines of the novel into one. Her stories of Uma on the one hand and her young brother Arun in America on the other hand are written independently of the other. Her story telling of the two halves is outstanding. Most modern novelests would have integrated the two halves into some kind of counterpoint.
May 16, 2011
Paul
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Great character development, and it was a great way to earn some insight to a culture different than mine. Unfortunately, I read this book at a time in my own intellectual development that it was just too difficult to wrap my mind around what the world Arun, Uma, and Aruna are living in. It is worth a second read, with a better look and understanding of what India looks like.
Jul 25, 2010
Deana
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The first half of the book was really good; I loved the descriptions and the vivid imagery used. I could easily picture India. The second half, however, seemed to begin at a randome point and ramble on until the end. It all tied together at the end somehow, but it was definitely not what I expected after reading a previous novel by this author.
Mar 02, 2011
Ipodshuffle266
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I enjoyed this book, although I admit it was a bit dull for me at times, most likely because I didn't understand it. The one thing I really enjoyed about this book was the comparison of American and Indian cultures. It was also fascinating to read about American culture from the perspective of a person from a different country.
Jul 16, 2010
Sarah
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I had to read this book for school, and i had to force myself to complete it. The writing style was choppy, and the characters were...bothersome. All i learned about culture in India is that it is hard to be a women that is not that bright. I could have assumed that without reading this book. I would not recommend this.
Dec 03, 2008
Sarah
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This is a Booker finalist, but I can't see why... Plodding, chopped up in a strange way, it dedicates the first 3/4 to one very slap-able character, then ends with a second portrait of equal misery. The message is, I think, that it's still hard to be a woman in India today, particularly if you're not very bright.
Jul 22, 2011
Histteach24
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Loved the first part-explored the life of an Indian spinster sister and the control her parents have over her life. Great description of a woman's worth-solely marriage. Yet I didn't like the second part about the brother. I think it was describing the gluttonous culture of Americans? Overall poetically written.
Jul 05, 2011
Its a really good book.You get completely involved with the characters in the book and feel like reaching out to them as if they truly exist. 'Uma' depicts the painful life of most of the women all over the world. It is the right combination of all elements a good book should contain:)
Aug 26, 2009
Debbie
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Parts of the book I found compelling, and the descriptions of life in India fascinating. The second part, in Massachusetts, was interesting in the way that it's always interesting to see how others view us - but I think Jhumpa Lahiri does a better job of describing similar experiences.
May 08, 2010
Joy
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Like another of my favorite authors, Zadie Smith, Anita Desai writes a gorgeous sentence. As a character/cultural study, this is a very interesting book. I must confess I tend to be more of a plot woman, so this left me a little unsatisfied, but still, beautifully done.
Oct 05, 2009
Nettie
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Although I enjoyed the characters in this book, the story left me wondering if anyone in this family was ever happy?! An interesting commentary on what tradition and family dictate to us as happiness, and how it often conflicts with the individual wants and desires.
Jan 14, 2009
Erin
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Good, but forgettable. I thought Uma was an interesting character, and I like that it demonstrated how women in both India and the US suffer because of cultural expectations. However, Lahiri and Divakaruni address similar themes, and I prefer their prose.
