Serving Crazy with Curry

published	October 26th 2004 by Ballantine Books
binding	Paperback
isbn	0345466128 (isbn13: 9780345466129)
pages	272
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–...more [close] 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. [close]
date added	05-09-07 edit book

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Donna rated it:

(review of isbn 0749935197)

01/13/08

bookshelves: expanding-horizons, india

Read in January, 2008

Devi feels like a failure. She has no husband, no children, and now she’s lost her job too. She compares herself to her older sister Shobha, who appears on the surface to be the ideal traditional Indian wife, and finds herself wanting. She decides that life is no longer worth living, and carefully plans her suicide, an event that she wishes to proceed as painlessly and neatly as possible. But something goes awry:

“Death was supposed to have happened. She had chosen to die, but now she was...more Devi feels like a failure. She has no husband, no children, and now she’s lost her job too. She compares herself to her older sister Shobha, who appears on the surface to be the ideal traditional Indian wife, and finds herself wanting. She decides that life is no longer worth living, and carefully plans her suicide, an event that she wishes to proceed as painlessly and neatly as possible. But something goes awry:

“Death was supposed to have happened. She had chosen to die, but now she was alive, a survivor. What exactly had she survived? How was she supposed to deal with the failure to end her life as well as the failure of not being able to live it with any dignity?” [p. 34]

Serving Crazy with Curry is about Devi and her family. When Devi’s suicide plot fails, she adopts a vow of silence, returns home to live with her parents and begins to cook. Saroj and Avi immigrated to California from India many years ago, and Saroj has never truly settled here and still yearns to return to her homeland. Saroj’s mother Vasu comes to visit once or twice a year. The story is mostly about the relationships between these four closely connected women: Devi, Shobha, Saroj, and Vasu. Malladi did a wonderful job of painting these characters individually, giving them each a vibrant personality of their own. She seamlessly weaves in a compelling backstory for each of them that helps us to understand who they are and why they manage their lives the way they do. I was disappointed that the book was set in the U.S. (I was hoping it would be set in India), but Malladi brought plenty of rich Indian culture to the mix. Devi shops, prepares, and cooks fragrant and flavourful recipes, using techniques learned from her mother but always incorporating her own ideas for unusual ingredients. The author deals with Devi’s recovery in a sensitive and thoughtful fashion, delving deftly into the psychology of suicide and the dangers and obstacles that surround a survival. There were numerous times that I felt that the author was so close to grasping onto something truly deep and meaningful in this book, but somehow it quietly eluded her pen each time. Malladi, however, definitely has a talent for description and wordplay:

“She had to go. She could feel it all the way inside her where the small sparks of light were playing, trying to stimulate her heart, which was slowing down making her free, unfettered.” [p. 227]

I enjoyed reading Serving Crazy with Curry, but I frequently felt that this young author fell just a bit short of writing something magnificent, instead of something merely good. There was much to sink myself into, and yet the plot that floated around the main character often felt somewhat contrived and manipulative.

“I feel like a walking mass of pain, unable to understand my actions, yet feeling little remorse, which makes me feel guiltier. This is a vicious cycle I can’t break free of.” [p. 231]

This is the third of Malladi’s five published novels, which she’s been producing more or less annually since 2002. At only 33 years of age, I suspect that she has many more good novels to come, and that her skill will only increase. Definitely an author to watch....less

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