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234 ratings, 3.94 average rating, 32 reviews
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published
by Milkweed Editions
binding
Paperback
isbn
0915943565
(isbn13: 9780915943562)
description
The 1947 Partition of India is the backdrop for this powerful novel, narrated by a precocious child who describes the brutal transition with chilling ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 340)
Read in August, 2005
I'd never have read this book if it wasn't for what this idiot did: http://www.montanasnews.com/ar...
Basically it was a book in the local high school's IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum. One of the mothers decided it was pornographic and demanded the school remove it from their curriculum. So, being the Indian Porn aficionado that I am (is there such a thing? There must be), I trotted of...more
Basically it was a book in the local high school's IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum. One of the mothers decided it was pornographic and demanded the school remove it from their curriculum. So, being the Indian Porn aficionado that I am (is there such a thing? There must be), I trotted of...more
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this book was completely amazing. i read it after seeing the movie that was based on it (Earth, in the trilogy of Fire Earth and Water) and it surpassed my expectations. you really get a sense of what it's like to have a childhood at the same time as a horrible, horrible war is going on, and none of it felt contrived. it was a somewhat heartbreaking story and i'm not sure how i feel about the end, but this is one of the best books i've ever read, and i recommend the movie too.
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Read in February, 2006
This book was unsuccessfully challenged in DeLand, Florida, so of course, I went out and read it right way.
Sidhwa tells the story of the partition of India through the eyes of young Lenny, who is a Parsee girl living in Lahore. This book is violent. There's talk of rape and sex. And oh, the violence. I can see why some people would want it banned, but it is no more violent than the actual events were. This was a hard book. It deals with this period of time with no background information. I ...more
Sidhwa tells the story of the partition of India through the eyes of young Lenny, who is a Parsee girl living in Lahore. This book is violent. There's talk of rape and sex. And oh, the violence. I can see why some people would want it banned, but it is no more violent than the actual events were. This was a hard book. It deals with this period of time with no background information. I ...more
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Read in March, 2008
This is a novel set in the Punjab during the partition of India. I liked the picture of this event described from a very personal and local point of view. There is a refreshing dearth of information about the big picture of colonialism and its aftermath; the picture of its effect on individuals is good and more distressing than a media or news approach. The story is narrated by a young girl, four years old when the book begins, and probably eleven or so by the end. This device was unsuccessfu...more
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This novel depicted the life of a girl in Lahore, India during the post-WWII political climate in India. Great Britan was releasing the colonies, and in response, India split and became two countries - India and Packistan. It also deals with the political fall out as people who had once been friends become divided by their religious beliefs.
The novel can be very broken and hard to read (it is told from the perspective of a young girl as she grows from 4 to 13). Once I was able to adjust t...more
The novel can be very broken and hard to read (it is told from the perspective of a young girl as she grows from 4 to 13). Once I was able to adjust t...more
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Read in July, 2008
No stars! Not a good book. I usually like books that incorporate history and fiction, which is what I think the author was trying to do. Unfortunately, she did not deliver! The time period she chose (Pakistan Independence movement) is interesting, and the premise of her fiction story was a great idea, but the story was not well-written, and she diverged at points when things started to get a little more exciting so much that it became distracting and often times, boring! I'm very disappointed si...more
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This is a novel about the partitioning of India and Pakistan told from the perspective of a young girl. It's a really good read but I also learned a lot about the history of that period that I didn't know. Definitely helped me understand the India/Pakistan conflict more. It was also made into a film called "Earth" as part of the trilogy by Deepa Mehta. The film was beautiful, but the book is more complex and subtle. The film stars one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my ...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Most people interested in the partition of India.
This was an interesting topic, which is why I decided to read the book. But I was disappointed that it wasn't better. It was a fictional account of the partition of India, hence the title, Cracking India. The story was told from the viewpoint of a young girl, too young to be telling such an important story, I thought. But the tales of violence among people who had lived together for years and years is a sad one. Why can't we all get along?
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Read in April, 2008
This is another book from the perspective of a child, and masterfully done: sometimes it is clear that the child is missing something that you, the reader, pick up on easily, but other times you only understand what she was missing in retrospect. This novel takes place in Lahore at the time of the division of India, and by situating it with respect to this one family and child, it truly portrays the horror of what occurred.
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recommends it for:
Anyone interested in India
I read this book for a college class - I remember liking it, but mainly it made me very sad. It's the story of the partition of India told from the viewpoint of a young girl, whose connections to the larger, more diverse community (through her Ayah and other people in her community) capture the effect of the partition on all the ethnic and religious groups.
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a novel about the violence of the partition of india and pakistan told from the point of view of a young girl. this story really shows how religion was deployed politically in the last days of the raj, and how social differences were manufactured for opportunistic purposes
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Read in November, 2008
This was a sad, though sometimes funny story. I didn't have the historical background to really understand the implications of what was going on in Lenny's life. The hardest part, though, was reading the accounts of mass genocide during the partition.
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Read in May, 2008
Very powerful! Tells the story of the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 through the eyes of an 8 year girl. You read about the terror, pain, and mass killings the Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus experienced when dividing these two countries.
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recommends it for:
South Asians
This book is also known as Ice Candy man and was made into the movie Earth-1947. Since my parents live through partition in Punjab, it was especially interesting to me to see it from a child's perspective as my parents were at that time.
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Read in January, 2007
I liked this book b/c it delivers history in the framework of a wonderful story. You learn about Pakistan and what happened after India gained independence. What was it like living through this period?
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This book was a chore to get through, but I'm glad that I did. I have a much better appreciation for the effects of the partition of India, especially the rise of nationalistic sentiments.
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Read in October, 2006
i only got to read the first few pages of it, but i intend to finish it someday. Deepa Mehta's film Earth is based on this book, and the film is excellent, so i'm sure the book is even better.
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone who loves history
I always enjoy her books, and am fascinated by everything that happened to India, Pakistan, and the Punjab region. This book paints an interesting picture, and I highly recommend it!
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Read in January, 2003
there is a lot of history within this novel, it forces you to look at what others have to suffer through...i wish everyone would read it at least once
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3.5 stars.
Worth reading, despite the 3 star rating. If not this book, it's worth reading something about the partition of India and aftermath.
Worth reading, despite the 3 star rating. If not this book, it's worth reading something about the partition of India and aftermath.
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