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Sastra
Set in Trinidad and Canada in the 1950s, this moving and tender love story evokes a memorable portrayal of a brave young woman’s struggle between the traditional, collective Hindu society of her parents and her generation's world of individual destiny and responsibility. The village pundit warns Sastra's mother that her daughter's birth signs foretell two possible karmas: one of prosperous security if she keeps to the well-tried path of obedience to tradition, the other of mixed joy and misery if she should attempt to “fly” and follow her own desires. As Sastra finds herself faced with choosing between these two destinies, the novel explores the interaction between accidents and human responsibility, convention and change, and the problematic workings of fate.
278 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2007
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About the author
Lakshmi Persaud
5 books15 followersLakshmi Persaud was born in Tunapuna, in the village of Pasea, Trinidad. Her grandparents, Hindus from Uttar Pradesh, moved from India to the Caribbean in the 1890s.
She left Trinidad to do her BA (Hons) and her Ph.D. at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland and her Post-graduate Diploma in Education at Reading University, UK.
Dr Persaud taught at well-regarded grammar schools in the West Indies (Queen’s College in Guyana, Harrison college in Barbados and St. Augustine Girl’s High School in Trinidad).
She moved to the UK in 1974 with her husband, Professor Bishnodat Persaud, prominent economist, and her three children, Rajendra, Avinash and Sharda. Lakshmi wrote articles on socio-economic concerns for newspapers and magazines for many years, she also read and simultaneously recorded books in Philosophy, Economics and Literature for the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London.
She began a new career in the late 1980s - writing fiction. Her short story 'See Saw Margery Daw', was broadcast by the BBC World service on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th November 1995 .
Her first novel 'Butterfly in the Wind' was published by Peepal Tree Press in 1990. It was reprinted in 1996. It is still selling well and now in its third impression. 'Sastra' was published in 1993.
In October 1994, the Trinidad Guardian published the best seller list for Caribbean books published abroad. At the time Lakshmi Persaud had published two novels in the U.K. 'Sastra' was placed first on the list and 'Butterfly in the Wind', fifth.
'For the Love of my Name', her third novel, was launched in December 1999 and public demand has meant it has also had to be reprinted.
In March 2004, 'Raise the Lanterns High' was published by Black Amber and received excellent reviews in the UK, the Caribbean and internationally.
In addition, Lakshmi's books are now rated 'best-selling' by Amazon.co.uk.
There has been increasing recognition of Lakshmi Persaud’s work by academic institutions. Her novels are being used as texts in Caribbean and post-colonial literature courses in a number of Universities including: Warwick, Birmingham, Goldsmiths College (London), London Metropolitan, Washington, Toronto, Puerto Rico, California (Los Angeles), Miami and Mills College (California), and The University of the West Indies. Extracts from her novels have been used in English examinations in the Caribbean from '11+' to GCSE level.
In recognition of her work, Warwick University has recently established a 'Lakshmi Persaud Research Fellowship' at its Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural studies.
She left Trinidad to do her BA (Hons) and her Ph.D. at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland and her Post-graduate Diploma in Education at Reading University, UK.
Dr Persaud taught at well-regarded grammar schools in the West Indies (Queen’s College in Guyana, Harrison college in Barbados and St. Augustine Girl’s High School in Trinidad).
She moved to the UK in 1974 with her husband, Professor Bishnodat Persaud, prominent economist, and her three children, Rajendra, Avinash and Sharda. Lakshmi wrote articles on socio-economic concerns for newspapers and magazines for many years, she also read and simultaneously recorded books in Philosophy, Economics and Literature for the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London.
She began a new career in the late 1980s - writing fiction. Her short story 'See Saw Margery Daw', was broadcast by the BBC World service on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th November 1995 .
Her first novel 'Butterfly in the Wind' was published by Peepal Tree Press in 1990. It was reprinted in 1996. It is still selling well and now in its third impression. 'Sastra' was published in 1993.
In October 1994, the Trinidad Guardian published the best seller list for Caribbean books published abroad. At the time Lakshmi Persaud had published two novels in the U.K. 'Sastra' was placed first on the list and 'Butterfly in the Wind', fifth.
'For the Love of my Name', her third novel, was launched in December 1999 and public demand has meant it has also had to be reprinted.
In March 2004, 'Raise the Lanterns High' was published by Black Amber and received excellent reviews in the UK, the Caribbean and internationally.
In addition, Lakshmi's books are now rated 'best-selling' by Amazon.co.uk.
There has been increasing recognition of Lakshmi Persaud’s work by academic institutions. Her novels are being used as texts in Caribbean and post-colonial literature courses in a number of Universities including: Warwick, Birmingham, Goldsmiths College (London), London Metropolitan, Washington, Toronto, Puerto Rico, California (Los Angeles), Miami and Mills College (California), and The University of the West Indies. Extracts from her novels have been used in English examinations in the Caribbean from '11+' to GCSE level.
In recognition of her work, Warwick University has recently established a 'Lakshmi Persaud Research Fellowship' at its Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural studies.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 19, 2015
The fundamental problem about this book is that the eponymous heroine remains a cipher to the last. Her dilemma is that she comes from a traditional Indian family who want to arrange her marriage (this is 1950s Trinidad), yet she falls in love with a teacher. Given that the teacher represents the community's huge desire and aspiration for education, it is a complete puzzle to find that the section dealing with Sastra's university education in Ireland is almost a complete blank. Why did she go? What did she learn? We are never told. In the end, Sastra's aspirations seem to be limited to being a wife and mother. So why bother with university? How bizarre that a woman should let education have so little effect on her inner life and her perception of her self. How bizarre that this episode should be treated as an inconvenient interruption in her pursuit of marriage and children. What is she about, really? By the end of the novel, I couldn't really see any future for her. As a character, she is merely a woman 'in love' and does not have any other form of existence or self-expression. Disappointing.
April 17, 2016
It was slow at the start, but so beautifully written. A love story with a difference. Towards the end,I couldn't put it down, I just wanted to know what happened. Beautiful ending.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews