Cry, the Peacock

by Anita Desai

Cry, the Peacock is the story of a young girl, Maya, obsessed by a childhood prophecy of disaster. The author builds up an atmosphere of tension as torrid and oppressive as a stiffling Indian summer, both in the crowded, colourful cities and the strangely beautiful countryside.

Genres: Fiction, India, Literature, Indian Literature, Classics, Novels

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Anita Desai was born in 1937. Her published works include adult novels, children's books and short stories. She is a member of the Advisory Board for English of the National Academy of Letters in Delhi and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in London. Anita Mazumdar Desai is an Indian novelist and Emeritus John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been shortlisted for the Booker prize three times. Her daughter, the author Kiran Desai, is the winner of the 2006 Booker prize.

Reviews

[Sundarraj Kaushik · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is about a lady who has been brought up by a doting father without being exposed to the realities of life. When she gets married and comes with her husband she is unable to adjust to what she considers cold shouldering by her husband.
Eventually she ends up killing her husband and ends up in an asylum
A thoroughly avoidable book.

[Anjali · Rating 3 out of 5]

its nice, she aptly illustrate patriarchal culture of the anglicized women of the indian society.

[Vivek Tejuja · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beauty of an Anita Desai novel is that it is. It exists. It takes its time to breathe, to soak in, for readers to discover it, and then work its way into their minds and hearts. That is what an Anita Desai novel looks like, feels like, and well, is.

Her books aren’t easy reads. Perhaps nothing happens in them on every page or even every couple of pages, but that’s how it is, and as a reader over the years of reading her again and again, I have learned to admire what I see before me. Yes, I shall sing praises and yes, I shall gush because I don’t see enough people doing that.

Cry, the Peacock is the first novel of hers. Published in 1963, a story of a young woman Maya, who is obsessed by a childhood prophecy of disaster. She lives life on the precipice of it coming true in her head and how it all plays out one Indian Summer with her husband Gautama who is radically different from her.

Anita Desai’s characters have set motives most of the time, and when they don’t is when you’re flummoxed but you’re in for the ride anyway – for the writing that gingerly sneaks up on you and takes you by the horns. The book is full of metaphors and expectations. Expectations that one has from life, and people in it. It is about what you start with and how it all ends (or so it seems at that time).

Cry, the Peacock is a book about so much longing and sensitivity that it is surprising that it doesn’t become sentimental or maudlin at all. Anita Desai’s prose is imaginary, reckless, cautious, and also extremely precise. In less than 200 pages or so she says what she has to, her characters charm and equally annoy you, and her writing mesmerises you. One must read Anita Desai with a lot of time on hand, and when you aren’t rushed to read. Her books demand that time and attention, forever oscillating between hope and hopelessness.

[Aamil Syed · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring and slow that it numbs one's mind and puts one in a waking coma. So over-dramatic that it makes one dizzy. So agonizingly uneventful that you could skim through the entire book and not miss much.

I read through the first 20 pages with much enthusiasm, but it quickly turned into revulsion for the style of writing employed here and I skimmed through several chapters only to find that the subject hadn't changed at all. Then I skimmed some more and came to the 'climax' which was just as boring as the rest of the book.

I think I did well to not waste more than an hour of my time on this piece of horse poop.

[Taranum · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I come across a book that I have read a long time back( such as this one), there are not many outpourings to give. Instead, there is a vague memory of this book issued from the college library, the portrayal of a husband-wife relationship( indiscernible at the time), and the imagery of a peacock shriek. This is surprising that from the written word, I carry an image of a "sound", that is the peacock's shriek. Since I do not own a copy, I guess it is time that I get one, and write a detailed review on Goodreads.

[Mikayla Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anita Desai, in her wondrous, modernist style details the gorgeous story of a young girl plagued by a prophecy of fatal disasters. I read this alongside Virginia Woolf's novels. The two are often compared, and I highly suggest reading them together.

[Dibyajyoti Baisnabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing of the book is brilliant. It pulls you into the atmosphere of the book. Anita Desai is a master storyteller. The way she has weaved this story is great. If you are a Virginia Woolf fan , I think you will love this book.

[ACJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mum's old copy of this book and it seems obvious that it was prescribed to college lit majors- she had underlined every mention of the "drums" and the ominous "dancer". A very awkward book that really tries hard to be a stream of conscious one but fails quite a bit. The obscure vocabulary also feels forced and superfluous.
A very weird book on the whole, not exactly what I'd call enjoyable.

[Bhavesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is very interesting book

[lalith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blisteringly nostalgic in every page.

[Ekta Kubba · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't read the whole book. It was so depressing; haunted with loneliness and depression. At a certain point i even felt that my mind will go numb. So skipped a lot of pages. It was so slow that I felt restless. I've read 'Fire On The Mountain' by Anita Desai. It is one of my favourite books. That was the only reason I considered this book with which to start a new year. But I can only say that it was a very bad choice.

[Gaia]

Maya’s sense of isolation in Crying of the Peacock is really striking. Despite having servants, a large house, and freedom from financial worries, Maya is trapped in a world of her own emotional turmoil, loneliness, and unfulfilled desires.

Desai does a wonderful job of showing how isolation can take many forms—it's not just about being physically alone, but also about feeling disconnected from those around you, even if you're surrounded by people.

[Ridha Fathima · Rating 2 out of 5]

The language is very advanced and at times incomprehensible for the layman reader. Is it worth dredging on with it inspire of that? If you are a student of English, definitely. If not, i don't think so. The narrative is very difficult to follow, but if you like a bit of abstract and convolutedness in your novel, this might be for you.

[Maya · Rating 1 out of 5]

A novel about a young girl, Maya, obsessed with a childhood prophecy of disaster. Maya is lonely and married to a man much older and different to herself. The book wasn’t for me, without a clear narrative and forced mysterious tone.

[Aslam · Rating 3 out of 5]

In hindi adition

[Ariffa Jarena Banu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maya...

[Arkish · Rating 4 out of 5]

We say opposites attracts.
But do opposites stay?
Do opposites comfort?
Do they align with stars?
With false horoscopes?
With so much of love,
But no love for other?

[Jai Singh Gurjar]

Cry The Peacock is the story of a young and married girl Maya who is always hungry for love. In childhood she lost her mother that's why she is nourished by her father only. Her brother resides in US for his own destinies. She married to a lawyer Gautam who couldn't give her love she needed. She is much haunted by a prediction of the albino astrologer since his childhood that after four years of their marriage either her husband or she will die. She is so much afraid of this prediction that whenever she listens to the crying of Peacock she feels much more near to death. And one day she totally becomes insane. Once she asks Gautam to accompany her to go to the roof and there she pushes Gautam down to the roof and he dies. Finally Maya is taken as an insane from her house by Gautam's mother and his sister Nila.