- Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Penguin UK; New edition edition (April 5 1988)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0140108599
- ISBN-13: 978-0140108590
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 1.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 113 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #932,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Clear Light of Day is an examination of contemporary India and a family history in which two sisters, Bim and Tara, learn that, although there will always be family scars, the ability to forgive and forget is a powerful ally against life's sorrows. Twenty years ago when Tara married, she left Old Delhi and a home full of sickness and death, while Bim continued to live in the family home taking care of their autistic brother, Baba. Now Tara has returned, her first visit in 10 years, for their niece's wedding. Bim refuses to attend; she can't visit their brother Raja who, like Tara, left her many years ago. Instead Bim dwells bitterly on her feelings of abandonment and the impact on her of her country's recent history: the violent conflict between Hindus and Muslims, the death of Gandhi and the ensuing struggle for political power and the malaria epidemic that killed so many. In Bim's presence, Tara once again feels "herself shrink into that small miserable wretch of 20 years ago, both admiring and resenting her tall striding sister", while "Bim was calmly unaware of any of her sister's agonies, past or present". With language that describes both the harshness and beauty of family and the land, Anita Desai takes the reader with Tara and Bim on their struggle to confront and heal old wounds. --Alex Freeman, Amazon.com
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Review
“A rich Chekhovian novel by one of the most gifted of contemporary Indian writers.” – New Yorker
“Anita Desai has created an entire little civilization here from a fistful of memories, from a patchwork of sickroom dreams and childhood games and fairy tales. Clear Light of Day does what only the very best novels can do; it totally submerges us. It also takes us so deeply into another world that we almost fear we won’t be able to climb out again.” – Anne Tyler, New York Times
“A wonderful novel about silence and music, about the partition of a family as well as a nation.” – New York Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
“Anita Desai has created an entire little civilization here from a fistful of memories, from a patchwork of sickroom dreams and childhood games and fairy tales. Clear Light of Day does what only the very best novels can do; it totally submerges us. It also takes us so deeply into another world that we almost fear we won’t be able to climb out again.” – Anne Tyler, New York Times
“A wonderful novel about silence and music, about the partition of a family as well as a nation.” – New York Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling,
By
This review is from: Clear Light Of Day (Mass Market Paperback)
This was a book that kept my interest from the beginning, in large part because of the expert characterization of the central characters. It is both depressing and optimistic; the characters mostly are constrained by their personality and history, yet at the end are able to transcend themselves. It seems that in returning to what they are attempting to escape from - the family - they are finally able to become whole. Their flashes of insight and the author's analysis may seem contrived at times, but it's difficult to imagine how it could be expressed better.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Patience Pays Off,
By Farah Ahmad (Montreal, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Clear Light Of Day (Mass Market Paperback)
I think Ms. Desai would capture the heart of any woman of Indian origin. The book does start of very slowly but nevertheless beckons your patience. Bimla, Tara, Raj and Mira Masi are not the most admirable characters, yet they touch you so. Despite the underlying depression, I could not help but smile!
4.0 out of 5 stars
The story line is slow very slow,
By
This review is from: Clear Light Of Day (Mass Market Paperback)
The main character is a manic depressive woman who is very annoyed with life because it is unfair, and she ended up in the wrong side of the table. So she resents everyone that happened to be lucky enough to avoid life traps and despises those who fell on them. Eventhough the book is beautifully written, the dark mood that the author impress on its main character, permeates to the reader and you become up caught in an atmosphere whereby reading is an effort, so each page develops slow, very slow.
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