Tamarind Mem: Amazon.ca: Anita Rau Badami, Malika Mendez: Books

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Review

“A tremendous achievement -- a skillful and compassionate family saga that is personal, intimate, tender and revealing.” -- The Globe and Mail

“Intoxicating … an ambitious sweep of storytelling about family, about memory, about myth and history and the infinite interpretability of relationships.” -- Ottawa Citizen

“An engaging depiction of a daughter’s longing to know her mother and of our tendency to see things the way we want rather than the way they are.” -- Calgary Herald

“Tamarind Mem’s strength is in its depiction of family tensions, the elusiveness of memories and how dreams and disappointments are passed from one generation to the next as if they were family heirlooms.” -- The Gazette (Montreal)

"An exciting addition to the burgeoning tradition of Indo-Canadian writing that includes Rohinton Mistry, M.G. Vassanji and Shyam Selvadurai." -- Maclean's

"Badami weaves a tale of bittersweet nostalgia in her first novel, imbuing her descriptions of Indian domestic life with achingly palpable details as she explores all the small ceremonies that make family life so simultaneously rich and infuriating... A delectable book." -- Quill & Quire (starred review)

"This novel is a beauty... An absolute delight to read." -- Indian Review of Books

"A powerful story... it allows daughter and mother to each speak for herself, and the resulting ironies and differing perspectives make for a richly textured work." -- Books in Canada

"It is a book brimming over with smells, sounds and colours, putting the reader so firmly in place and time that you feel you are there. All in all, a lovely piece of work." -- The Washington Post --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Description

A wise and affectionate portrait of two generations in an East Indian family, Tamarind Mem is a beautifully evocative novel that explores the mutability of memory and unravels the deep ties of love and resentment that bind mothers and daughters everywhere.

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5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading, Oct 27 2001

By

Joanne Schweitzer (Grande Prairie, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tamarind Mem (Audio Cassette)

This is a wonderful story, told from two perspectives - mother and daughter. The novel is set in India and the cultural aspects are interesting as is the story; good characters. An easy, pleasant read.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 4.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightfully observed Indian tale, July 4 1999

By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Tamarind Mem (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful book from Anita Rau Badami. It is well written and insightful. The first half of the book is the story of an Indian daughter's childhood with her ascerbic mother and absent father. Beautifully observed. The second half is the mother's story - her side of it (a reminder that there are always two sides to every story). It explores the mother-daughter relationship as well as women's issues. Read it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Poignant, melancholy and delightful, Mar 9 2006

By kattepusen - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Tamarind Mem (Hardcover)

As most people take for granted, memories are triggered by the faintest occurences. There is the distinct smell, for instance, that suddenly takes youu right back to your grandmother's closets or your uncle's work shop - and just like that everything becomes almost photographic in how you remember certain instances, even though you have not thought about them for twenty years. How quickly we are seduced by nostalgia...But how true are these memories of ours? They might not be false, but they are certainly highly subjective. But does that matter?

This colorful novel tackles the perception of memories in quite a clever way. The first half of the book is the narrative of Kamini, a daughter who reminisce about her past growing up in India. Through her we get a feel for the culture, sounds, smell and a certain mood of a bygone era that is often romanticized (right after Independence). Furthermore, we get a peak into the relationships among the family members, the servants and the school teachers.

Early on, there is a distinct strain between Kamini and her mother, Saroja. She loves her and yearns for her affection; however, she resents her and her "irrrational" moods. The father is distant, even when he is home from his railroad work. Her superstitious ayah, Linda, is quite an interesting person - Kamini is scared of her tales of ghosts and bad spirits, yet she feels safe in her company. The author has eloquently captured the mind of a girl - her growing-up angst, her lack of understanding the happenings in her midst, and the invincability typical of her age.

In the second half of the book, the author switches the narrative to the mother, and we get her side of the story. How do her memories compare to those of her daughter? It is an intriguing account!!! We follow her from childhood being prepared for an arranged marriage to widowhood reflecting back on her life and making plans for her independant years ahead.

I highly recommend the book - it is a sumptious and warm read.

This first-time author has avoided the trap of spelling it all out and leaves her readers the option of reading essential information between the lines. I did wish there was a map included in the book though. The family moves around to various parts of India since they belong to the railroad, and unless you are familier with Indian geography, it is too easy to get lost in the names.

I am looking forward to reading more from Anita Rau Badami!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Poignant, melancholy and delightful, Mar 7 2006

By kattepusen - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Tamarind Mem : A Novel (Paperback)

As most people take for granted, memories are triggered by the faintest occurences. There is the distinct smell, for instance, that suddenly takes youu right back to your grandmother's closets or your uncle's work shop - and just like that everything becomes almost photographic in how you remember certain instances, even though you have not thought about them for twenty years. How quickly we are seduced by nostalgia...But how true are these memories of ours? They might not be false, but they are certainly highly subjective. But does that matter?

This colorful novel tackles the perception of memories in quite a clever way. The first half of the book is the narrative of Kamini, a daughter who reminisce about her past growing up in India. Through her we get a feel for the culture, sounds, smell and a certain mood of a bygone era that is often romanticized (right after Independence). Furthermore, we get a peak into the relationships among the family members, the servants and the school teachers.

Early on, there is a distinct strain between Kamini and her mother, Saroja. She loves her and yearns for her affection; however, she resents her and her "irrrational" moods. The father is distant, even when he is home from his railroad work. Her superstitious ayah, Linda, is quite an interesting person - Kamini is scared of her tales of ghosts and bad spirits, yet she feels safe in her company. The author has eloquently captured the mind of a girl - her growing-up angst, her lack of understanding the happenings in her midst, and the invincability typical of her age.

In the second half of the book, the author switches the narrative to the mother, and we get her side of the story. How do her memories compare to those of her daughter? It is an intriguing account!!! We follow her from childhood being prepared for an arranged marriage to widowhood reflecting back on her life and making plans for her independant years ahead.

I highly recommend the book - it is a sumptious and warm read. This first-time author has avoided the trap of spelling it all out and leaves her readers the option of reading essential information between the lines. I did wish there was a map included in the book though. The family moves around to various parts of India since they belong to the railroad, and unless you are familier with Indian geography, it is too easy to get lost in the names.

I am looking forward to reading more from Anita Rau Badami!

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