- Hardcover: 266 pages
- Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; 1 edition (March 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1565123352
- ISBN-13: 978-1565123359
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.2 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 113 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #828,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
Originally published in India in 1996, this first novel is Badami's second to appear in the United States, after The Hero's Walk (LJ 3/15/01). Here she relates the story of Saroja, as told by her daughter Kamini and by Saroja herself. Kamini's memories are triggered when she learns of her mother's plan to journey across India without itinerary. Kamini's inability to contact her mother while she travels mirrors her childhood feelings of neglect and abandonment. In embarking on her travels, Saroja not only defies the narrow expectations of her parents, who pushed her into a loveless marriage and ended her ambitions, but she also breaks away from the expectations of her daughter. Although set primarily in India, this portrait of a mother and daughter transcends geographical limitations. And though the book bears some similarities to Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter (LJ 1/01), Badami provides no tidy resolutions to intergenerational and intercultural conflicts. Mother and daughter begin and end their stories alone. This thoughtful work is recommended for all public and academic fiction collections. Rebecca Stuhr, Grinnell Coll. Libs., IA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Badami's second novel explores the relationship of a mother and daughter, Saroja and Kamini. In the first half, Kamini comes of age among postcolonial India's railway colonies. Her father is often away, charting new frontiers for railway expansion, and she is left home with her mother and sister. She eventually leaves for Canada, where she remains wistful for the smells and sounds of India. Kamini worries when her mother suddenly departs for a trip across India, with only postcards marking her whereabouts. Saroja then speaks, telling her story of longing for a life independent of the demands of a husband and family. She recounts her loveless marriage and thwarted attempts to become a doctor, her often vicious commentaries earning her the nickname Tamarind Mem, after the sour fruit that grows in her backyard. Badami's brilliant and beautiful novel captures life in India--the musicality of the English spoken, the interactions with servants, the smells of rotting fruit in the market, the sweltering sun, and the constant moving about of a railway family. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
The year that I turned six, I began to sense a strange movement deep inside Ma's body, a pulsing beneath the skin. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The year that I turned six, I began to sense a strange movement deep inside Ma's body, a pulsing beneath the skin. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful trip to a far away place,
By
This review is from: Tamarind Woman (Hardcover)
I was sad to finish Tamarind Woman. It was that good. What struck me the most about this book is how alike we all are, even if we're from different parts of the world.The author skillfully weaves the present and different versions of the past together. Aunty Vijaya from the book remarks that memories are never the same between two people--"They are pictures we create in our hearts you see...and each of us uses different sticks of chalk to colour them." The dialogue is excellent. The characters and relationships are varied and interesting. The descriptions are vivid--"...the tree was covered in blossoms, fiery with colour sucked from the sun." As I was skimming the book to include a couple of my favorite sentences in this review, I caught myself re-reading it! I had to make myself stop. I'll recommend Tamarind Woman to my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and I'm going to add Badami's second book The Hero's Walk to my wish list right now. If you enjoy learning about other cultures or if you're just interested in human relationships, you'll enjoy this book.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well, the best books need a plot...,
By Amazonbombshell (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tamarind Woman (Hardcover)
The main problem with this novel is its complete lack of continuity. There's no plot, so the story consists almost entirely of flashbacks of the childhood through adulthood experiences of the two narrators (Saroja and Kamini, who are mother and daughter.) TAMARIND WOMAN is not meant, however, to be a thrilling tale, but rather an in-depth look at the tangled relationships of family life -- especially the inextricable bond between mother and daughter -- and in this it does succeed. It is not deeply psychological or intellectual (perhaps thankfully), but it is warm and well written, and ultimately very worth reading, especially for Baudami's loving and skillful portrait of her Indian culture.
3.0 out of 5 stars
I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could.,
By Lizzie "carebrite" (La Palma, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tamarind Woman (Hardcover)
This story starts out by the daughter telling the story of her life with her family and her time in India. It goes between current times and past life..Kamini lives with her mother, father and her sister Roopa in India. They spend alot of time changing places because her father is a Railway worker and they go to new towns so that her father can work. Kamini is a dreamer with a mouth.. She wants to go to college and not be married so young. The second half of this book is about the mother and how her life came to be and her life with the girls. Saroja the mother spends most of her younger life going to school, till her father decides it is time for her to married and stop school. So Saroja marrys a man and spend the next few years with him having two daughers. After her daughter she still wants her freedom and does things that cause gossip. When the girls move away and have grown up. Saroja decides to take a trip and see parts of India that she hasn't seen before. This story is well written, but at times I felt it went into the details of each charactor too much.
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