The subject of cultural clashes and a stern Indian cultural examination has been discussed time aplenty through many books and unspectacular, simple movies over the years, yet few have come to the heights of Anita Desai's Fasting, Feasting. Without letting the deep-layered weight of her own story to sink the book into the opaque, removing the reader from relativity and going too far in metaphorism (as some authors have tendency to do), Anita's book is kept simple, neat, written with a clear outline that doesn't stretch much pages beyond necessity.
One can interpret many meanings from Fasting, Feasting, which tells the story about an average middle-class Indian family who live near the vicinities of the Ganges river. Mama and Papa are the parents; bestowed with three children, the eldest is Uma, who is not as pretty nor as educationally smart as her younger sister Aruna. Uma is almost in her late teens when the youngest of the lot, Arun is born. The 'fasting' section of the story focuses on Uma's travails- how her parents stopped her from continuing her convent education so that she would take care of the newborn Arun, and how she had two marriages attempts (one where the family were cheated their dowry money, and another that didn't last more than a day as the family found out that the groom has another wife) failing miserably, stamping her unlucky for marriage. This part of the book is a stunning exploration of the Indian mentality about women within the marriage system that sets alight in the culture; and being a fierce critic of business-like, systematic treatment of marriage within a considerable part of traditional Indian culture myself, I found the this part fierecely accurate and wonderful in bringing out the layers of emotions that woman ought to feel- and how the character of Uma, who is treated throughout like a virtual slave in her own house, an outcast in the society due to her marital status, copes through her mistreatment quietly and with resignation. The ending of the fasting part of the book is brilliant nevertheless, a great story worthy enough of a screen adapatation in the future. Parts of this section of the book is a bit stretched and long, but the overall impact is much more attaining than the shorter Feasting.
Feasting shifts focus upon Arun, who is sent to USA to further his education (not by his own choice). Through Arun, Anita represents another major problem with the Indian conservatives mentality- the sometimes obsessive pursuit of education glory and overseas education perceived with prestige by such families- Arun is virtually spoon fed on what he has to study, where he has to study, and what he should become, all within a set system. This results in Arun becoming a disconnected human being all in all, which is later explored in Feasting, which documents basically the summer he spends in a typical American family- the Pattons' household. Arun is fed to believe that US is a better place than India, but later he ends up questioning himself as he witnesses the family's unconnected way of mingling around each other, something which he is not used to. Arun settles into loneliness but it was a summer that he is forced to reflect on his own views, as he sees similar pictures to that he saw at home- only in a different way (the Pattons' daughter Melanie representing an westernized painting of Uma).
While the Indian setting shows the women 'fasting' and finding solace in matters such as religion, family responsibilities, the American women are depicted 'feasting' in a frantic search of one matter that will finally satisfy their purposes- such as Melanie's candy bar eating habits in search for a slim figure which ultimately results in a disaster of health, and Uma's sudden solace in the extrememity of religion and small souvernirs in amidst her desolated loneliness.
All in all, Anita Desai does a fantastic job in protraying a void that women in both cultures seem to be having, and this is definitely a fantastic book to read for any literature lovers out there.
Fasting, Feasting- Feast on this fasting.
One can interpret many meanings from Fasting, Feasting, which tells the story about an average middle-class Indian family who live near the vicinities of the Ganges river. Mama and Papa are the parents; bestowed with three children, the eldest is Uma, who is not as pretty nor as educationally smart as her younger sister Aruna. Uma is almost in her late teens when the youngest of the lot, Arun is born. The 'fasting' section of the story focuses on Uma's travails- how her parents stopped her from continuing her convent education so that she would take care of the newborn Arun, and how she had two marriages attempts (one where the family were cheated their dowry money, and another that didn't last more than a day as the family found out that the groom has another wife) failing miserably, stamping her unlucky for marriage. This part of the book is a stunning exploration of the Indian mentality about women within the marriage system that sets alight in the culture; and being a fierce critic of business-like, systematic treatment of marriage within a considerable part of traditional Indian culture myself, I found the this part fierecely accurate and wonderful in bringing out the layers of emotions that woman ought to feel- and how the character of Uma, who is treated throughout like a virtual slave in her own house, an outcast in the society due to her marital status, copes through her mistreatment quietly and with resignation. The ending of the fasting part of the book is brilliant nevertheless, a great story worthy enough of a screen adapatation in the future. Parts of this section of the book is a bit stretched and long, but the overall impact is much more attaining than the shorter Feasting.
Feasting shifts focus upon Arun, who is sent to USA to further his education (not by his own choice). Through Arun, Anita represents another major problem with the Indian conservatives mentality- the sometimes obsessive pursuit of education glory and overseas education perceived with prestige by such families- Arun is virtually spoon fed on what he has to study, where he has to study, and what he should become, all within a set system. This results in Arun becoming a disconnected human being all in all, which is later explored in Feasting, which documents basically the summer he spends in a typical American family- the Pattons' household. Arun is fed to believe that US is a better place than India, but later he ends up questioning himself as he witnesses the family's unconnected way of mingling around each other, something which he is not used to. Arun settles into loneliness but it was a summer that he is forced to reflect on his own views, as he sees similar pictures to that he saw at home- only in a different way (the Pattons' daughter Melanie representing an westernized painting of Uma).
While the Indian setting shows the women 'fasting' and finding solace in matters such as religion, family responsibilities, the American women are depicted 'feasting' in a frantic search of one matter that will finally satisfy their purposes- such as Melanie's candy bar eating habits in search for a slim figure which ultimately results in a disaster of health, and Uma's sudden solace in the extrememity of religion and small souvernirs in amidst her desolated loneliness.
All in all, Anita Desai does a fantastic job in protraying a void that women in both cultures seem to be having, and this is definitely a fantastic book to read for any literature lovers out there.
Fasting, Feasting- Feast on this fasting.
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