An enjoyable story of the lives and loves of three generations of an Indian family through the 20th Century. Not 'A Suitable Boy' but well written and a very satisfying read. ( )

The ‘impossible longings’ of this fine novel are caused by the social restrictions imposed on Indians of low caste, and on women, in 20th century India. The story is in three parts, set in the 1920’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. In part one, Amulya’s wife, Kananbala, forced to live in the remote village of Songarh, finds her life to be empty, apart from her son, Nirmal, and the strange doings at the Barnum house across the road (where she witnesses a murder). Kananbala gradually succumbs to dementia. Nirmal marries Shasti, who dies in childbirth. Bakul, Nirmal’s daughter, is brought up in Amulya’s household, along with the orphan, Mukunda, and they become inseparable, until Nirmal is forced by his brother and sister-in-law, to send Mukunda off to boarding school.
After graduating from school, Mukunda works for a shady property developer in Calcutta. He marries and has a son, but coincidentally is drawn into saving his old family home from the developer, by purchasing it and consequently plunging his new family into poverty and squalor. Mukunda is finally reunited with Bakul, his childhood friend. The characters, background and social tensions are all beautifully developed in this well written novel. ( )

Great, rarely do I get a book I cannot put down but this was one. Rather melancholy but a happy ending. ( )