Tishani Doshi

I enjoyed parts of The Pleasure Seekers—the wry humour, the lyrical writing, the neatly sketched characters—but it failed to come together for me into a satisfying whole. I felt as if Doshi should have either focused more on the first half of the story—that of Babo and Sian's cross-cultural romance—or expanded the book to become a true multigenerational epic. As it is, there's no real structure to the book, no sense of conflict, climax and resolution—there are many mini-conflicts, show more true, but none of them seem to build on one another. I wonder if perhaps Doshi let herself stay a little too tied to the biographical reality behind this roman à clef—if perhaps she could have allowed herself the freedom of a little more imagination, a little more fictionalising, which would have made for a tighter story. Still, a charming, pleasurable novel that makes for an easy read. show less

This novel flutters and dashes between Chennai, Pondicherry, Venice, and North Carolina, with its heroine Grace comfortable exactly nowhere. Deciding on childlessness and abandoning her American husband, Grace leaves the US and moves into her late mother's cottage in the Tamil Nadu beach town to take custody of her older sister Lucia, who had been placed at a residential school for girls with Down’s Syndrome funded by Grace’s parents. Before Grace’s birth, her Italian father had forced show more his wife to institutionalize Lucia and to excise her from the family, keeping her very existence a secret from Grace. The sisters’ new lives together are made easier by lots of money, a servant, Mallika, and by an ever-growing pack of street dogs that they tame. But Grace is both enchanted by and impatient with her sister and frequently leaves Lucia with a resentful Mallika to hang out with some footloose friends and a lover in Chennai. Living alone in India is difficult and scary for a young woman, even with her wealth, and Grace's discomfort with herself, her country, and her relationships with men leave her constantly teetering, not being able to decide on or commit to anything. Even a momentous return trip to Italy and to her father resolves absolutely nothing. The pace of the novel varies on Grace's global positioning between the worlds and countries of her family, living and dead.

Quotes: "The more family reunions I went to, the more I realized it had been my parents' intention all along to create a life that had nothing to do with their own beginnings."

"As a child I used to think the sea had a wall. The idea that it could be limitless was unfathomable." show less

This was a very enjoyable family saga. The story begins with Babo Patel's journey from India to London, where he meets and falls in love with Sian Jones, a Welsh woman. At the request of Babo's family, Sian comes to India where she agrees to remain for two years after their marriage in order to earn the family's approval of their union. What follows is a sweet love story, mixed with the clashing and merging of two very different cultures. Babo and Sian's family grows and changes through the show more years, but certain threads remain constant.

The descriptions of India vividly bring it to life, and the language of the novel is quite beautiful. The author sometimes uses made-up words (for example sha-bing sha-bang for sex) that give the novel a very unique personality. There is a mystical element woven into the novel; Babo's grandmother, Ba, can smell people coming to her from hundreds of miles away and appears to have some kind of sixth sense. There isn't really a particular plot to the novel; rather, it's a portrait of the evolution of a family over nearly half a century. It's also a look at the theme of having a "foot in each world," and this is represented in many ways throughout the novel.

Overall this was a really nice read, and I was sad to see it come to an end. show less

SMALL DAYS AND NIGHTS by Tishani Doshi
I so wanted to like this book. And I did –parts of it anyway. Doshi in some places (mostly descriptive parts of the book) is lyrical and enchanting, but in other parts (mostly conversations and character development) she is stilted and unpolished. Did she need a good editor? I also found the general outline of the book to be confusing as it jumped back and forth in time.
That said the maturing of the relationship between the sisters grows and changes show more in lovely ways. Both sisters and Teacher developed as the book progressed. Mother, however, seemed static, even as Grace reveals more and more of her personality and their relationship. Lucia was my favorite part of the book and was sympathetically drawn. I found my smiling as she made her wants and needs known.
Overall, I give the book 3 out of 5 stars for the parts of wonderful writing and Lucia. It is not a book I would recommend wholeheartedly.
3 of 5 stars show less