Swag to the 4th Power

Miss Timmins School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy

From Amazon:

A murder at a British boarding school in the hills of western India launches a young teacher on the journey of a lifetime
In 1974, three weeks before her twenty-first birthday, Charulata Apte arrives at Miss Timmins' School for Girls in Panchgani. Shy, sheltered, and running from a scandal that disgraced her Brahmin family, Charu finds herself teaching Shakespeare to rich Indian girls in a boarding school still run like an outpost of the British Empire. In this small, foreign universe, Charu is drawn to the charismatic teacher Moira Prince, who introduces her to pot-smoking hippies, rock ‘n' roll, and freedoms she never knew existed.
Then one monsoon night, a body is found at the bottom of a cliff, and the ordered worlds of school and town are thrown into chaos. When Charu is implicated in the murder—a case three intrepid schoolgirls take it upon themselves to solve—Charu's real education begins. A love story and a murder mystery, Miss Timmins' School for Girls is, ultimately, a coming-of-age tale set against the turbulence of the 1970s as it played out in one small corner of India.


Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

From the author's website

With the opening line of Silver Sparrow, “My father, James Witherspoon is a bigamist,” Tayari Jones unveils a breathtaking story about a man’s deception, a family’s complicity, and the teenage girls caught in the middle.

Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s families– the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode when secrets are revealed and illusions shattered. As Jones explores the backstories of her rich and flawed characters, she also reveals the joy, and the destruction, they brought to each other’s lives.

At the heart of it all are the two girls whose lives are at stake, and like the best writers, Jones portrays the fragility of her characers with raw authenticity as they seek love, demand attention, and try to imagine themselves as women.

Donatella Cooks by Donatella Arpaia
From Amazon

Dubbed "the hostess with the mostest" by Zagats, Donatella Arpaia is a ubiquitous and striking presence on the national food scene. Literally raised in the business, she knows precisely what makes a guest feel welcome, whether in one of her wildly popular restaurants or one-on-one in her home. Yet every day she meets would-be home cooks—sophisticated, confident, successful women with discriminating palates—whose confidence evaporates at the kitchen door.
For these discerning diners, Donatella has written Donatella Cooks, a sassy, spirited guide to cooking and entertaining with flair. Writing with humor, wit, and practicality, she covers every element of a great evening, from super simple yet delectable food to the perfect music, drinks, and décor. Her foolproof recipes are brimming with bold flavor yet so easy to prepare even novice cooks can pull them off without breaking a sweat. Whether it’s a romantic dinner for two or a cocktail gala for dozens, Donatella Cooks has the winning formula for the perfect evening.

An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy

Title: An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy
Publisher: Free Press
Published: April 2011
ISBN: 9781451608625
Pages: 336

An Atlas of Impossible Longing follows three generations of men in India from post World War I postcolonial period to after the Partition of India and Pakistan.  The book is divided into the story of Amulya, his son Nirmal, and an orphan Mukunda.  The title comes from a palm reading that Mukunda receives on a whim.

Amulya is a man before his time.  He moves his family (a wife and two sons, out of Calcutta to a Songarh, a town bordering on the jungle.  Here, he has all the space for his factory where he creates herbal remedies and medicines from plants he cultivates and studies.  Scorned by his relatives and prodded by his wife for moving to the wilds of Songarh, he predicts the town will one day be a important region where everyone clamors to love.  Though he loves the solitude and quiet provided by the slow pace of life, his wife Kananbala is slowly going mad with loneliness.  One morning one of his workers shows up with a local woman and a baby.  The worker begs for help with the baby; the woman claims it's his married son's child.  Amulya sends the child to an orphanage and pays fees for his sustenance.

Nirmal, the second son, studious and hardworking, is a mama's boy who keeps his mother company every evening.  After he gets married, Kananbala realizes he is withdrawing and would rather spend time with his new wife.  Shortly after, she develops fits of profanity and the family shuts her away to avoid talk.  Nirmal's wife Shanti dies in childbirth.  After her death, Nirmal travels and takes work as far from Songarh as possible to not have to deal with her death or their child. 

Mukunda, an orphan supported by Amulya, is adopted into the household after Amulya's death.  He isn't really treated as part of the family, more like an elevated servant.  Nirmal provides a home and education, but is unable to get any of the others, other than Bakul, to treat him as a member of the family.  As he and Bakul grow up with only each other as playmates, they are extremely close.  The family begins to worry about where the relationship will lead.  Nirmal decides to send Mukunda to school in the city to provide some space in the relationship.  Although very bitter about his treatment by Nirmal, Mukunda realizes as a grown man why he was sent away.  He is able to help Bakul and Nirmal several times.


The best novel I have read this year  -- actually in a couple years.  Each section is great with just enough action and pacing to keep the story moving.  With the amount of characters, it could get very confusing.  However, the way Ms. Roy uses each character helps the flow of the story without distracting from the plot.  She manages to make us aware of some of the cultural limitations placed on the characters -- mistreatment of Mukunda due to his unknown caste status, barrier to the development of a relationships Nirmal and Meera, a widowed distant cousin, and the strife between Nirmal & Kamal his brother towards the end.

** This review is based on a review copy provided by the publisher. **