| This is a hliarious book set in a remote part of the north of India, south of the Himalayas. The book starts with an unbearably hot summer where the people in the town of Shahkot are dying for the monsoon rains to start. The suffering, irritations and frustrations this waiting brings on are described in humorous detail.
Then the story is set to usher in the birth of Sampat. As he grows inside his mother Kulfi, she feels a strange sort of craving hunger. She crosses the threshhold into an obsession, scouring the hills and mountains for herbs, vegetation and animals to cook. The main part of the book is concerned with Sampat's dislike of the business of living around people with expectations of him and making a living. He wants to escape all this and the boring job his father has secured for him at the post office as a clerk. He escapes one day and makes himself a home on a tree in a guava orchard at the foothills of the mountains. Unfortunately the world follows him. People flock to him. They dub him a wise man and listen to him. The monkeys that have been plaguing the town of Shahkot also flock to him to share the food offerings that are made to him on a daily basis. | ||
|
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - upbeat Time/era of story - 1980's-1999 Ethnic/Regional/Religion Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Has magical powers? Yes Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - society How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 10 () Mountains/Cliffs Yes Mountains: - climbing with ropes Forest? Yes Small town? Yes Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
||