The House of Blue Mangoes - by David Davidar (Paperback)

About the Book

"The House of Blue Mangoes" tells the story of the Dorai family in south India during a time of tremendous political and social upheaval. Sophisticated and filled with brilliant historical and emotional insight, it is enlivened by touches of humor and deeply felt tragedy that draw on the author's own family history.

From the Back Cover

In 1899, in the south Indian village of Chevathar, Solomon Dorai is contemplating the imminent destruction of his world and everything he holds dear. As the thalaivar, or headman, of Chevathar, he seeks to preserve the village from both catastrophe and change, and the decisions he makes will mark his family for generations to come.

A gripping family chronicle, The House of Blue Mangoes spans nearly half a century and three generations of the Dorai family as they search for their place in a rapidly changing society. The novel brings vividly to life a small corner of India, while offering a stark indictment of colonialism and reflecting with great poignancy on the inexorable social transformations of the subcontinent.

Review Quotes

"Riveting ... thrilling ... exploding with brilliant, polished passages." - Seattle Times
"Lush prose ... [Davidar] tells a fine, true, accurate tale with vividness and verve." - Baltimore Sun
"Lush, densely detailed, sweeping family saga ... a tale of grand scope." - Time
"Thoroughly engrossing ... Davidar's rich debut ... offers a sweeping and generous view of India's fractured history." - Publishers Weekly
"A solidly absorbing, richly informative Indian novel that should please... just about anyone with an interest in the sub-continent." - Washington Post Book World
"Page-turning readability ... manifests the graces and attractions of a lost time." - San Francisco Chronicle
"The House of Blue Mangoes is a perfect body of work, honed and polished to a high gloss" - London Times
"The book is huge in scope but intimate in detail . . . there are some magnificent set pieces" - Daily Telegraph (London)