House of Blue Mangoes, The

Product Information

The planter isn't expected to be a man of culture shall we say?; 'Yes, I know, Major Stevenson asked me whether I read a lot, when he interviewed me. I said no, and he said, good, very good, planters are expected to get their boots dirty, not lounge around reading books." An Aesop: In-Universe, Helen and T.D. give the Blue Mangoes story a moral about how friends don't have to like the same things. And aside from all of this there's the Indian War of Independence as another layer, one we are told to ignore because Daniel does not like politics and hence Kannan doesn't either. Yet, the British identity conflict forms the basis of Kannan finding his place. This doesn't quite tie up. Usually when your lead characters don't care about something, you tend to not care too, so Freddie and the laddies and that goddamn Mrs.Stevenson (who ironically gets two chapters of character development when so many other characters could've used some!) don't bother you too much except as a bunch to be tolerated.

Despite the flaws in character development, Davidar's prose, for the most part, flows at a rapid, fluid clip. At times, however, his usually lyrical writing plods along at a most cumbersome pace --- a tiresomely detailed description of how to brew tea immediately comes to mind. But the author eloquently conveys the raw beauty and power of the Indian landscape, and the cycle of the seasons and day turning into night provide a sense of the wheel turning and the steady progression of time. Prefer? What is that? The name of your brother?" "No, "prefer" means you like one thing more than another. Later, Alice is visiting Helen, but she's preoccupied with Truman's preconceived notion of ice cream. She storms off and phones Truman, asking if it was a joke. He proves that it's not by asking his parents and them confirming that he doesn't eat ice cream, so she asks why he won't try some. He responds that he just doesn't think he'd enjoy it, then leaves to finish his dinner.Serious Business: Alice makes a huge deal over the fact that Truman refuses to eat ice cream, even referring to his preconceived notion as "prejudice".

The book might as well be called Dysfunctional Fathers and Submissive Mothers. I did have a problem with the way there was no strong motivation for Daniel and Kannan to return to Chevathar. I don't buy the 'male lineage love in DNA' crap. Daniel was pretty much brought up by his mother and his maternal grandfather, so why not show this loyalty to Nagerkoil, where his mother was from? Wasn't he 50% from there too? As for Kannan, there was no connection with Chevathar for him. Compounding the confusion, different resources might assign or allow for either plural depending on the writer’s preference: e.g., writers can use avocados or avocadoes.

Ratings and reviews

Thematically, the story is more about events than ideas, and more about a specific set of characters than about the meaning of these events and characters. Ultimately there is no resolution. We know the outcome of the history in which the story is set – a true history, but what is right and what is wrong, or whether Aaron’s engagement or Daniel’s sense of family and the personal is right or not is left open. Kannan finds a kind of sense of purpose in home – almost a Panglossian tilling of his garden: “I’m here, it is the place of my heart”, and perhaps that is the ultimate theme of the book – to stay home, and become yourself, and till your own garden/grow your mangoes. In any case, Kannan’ return home is reasonably satisfying as an ending, even if the ultimate struggles of his country are to continue beyond the setting of this story. Youth needed to think big, pour its considerable vigor and conviction into commitments that would never again seem as gripping or as essential."

Solomon Dorai is the head of the village and like his father and grandfather and countless others before him, he tries his best to keep the peace between people of the two main castes..Andavar and Vedhar, in the village. With their differing religious practices and places of worship, these two groups step warily around each other and try to co exist. But there is constant trouble and a time comes when none of the leaders nor the padre can stop the bloodshed that ensues. Resort to Pouting: Discussed in Blue Mangoes, when Gangoose McGee threatens to pout if Nicholas Mellow doesn't try a blue mango. Where the book fails, in my opinion, is taking off from where Chevathar ends. While mapping Aaron and Daniel's lives, there are too many elements coming into play, so all the 'showing' from the 1st part becomes outright 'telling'. Aaron and Daniel don't grow in front of your eyes, you are told they've grown up like that, so you can't quite relate to them, especially not when there's an illogical making-up happening between two brothers who loathed each other for life. The weakest character development was that of the senior Daniel. Perhaps, Ramadoss should've been given a voice and Daniel's story told from his eyes. Doraipuram as a section failed to impress.Set in a village in the erstwhile Madras Presidency, this is a story of three generations of a family.