such a beautifully written book- it is no surprise that kiran desai won a booker prize for 'the inheritance of loss'.

the title itself hints at the deep melancholy that permeates this book from start to finish. the grey skies and incessant thunderstorms of the eastern himalayas and the dingy underworld of new york's kitchens manned by exploited illegal immigrants makes the perfect backdrop for a story that is saturated with sadness, not ordinary sadness but a much deeper, more profound sadness stemming from loss, loss of a way of life, loss of identity, loss of dignity, loss of the things that allow a person to maintain their hold on reality....


the story draws on common south asian diasporic themes such as anglophilia (and USA-ophilia??), seperation of families and internal conflicts, but there is no sense of repetition or unoriginality about 'the inheritance of loss'. the narrative is framed with cool humour and delicious wit....

my favourite novel since salman rushdie's 'the ground beneath her feet'