Anita Desai’s
Fasting, Feasting, published in 1999, was the third of her novels to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Like much of her fiction, it features the Indian middle class, but is also partly set in the United States, a juxtaposition that sharpens her observations of both cultures. The novel tells the story of two families: one Indian, provincial, clinging to traditional behaviours and values, the other modern, American, conforming to all the stereotypes of Western consumerism. Passing from one world to the other is Arun, son of the Indian household, who is sent to the US for his university education. The novel is curiously structured into two uneven parts, the first section, set in India, being more than twice as long as the second, American narrative. Ostensibly,…
1888 words
Citation: Sceats, Sarah. "Fasting, Feasting". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 October 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5181, accessed 25 April 2024.]
