Coromandel Sea Change

The Coromandel coast of southern India seems the ideal place for Mary and Blaise's honeymoon, but before long Mary begins to feel detached from her new husband and powerfully attracted to Krishnan, a local politician now in mortal danger

Although the plot of the celebrated English novelist ( Black Narcissus ) and memoirist's ( A House with Four Rooms ) latest effort is sadly stale, it is worth reading for its profusion of atmospheric delights. Godden invokes her beloved India in all its colors, creating a hotel by the Coromandel Sea and peopling it with staff and guests, mostly British and American, who enact some nefarious dramas. The benevolent Auntie Sanni, proprietor, watches knowingly as a diplomatic couple on their honeymoon comes to grief, rent by disparate visions of India: what stuffy Blaise sees as sordid, the incandescent Mary finds moving and even transfigurative. To Blaise's chagrin, Mary gets swept up in the local elections, dazzled by a politician whose spirituality changes her forever. Meanwhile, the aloof Olga Manning attends to mysterious proceedings in Calcutta, and a pseudonymous journalist dispatches his spies throughout the area. Adultery, blackmail and mortal tragedy further foment the story line. If the characters conform to stereotypes, they nonetheless quicken through Godden's lightning-fast portraiture and the consummate charm of her setting.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

They don't tend to write like this anymore, perhaps with good reason, but nonetheless the latest from Godden, unabashedly sentimental, is an entertaining if nostalgic read. Patna Hall, a popular hotel on the Coromandel coast of southern India, is owned and run by Auntie Sanni, an Anglo-Indian whose family has been there for generations. Auntie Sanni, a stereotype like all the characters here, is a wise and wonderful old woman who knows exactly what to do with misbehaving guests and servants. In the week the novel covers, a party of scholarly American women, a British honeymoon couple, a British diplomat and his wife, a journalist, a mysterious unattached woman, and the managers of a local political campaign are all guests. The hotel, right on the beach, where the waves are strong and the sea shark- infested, becomes the stage for the unfolding drama with parts for everyone, including the servants, a donkey, and an elephant. It is soon apparent to all--but especially to Auntie Sanni and Sir John and Lady Fisher, the diplomats--that the young leads, honeymooners Mary and Blaise, are having problems. Mary, entranced with the hotel and all things Indian, gets involved in the political campaign and is especially drawn to the candidate, handsome English-educated Krishnan, who is everything that snobby and insensitive husband Blaise is not. The campaign has its ups and downs as Mary gets closer to Krishnan--which is terrific because they are meant for each other--and as poor Blaise, obviously doomed, conveniently exits in a nasty accident just in time for Auntie Sanni to get the hotel ready for the next week's guests. Godden's lively narrative and her vivid descriptions of the people, places, and customs of a country she loves are more than fair compensation for dated style and stock characters. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

A week in the life of a luxurious hotel in southern India is the framework for Godden's new novel, set on the lush Coromandel coast. Patna Hall and its staff embody the wisdom and grace of the country, which is clearly beloved by the author. Beautifully drawn characters, rich in complexity, populate this novel, which takes us through a tumultuous marriage of a young British couple, a local political campaign, and assorted human foibles. The Indian characters in particular are portrayed with great dimension and vividness, providing sharp contrast to the rather chilly, oppressive British cast. Indeed, the novel contains layers of contrast between good and evil, seen in the depictions of India and Britain, in the local politics, and in the very essence of human nature. Godden uses dialog skillfully to add subtle texture to her narrative in a treatment that is both unconventional and powerful. Godden fans will be pleased by this novel, her first in seven years. Recommended for large fiction collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/91.
- Margaret Jourdain, Sonoma State Univ., Rohnert Park, Cal.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.