A debut novel tells the story of young Sampath Chawla, a postal worker who never feels as though he fits into the small Indian town into which he is born, and one day climbs up a tree, only to become a famous holy man. 50,000 first printing. Tour.
In her dazzling, much-heralded debut novel, Kiran Desai tells a wryly hilarious and poignant story of life, love, and family relationships-simultaneously capturing the vivid culture of the Indian subcontinent and the universal intricacies of human experience. Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is the story of Sampath Chawla, born in a time of drought into a family not quite like other families, in a town not quite like other towns. After years of failure at school, failure at work, of spending his days dreaming in the tea stalls and singing to himself in the public gardens, it does not seem as if Sampath is going to amount to much. "But the world is round," says his grandmother. "Wait and see! Even if it appears he is going downhill, he will come up on the other side. Yes, on top of the world. He is just taking the longer route." No one believes her, until one day Sampath climbs a guava tree in search of peaceful contemplation and becomes unexpectedly famous as a holy man.
Sampath's newfound fame sends the tiny town of Shahkot into turmoil. His feisty sister falls in love with the very unsuitable Hungry Hop Ice Cream Boy; a syndicate of larcenous, alcoholic monkeys terrorizes the pilgrims who cluster around Sampath's tree; his father attempts to turn the orchard into a highly profitable carnival scene; and an overzealous spy determines to get to the bottom of it all and, to his consternation, achieves this goal in a most unpleasant way. In short, none of Kiran Desai's outrageous characters goes unaffected as events spin increasingly out of control.
"Lush and intensely imagined. Welcome proof that India's encounter with the English language continues to give birth to new children, endowed with lavish gifts."--Salman Rushdie
"Desai is a lavish, sharp-eyed fabulist whose send-up of small-town culture cuts to the heart of human perversity."--The New Yorker
"[Desai's] novel stands as a meticulously crafted piece of gently comic satire--a small, finely tuned fable that attests to the author's pitch-perfect ear for character and mood, and her natural storytelling gifts.... [An] enchanting debut."--The New York Times
"A voice, and a huge imagination, leap from the pages of Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard.... Desai creates a whole tableau--like a medieval tapestry in which all the people and animals start moving and speaking-affectionately describing a village atmosphere and the familial relationships within it."--The New York Times Book Review
"So fresh and funny and delicious that it defies comparison."--The Times (London)
"There is so much to admire in this charming book, dainty in its construction but ballasted by real emotion, that to call Desai a young writer of promise would do her a disservice. On this showing, she is already a finished article."--The Sunday Telegraph (London)
"Ms. Desai mocks pious enthusiasm, official incompetence, domestic confusion, young love, marriage customs, sacred monkeys, and a few subsidiary targets. She is a delightfully funny, amiable satirist, with the Puckish view that 'this their jangling I esteem a sport.'"--The Atlantic Monthly
"A delicious blend of humor and magic, hilarity and wisdom-and unexpected poetry. Kiran Desai's language will continue to delight you long after you turn the last page."--Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
"With this radiant novel, Kiran Desai parts the waters. Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard evokes a bright, buoyant world, and the warmth and generosity of her writing makes for a joyous debut."--Junot Díaz
"A hullabaloo of a debut from a vibrant, creative imagination."--Gita Mehta
"Desai's book is a festival of comic eccentricity.... The novel exudes charisma, poetry, and joy in language. It's a sparkling debut."--The Baltimore Sun
"Clearly envisioned and opulently told.... Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is as memorable as its title. With it, Desai joins the ranks of Anglo-Indian writers who have energized English literature with their imaginative, complex storytelling."--The Chicago Tribune
"Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is an exuberant romp full of whimsy
