My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I first fell in love with Mandana's writing after reading a bunch of short stories by her in an anthology published by Unisun Publishers sometime back. Among the stories in the book, Mandana's beautiful words and stories stood out.I promptly copied a few passages that I found riveting into my book I keep for chronicling memorable writing i come across. And then ...boom.. Tiger Hills happened and she got catapulted into literary stardom.I have been wanting to read this book ever since i attended her book's launch in Chennai, and when I found a copy in my library ,I promptly picked it up. Set in Coorg, Tiger hills is the gut-wrenchingly sad tale that chronicles the lives and times of Devi, the fiery Coorg, Devanna ,her childhood companion, Machaiah, the famed Tiger-killer and their children. The book sprawls languorously across vast time periods (1800's to second world war) and is a beautiful essay in complex human emotions.
A saga of unhappiness is unleashed in the lives of the protagonists ,because of circumstances that are not under their control, really. Mandana's writing is magic:it is like perfectly tempered liquid chocolate waiting to crystallize into perfectly formed chocolate chunks. Coorg's gorgeous topography comes alive in her descriptions.Though a tad slow towards the end( the reason I had to reduce the rating to 4 stars from five I had initially planned on giving it), I enjoyed reading the book immensely. Devi has to be one of the strongest heroines I've encountered in a book in the recent times.Mandana has carefully sculpted her personality,making everything "grey" and not just simple black and white. I loved how Coorgi traditions and folk stories were woven beautifully into the narrative.
Tiger hills is a literary triumph, a celebration of meandering plot and lush words : an absolutely stunning debut novel. Highly recommended to all lovers of historical fiction.
I had read the book last year and had enjoyed it..Coorg has been on my to visit places since!
ReplyDeleteDo check my review here
http://jbabel.blogspot.com/2011/02/tiger-hills-by-sarita-mandanna.html
Cheers
Jyoti..It is a beautiful book, na? Heading over to read your review.
ReplyDeleteI want to read this one soon. Thanks for reminding me about this book.
ReplyDeleteVibha..Do read it! pure awesome!
ReplyDeleteHi Bhargavi..I am yet to read Tiger Hills. Have heard lots about it. It sounds good. Great review.
ReplyDeleteHey Rachna..Thanks for dropping by..Its a beautiful book !
ReplyDeleteI have recently finished this and also loved it, my review is already written and I hope to post it soon.
ReplyDeleteLindy .. Good to see you here ! Hope you had a good break.. Do post the review soon..
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