$24.99
Hardcover
Night Jasmine Tree is a contemporary fiction describing the hidden backstory of an Indian man’s immigration to America because of caste conflicts—a story of love, forgiveness, and rise to the call of his innate heart. His actions become a cathartic triumph of the human spirit—moving, realistic, and uplifting.
Reviews:
Editor’s Choice in Fiction in Publisher’s Weekly Booklife section Jan 10, 2022:
In these tales of small-town life and piquant mischief, Majumdar layers in the innocence and intrigue … a vivid picture of India, replete with descriptions of festivals, foods, and customs, and succeeds in relaying the insidiousness of caste and its discriminatory effects in society. … Majumdar weaves a clear-eyed narrative that draws the reader in with its unfamiliarity and innocence. The novel’s story within-a-story style is reminiscent of the storytelling in ancient Indian epics like the Mahabharata, creating a welcome layered complexity. Lovers of immigrant stories and tales of childhood will enjoy this novel that is a nostalgic remembrance of a simple childhood and its eventual loss.
A richly layered novel of immigrant stories, steeped in memories of an Indian childhood. Great for fans of Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowlands, Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things.
Chanticleer International Somerset 2018 First Prize Award Review:
All readers will be able to relate to the hold the past has on us. … Debu Majumdar deepens characterization by connecting Shankar’s interior and exterior worlds. While contemplating existence through his main character’s eyes, the author gives us a work of lush and searing beauty, wondrously told with compassion, empathy, and truth. Night Jasmine Tree is highly recommended reading for all.
Description
Night Jasmine Tree describes the hidden backstory of an Indian man’s immigration to the U.S. The high caste protagonist fell in love with a lower caste girl in college, but she was rejected by his very conservative family. They married and emigrated, but deep emotional wounds continued to torment him even after they were well settled in the U.S. His struggles and mental tortures deepened with time for rejection of family responsibilities and as he had not kept his promise to his mother that he would perform their funeral rites. He had vowed to forget his family and never to return to India, which formed a formidable barrier for any action and rendered his life and living torturous.
Will the past destroy him, or can he find peace? But the past cannot be willed away. After retirement, he innocently tells his American grandchildren stories of his childhood and youth, but those poignant and heartwarming stories, touching and sublime by themselves, reveal his silent torment and struggles that originated in India—enhancing his sufferings. How long can the protagonist carry on his playful veneer with the grandchildren? Finally, because of his wife’s love of Indian cultural festivals and a realization of the ancient Indian wisdom, the protagonist is able to overcome all obstacles of familial rejection to love and forgiveness and rose to the call of his innate heart. His actions become a cathartic triumph of the human spirit—moving, realistic, and uplifting.
Additional information
| Weight | 1.42 oz |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 9 × 6 × 1 in |
