About reading

An opportunity to listen to the author of Fasting, Feasting.

 Fasting, Feasting is a novel written by Anita Desai. She is an hindi  writer who lives in the USA, where she works as a teacher at University.

The novel is a very illustrative story about simple life in India. It is the story about a family , the parents , two daughters and one son. It is set in India and depicts a totally dysfunctional family where Mama and Papa are obsessed with marrying their daughters (the attractive Aruma, and the older but much plainer, unattractive spinster Uma ), and  dedicating their lives and the lives of all others in the household to take care of the late-born son , Arun.

The novel tells two separate stories, the first part is set in India and is developed around Uma, a homely nagged daughter. She is unmarried and takes care of her demanding parents.

The second part revolves around the star of the family: Arun, he goes to college in the USA but he is  in terrible trouble and unhappy with his life.There is a big contrast between the three brothers:  Uma, is treated in an oppressive way by her parents, looking for a husband for her over and over again . We see her being rejected and suffering the pains of being an Indian woman who is not chosen as a wife by a man. Aruma, is a pretty girl and everything is easy for her. She gets a “good” marriage and lives in Bombai with her hausband and her children.Arun is the luckiest person of the family, only because he is a boy. He is sent to the USA but he is unhappy with his way of living there.

Anita is too critical with the way of living of Americans . A constant theme is the purchasing, preparation and consumption of food, so it is ironic that at the end, the only person left with some picture of improvement and hope is the American daughter, Melanie, recovering from her bulimia.

I didn’t like this book, I do not think it is really a novel, it is a series of sad episodes.  The characters don’t do anything to change their future. It is a  pessimistic, unsatisfying, poor  and simple story.

Little remains to be said about these three titles which have been read by millions of readers all over the world.

I just want to invite you to visit the writer’s webpage, you can access it by clicking the picture below. I know some of you have read at least one of the novels and we would like you to send your review.

Do you know that Stieg Larsson had planned to write more books to continue the story? It is said that  he was writing the fourth one when he died.

If you are one of the few who have not read them yet you can find them in the school library.

We must thank María Jesús Menéndez, Ana Toraño and Alejandra García for their help. They have written some pages of the boy’s diary.

Director: Bryan Singer.

Cast: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh and  Bill Nighy.

Plot: In Nazi Germany during World War II, as the tide turned in favor of The Allies, a cadre of senior German officers and politicians desperately plot to topple the Nazi regime before the nation is crushed in a near-inevitable defeat. To this end, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, an Army officer convinced he must save Germany from Hitler, is recruited to mastermind a real plan. To do so, he arranges for the internal emergency measure, Operation: Valkyrie, to be changed to enable his fellows to seize control of Berlin after the assassination of the Fuhrer. However, even as the plan is put into action, a combination of bad luck and human failings conspire on their own to create a tragedy that would prolong the greater one gripping Europe.

Fasting feasting portrays the big contrast of life’s standards between India and the USA. We read about a traditional family who has three siblings: Uma, Aruna and Arun.

Uma is trapped at home following the old Indian traditions. She runs the house with the help of her mother and she is forced to quit her studies. Her parents want to fix her marriage so that she becomes a good wife.

On the other hand, her sister Aruna is married and has a wonderful life in Bombay.

Lastly, Arun does what he fancies and is seen as the rebel and excentric in the family. He is studying hard in order to get a good degree because his father thinks that it is mandatory for a man to be well prepared. This is the reason why they send him to study in America, a country that he will find astonishing in terms of freedom and self-indulgence. Something very different to what he was used to back home.

By reading the back cover of the book you might  get the idea that this book is about two different women in two different countries. Far from that, I think they turn out to have parallel lives, deprived of ambition, love and interests.

I find there is more to this story than meets the eye; cultural references are scattered all over the book: values, beliefs, gender, status… Don’t miss the opportunity to read it.

Comments, articles and presentations on any topic related to the story will be welcomed.

Some ideas:

• Similarities and differences between Arun’s mother and Mrs Patton.
• Similarities and differences between Uma and Melanie.
• Religion, which in the book is mainly seen through the eyes of Mira-masi.
• Gender differences: Arun vs Aruna/Uma.
• Any topic related to the countries where the story is set: customs, languages…

This video might be helpful.

I think “The Secret Garden” is a good story: a girl who nobody loves, without parents, goes to live with her uncle, an unhappy man with a very big house and a very sad story in his life.

There she meets Collin, her unhealthy cousin, and Dickon , who will become her best friend.
Dickon teaches Mary that life is the most wonderful thing that you can have: if you want to be happy, you must love everything around you. The world is wonderful, life is wonderful… when Mary and Collin understand that, their lives change forever.

Director: Gus VanSant

Cast: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin and Diego Luna.

Awards:  won 2 Oscars. Another 34 wins and 48 nominations.

Plot:  the story of Harvey Milk and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California’s first openly gay elected official.