From Library Journal
Originally published in India in 1996, this first novel is Badami's second to appear in the United States, after The Hero's Walk (LJ 3/15/01). Here she relates the story of Saroja, as told by her daughter Kamini and by Saroja herself. Kamini's memories are triggered when she learns of her mother's plan to journey across India without itinerary. Kamini's inability to contact her mother while she travels mirrors her childhood feelings of neglect and abandonment. In embarking on her travels, Saroja not only defies the narrow expectations of her parents, who pushed her into a loveless marriage and ended her ambitions, but she also breaks away from the expectations of her daughter. Although set primarily in India, this portrait of a mother and daughter transcends geographical limitations. And though the book bears some similarities to Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter (LJ 1/01), Badami provides no tidy resolutions to intergenerational and intercultural conflicts. Mother and daughter begin and end their stories alone. This thoughtful work is recommended for all public and academic fiction collections. Rebecca Stuhr, Grinnell Coll. Libs., IA Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Badami's second novel explores the relationship of a mother and daughter, Saroja and Kamini. In the first half, Kamini comes of age among postcolonial India's railway colonies. Her father is often away, charting new frontiers for railway expansion, and she is left home with her mother and sister. She eventually leaves for Canada, where she remains wistful for the smells and sounds of India. Kamini worries when her mother suddenly departs for a trip across India, with only postcards marking her whereabouts. Saroja then speaks, telling her story of longing for a life independent of the demands of a husband and family. She recounts her loveless marriage and thwarted attempts to become a doctor, her often vicious commentaries earning her the nickname Tamarind Mem, after the sour fruit that grows in her backyard. Badami's brilliant and beautiful novel captures life in India--the musicality of the English spoken, the interactions with servants, the smells of rotting fruit in the market, the sweltering sun, and the constant moving about of a railway family. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers
Readers with their fingers on the pulse of Canadian literary fiction already know Anita Rau Badami, whose award-winning books are bestsellers there. But not as many Americans are aware of the quiet resonance and emotional impact of her prose, which has already drawn comparisons to that of Jhumpa Lahiri, Manil Suri, and Michael Ondaatje.

In her first novel, Tamarind Woman, she explores the connection between mothers and daughters, and the histories that shape their lives. Set in the railway colonies of India, the book begins from the perspective of Kamini, a strong, independent woman who has left her native India and moved to Calgary for graduate school. Her mother, Saroja, is nicknamed "Tamarind Woman" and lives up to her name, ever ready with an acid-tongued commentary. Kamini has always had a tortured relationship with her mother; she was "never sure about Ma's feelings" for her. "Her love￯﾿ﾽwas like the waves in the sea, the ebb and flow left [her] reaching out hungrily."

But what becomes apparent in the second half of Badami's book is that several factors have influenced the bitterness that has seeped into Saroja's life -- her thwarted desire to become a doctor and her loveless arranged marriage to an older man who is rarely home. Filled with poignancy, humor, and the exotic sights and smells of Indian life, Anita Rau Badami's Tamarind Woman will inspire readers of all ages to reflect on the lives of their own mothers and help them gain mutual understanding. In fact, it's a perfect Mother's Day gift for discriminating readers! (Spring 2002 Selection)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Set in the railway colonies of India, Tamarind Woman tells a story of two generations of women. Kamini, an overachiever, lives in a self-imposed exile in Canada. Her mother, Saroja, nicknamed Tamarind Woman due to her sour tongue, is trapped by the customs of traditional Indian life. When Saroja informs her daughter that she has sold their house and is going on a journey across India alone by train, both women are plunged into the past, confronting their dreams and disappointments as well as their long-held secrets." At the center of both their lives is Kamini's elusive father, an officer for the India Railway System. Often away from home working on the railroads, he is unaware of the secrets of his own household. He doesn't know that his wife disappears for days at a time, leaving Kamini and her favored younger sister in the care of their superstitious servant. Nor does he know the gossip surrounding his wife and the local mechanic. Nothing, however, escapes Kamini's notice. Only now, living in Canada, is she able to make sense of the eccentric family she's left behind. Only now, with her children grown and her husband long deceased, is Saroja able to make peace with her past.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Though it's being published in the U.S. after Badami's well-received second novel, The Hero's Walk, this is actually her first, covering terrain common to many first novels: the relationship between a mother and a daughter. The story of the Moorthy family is first told by Kamini, the elder of two daughters. Enrolled in graduate school in Calgary, Kamini sits homesick in her basement apartment, recalling her childhood from the birth of her sister when Kamini is six to the day she leaves for Canada. She describes a complex family and a conflict between parents that she barely understands a bitter mother and a father who's always away. Then her mother, Saroja, weighs in, broadening and deepening Kamini's story. Saroja is also the eldest daughter, a smart girl whose ambitions to become a doctor are subverted when her family pushes her into an arranged marriage to a man 15 years older than herself. Her marriage remains as stunted as her ambitions, and Saroja welcomes the attentions of a half-caste auto mechanic. She narrates all this to the women who share her train compartment as she tours places in India she could not visit while raising her daughters. Badami writes graceful, evocative prose and plays complex variations on her themes. All her characters are vibrant and deftly drawn, and her narrators' opposing points of view create a poignant irony. She might have trimmed away some of the many smaller stories to make room for the central drama, but that is a small complaint for a first novel that reveals so much talent. (Mar. 29) Forecast: Badami got lots of exposure with the publication of The Hero's Walk, and readers on the lookout for her next book will not be disappointed by this earlier effort. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Originally published in India in 1996, this first novel is Badami's second to appear in the United States, after The Hero's Walk (LJ 3/15/01). Here she relates the story of Saroja, as told by her daughter Kamini and by Saroja herself. Kamini's memories are triggered when she learns of her mother's plan to journey across India without itinerary. Kamini's inability to contact her mother while she travels mirrors her childhood feelings of neglect and abandonment. In embarking on her travels, Saroja not only defies the narrow expectations of her parents, who pushed her into a loveless marriage and ended her ambitions, but she also breaks away from the expectations of her daughter. Although set primarily in India, this portrait of a mother and daughter transcends geographical limitations. And though the book bears some similarities to Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter (LJ 1/01), Badami provides no tidy resolutions to intergenerational and intercultural conflicts. Mother and daughter begin and end their stories alone. This thoughtful work is recommended for all public and academic fiction collections. Rebecca Stuhr, Grinnell Coll. Libs., IA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews