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266 pages hardcover
Finished books available
US: Algonquin Books, Spring 2002
Canada: Penguin
UK: Bloomsbury, Fall 2002
France: Éditions Philippe Rey
India: Penguin
Germany: Bertelsmann
Serbia: Monoimanjana Publishing
(Photo: Richard-Max Tremblay)
Anita Rau Badami’s first novel was the hugely successful bestseller Tamarind Woman. Her bestselling second novel, The Hero’s Walk, won the Regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Italy’s Premio Berto, and was named a Washington Post Best Book of 2001. It was also longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction, and shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize. Both novels have been published in many countries throughout the world. In November 2002, Badami participated in the Salon Belles Étrangeres in Paris. In 2005, she was a guest of the Turin Book Fair. Her third novel, Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?, was released in 2006 to great acclaim and has been published in several languages.
a novel by Anita Rau Badami
A BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT PORTRAIT OF TWO GENERATIONS OF WOMEN
- A Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, Spring 2002
- A W H Smith Travel Read-of-the-Week, UK
Set in the railway colonies of India, this is the story of Kamini and her mother Saroja, nicknamed Tamarind Woman due to her sour tongue. While in Canada beginning her graduate studies, Kamini receives a postcard from her mother saying she has sold their home and is travelling through India. Both are forced into the past to confront their dreams and losses and to explore the love that binds mothers and daughters everywhere.
Lyrical, compassionate, and wise, Tamarind Woman is a powerful novel about family, memory, and the traditions that tear us apart and bring us together.
PRAISE FOR TAMARIND WOMAN
“Splendidly evocative.... As much a book about the universal habit of storytelling as it is about the misunderstandings that arise between a mother and daughter.” — THE WASHINGTON POST
“A tremendous achievement-a skilful and compassionate family saga that is personal, intimate, tender, and revealing.” — THE GLOBE AND MAIL
“Intoxicating...an ambitious sweep of storytelling about family, about memory, about myth and history and the infinite interpretability of relationships.” — OTTAWA CITIZEN
“Compelling.... Dishing out often laugh-out-loud funny dialogue, [Badami] finds a wicked absurdity in the traditions of India, though the comedy masks larger, more persuasive social conflicts.” — SALON.COM
“Tamarind Woman allows the reader to travel inside an India rarely revealed. Ms. Badami's detailed descriptions of social customs and events are as enriching as they are beautiful.” — RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
“Exquisite...a swirl that should be gulped in one sitting.” — EDMONTON JOURNAL
“Bittersweet.... With often stunning, poetic prose, [Badami] gives us an intimate character study of two women.” — MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE