In the Convent of Little Flowers

October 20, 2008
Sundaresan (The Twentieth Wife
) bluntly questions how evolved the globalized world truly is in these stories of individuals trapped between India's archaic traditions and blitz into modernity. In “Three and a Half Seconds,” Meha and Chandar's arranged but loving marriage blossoms regardless of the unease they feel regarding the violent peculiarities of their son, Bikaner. As their humble but hard working lives wind down, they become victims of abuse in the home that they share with Bikaner and his wife. In “The Faithful Wife,” Ram, a journalist, is called home by his grandmother to intervene in a sati, the immolation of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre. The widow in this case is a 12-year-old girl. Finally, in “Hunger,” two women re-evaluate their own worth as well as their own definitions of love and happiness. The stories are sobering, all the more so for Sundaresan's nuanced character work and blistering social critique; she doesn't pull any punches in her heartbreaking and sometimes repulsive portrayals of oppressors and victims.

November 15, 2008
Sundaresan (The Splendor of Silence, 2007, etc.) returns to short stories to chronicle the often extreme changes in contemporary Indian society.

For the most part, the author narrates her stories from the perspective of modernized or Westernized Indians trying to come to terms with the rural traditions they have left behind. In "Shelter of Rain, " a young woman who had been adopted out of an Indian orphanage and raised by white parents in Seattle receives a letter from her biological aunt and remembers some of the conditions of her early childhood. Others are more brutal —the narrator of "Fire " returns from America to her native India to confront her grandmother after learning about her younger sister Kamala 's death. The grandmother had led a group stoning against Kamala and her Muslim boyfriend because she feared the shame that their marriage would bring on the family. Similarly, in "The Faithful Wife, " a young reporter leaves the city when his grandmother tells him that their village is planning to burn a 12-year-old widow alive on her husband 's funeral pyre, in order to honor a centuries-old tradition. Other characters have a difficult time accepting the loss of tradition. Nathan, a new grandfather in "The Most Unwanted, " must come to terms with his illegitimate grandson, now living in his house. The grandfather resents the boy for what he perceives to be his daughter 's mistakes. And Meha, in "Three and a Half Seconds, " narrates a tragic story of moving her family to Mumbai from their rural rice farm, where her son becomes corrupted by the modern lifestyle and turns into a shallow monster.

Best at its most brutal, the shocking imagery saves this often overwritten collection from succumbing to immigrant clichs so common in contemporary South Asian fiction.

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January 22, 2009
Verdict: From a few small sparks, Sundaresan illuminates the lives of Indian women at home and abroad facing issues of new freedoms afforded by new vistas and those trapped by the old traditions. She creates compelling characters with vivid settings and real issues. Truly satisfying fare for fans of world literature. Background: Sundaresan (The Feast of Roses) began this volume of short stories because of a contest that had a theme of immigrant life in America (specifically Seattle). Previously, her work has derived from her childhood experiences in India. Not until she heard a story about a girl who had been adopted from India did she feel comfortable enough to pen "Shelter of Rain." Then, a newspaper article, an Internet forward, and a conversation with friends sparked other story ideas, out of which Sundaresan weaves the wonderful narratives here.-Cynde Suite, Bartow Cty. P.L. Syst., Cartersville, GA

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