This book traces the story of a family in southern India, starting at the end of the last century until India’s birth as a nation. The author, David Davidar, is portraying a fictional family set in real history, and the book enables you to experience first hand the sights, sounds and even the smells of this part of India. As the story moves through the generations, your interest is skillfully carried over from the founding father, Soloman Dorai, to his son Daniel, who finds success in the apothecary trade and uses his wealth to rebuild the original family compound in their native village. The role of race and nationality in Indian culture is shown in all its complexity, both within their caste system and in their relations to the British, who are there administering colonial rule. Daniel’s son, Kannan, is the last major figure in the book. Actually employed by the British in their plantation system, he is a foil for the winds of social change which begin to make themselves felt at all levels of society. The characters are alive and the whole is a stirring and heartfelt realization of that time and that place.
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