The Hero's Walk - Softcover
In a small, dusty town in India, Sripathi Rao struggles as a copywriter to keep his family afloat in their crumbling ancestral home. But his mother berates him for not becoming a lawyer, his son prefers social protest to work, his unmarried sister seethes with repressed desire, and his wife, though subservient, blames him for refusing to communicate with their daughter Maya, who defied tradition, rejecting her proper Brahmin fiancé for a Caucasian husband. Then a phone call brings tragedy: Maya and her husband have been killed in an accident leaving Sripathi to be their daughter's guardian. Sripathi reluctantly travels to Vancouver to bring the child back to India. Nandana has not spoken a word since her parents' death. Terrified, she resists her distant grandfather. Filled with guilt about his daughter but unable to express his feelings, Sripathi finds everything in his life falling apart. But with Nandana's arrival, his world slowly, unexpectedly, finds new hope. The Hero's Walk is a remarkably intimate novel that fills the senses with the unique textures of India. With humor and keen insight, Anita Rau Badami draws us into her story of the graceful heroism of the ordinary.
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Review:
The Hero's Walk, the second novel by Anita Rau Badami, is a big, intimate book, the kind that seldom strays beyond the doors of a single residence. Set in the sweltering streets of Toturpuram, a small city on the Bay of Bengal, The Hero's Walk, which won the 2001 Commonwealth Writers Prize for best book in Canada and the Caribbean, explores the troubled life of Sripathi Rao, an unremarkable, middle-aged family man and advertising copywriter.
From the Back Cover:
As The Hero's Walk opens, Sripathi's life is already in a state of thorough disrepair. His mother, a domineering, half-senile octogenarian, sits like a tyrant at the top of his household, frightening off his sister's suitors, chastising him for not having become a doctor, and brandishing her hypochondria and paranoia with sinister abandon. It is Sripathi's children, however, who pose the biggest problems: Arun, his son, is becoming dangerously involved in political activism, and Maya, his daughter, broke off her arranged engagement to a local man in order to wed a white Canadian. Sripathi's troubles come to a head when Maya and her husband are killed in an automobile accident, leaving their 7- year-old daughter, Nandana, without Canadian kin. Sripathi travels to Canada and brings his granddaughter home, while his family is shaken by a series of calamities that may, eventually, bring peace to their lives. --Jack Illingworth
“Engrossing . . . Fascinating . . . This book demands to be read straight through.”
–The Washington Post Book World
“DEFT AND KNOWING . . . Badami’s prose is lovely, almost poetic, and her ear for dialogue and the idiosyncrasies of her characters’ speech rings true. . . . An intimate look into the hearts and minds of a complicated, quarrelsome, yet deeply loving family.”
–Richmond Times-Dispatch
“COMPELLING . . .[A] LUSH EVOCATION OF INDIAN LIFE . . . [with] often laugh-out-loud funny dialogue.”
–salon.com
“A WONDERFULLY TEXTURED TALE whose poignant events are imbued with truthfulness . . . Badami joins the ranks of such internationally celebrated authors as Michael Ondaaje.”
–The London Free Press
–The Washington Post Book World
“DEFT AND KNOWING . . . Badami’s prose is lovely, almost poetic, and her ear for dialogue and the idiosyncrasies of her characters’ speech rings true. . . . An intimate look into the hearts and minds of a complicated, quarrelsome, yet deeply loving family.”
–Richmond Times-Dispatch
“COMPELLING . . .[A] LUSH EVOCATION OF INDIAN LIFE . . . [with] often laugh-out-loud funny dialogue.”
–salon.com
“A WONDERFULLY TEXTURED TALE whose poignant events are imbued with truthfulness . . . Badami joins the ranks of such internationally celebrated authors as Michael Ondaaje.”
–The London Free Press
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- PublisherVintage
- Publication date2001
- ISBN 10 0676973604
- ISBN 13 9780676973600
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages368
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Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0676973604xvz189zvxnew
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: New. " After the release of Anita Rau Badami's critically acclaimed first novel, Tamarind Women, it was evident a promising new talent had joined the Canadian literary community. Her dazzling literary follow-up is The Hero's Walk, a novel teeming with the author's trademark tumble of the haphazard beauty, wreckage and folly of ordinary lives. Set in the dusty seaside town of Toturpuram on the Bay of Bengal, The Hero's Walk traces the terrain of family and forgiveness through the lives of an exuberant cast of characters bewildered by the rapid pace of change in today's India. Each member of the Rao family pits his or her chance at personal fulfillment against the conventions of a crumbling caste and class system. Anita Rau Badami explains that "The Hero's Walk is a novel about so many things: loss, disappointment, choices and the importance of coming to terms with yourself and the circumstances of your life without losing the dignity embedded in all of us. At one level it is about heroism - not the hero of the classic epic, those enormous god-sized heroes - but my fascination with the day-to-day heroes and the heroism that's needed to survive all the unexpected disasters and pitfalls of life." ". Seller Inventory # 019110
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: New. 1st Edition. New - Unread - 1St Edition For More Information On Condition. Please See All Photos After The Release Of Anita Rau Badami's Critically Acclaimed First Novel, Tamarind Women, It Was Evident A Promising New Talent Had Joined The Canadian Literary Community. Her Dazzling Literary Follow-Up Is The Hero's Walk, A Novel Teeming With The Author's Trademark Tumble Of The Haphazard Beauty, Wreckage And Folly Of Ordinary Lives. Set In The Dusty Seaside Town Of Toturpuram On The Bay Of Bengal, The Hero's Walk Traces The Terrain Of Family And Forgiveness Through The Lives Of An Exuberant Cast Of Characters Bewildered By The Rapid Pace Of Change In Today's India. Each Member Of The Rao Family Pits His Or Her Chance At Personal Fulfillment Against The Conventions Of A Crumbling Caste And Class System. Anita Rau Badami Explains That "The Hero's Walk Is A Novel About So Many Things: Loss, Disappointment, Choices And The Importance Of Coming To Terms With Yourself And The Circumstances Of Your Life Without Losing The Dignity Embedded In All Of Us. At One Level It Is About Heroism - Not The Hero Of The Classic Epic, Those Enormous God-Sized Heroes - But My Fascination With The Day-To-Day Heroes And The Heroism That's Needed To Survive All The Unexpected Disasters And Pitfalls Of Life.". Seller Inventory # 002304
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks160383
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