- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (1 Mar 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099289644
- ISBN-13: 978-0099289647
- Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.4 x 19.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 493,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Diamond Dust & Other Stories
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Anita Desai, in a succession of fine novels and short story collections written over almost 40 years, was one of the first writers from the sub-continent to introduce Western readers to post-Independence India. In Diamond Dust, her latest collection of stories, she expands her geographical and cultural terrain and, with her customary skill and an often sly but tender wit, homes in on the little and larger pinpricks of daily life.
In "Winterscape", a quietly haunting tale, two Punjabi village women try to make sense of the chilly world inside and outside a snowy Toronto window; in several other stories it is summer heat that becomes the catalyst. An ageing couple are stuck in a stultifying Delhi by the visit of an old Oxford friend, who trades on his charm; the family in "Five Hours to Simla", caught up in a road-raging traffic jam, are distracted by a perambulating Universe of hawkers, beggars and hungry curs; a scorcher of an evening on the Cornish coast causes a young couple nothing but misery; young Polly at summer camp in Massachusetts, has fallen under the thrall of Art in the form of her art teacher, until her Miss Jean Brodie enthusiasm takes on the disturbing shape of Miss Mabel Dodd.
Desai's wonderfully deft characterisation and telling dialogue, and the visual precision of her small-scale worlds--little absurdities of manner and mood, small acts of cruelty, intentionally crossed lines, the unheard of cries for attention--are what give her work such pleasure and humane significance. If occasionally the plot lines become too strained, this weakness is more than compensated for by the sheer affectionate regard in which she defines the frailties and expectations of her characters. --Ruth Petrie
Amazon.co.uk Review
Anita Desai, in a succession of fine novels and short story collections written over almost 40 years, was one of the first writers from the sub-continent to introduce western readers to post-Independence India. In this, her latest collection of stories, she expands her geographical and cultural terrain and, with her customary skill and an often sly, but tender wit, homes in on the little and larger pinpricks of daily life.
In "Winterscape", a quietly haunting tale, two Punjabi village women try to make sense of the chilly world inside and outside a snowy Toronto window; in several other stories it is summer heat that becomes the catalyst. An ageing couple are stuck in a stultifying Delhi by the visit of an old Oxford friend, who trades on his charm; the family in "Five Hours to Simla", caught up in a road-raging traffic jam, are distracted by a perambulating Universe of hawkers, beggars and hungry curs; a scorcher of an evening on the Cornish coast causes a young couple nothing but misery; young Polly at summer camp in Massachusetts, has fallen under the thrall of Art in the form of her Art teacher, until her Miss Jean Brodie enthusiasm takes on the disturbing shape of Miss Mabel Dodd.
Desai's wonderfully deft characterisation and telling dialogue, and the visual precision of her small-scale worlds--little absurdities of manner and mood, small acts of cruelty, intentionally crossed lines, the unheard of cries for attention--are what give her work such pleasure and humane significance. If occasionally the plot lines become too strained, this weakness is more than compensated for by the sheer affectionate regard in which she defines the frailties and expectations of her characters. Ruth Petrie --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Short stories are for many people an obstacle. Yet a truly great author can take you places is less words, not needing the whole space and time of a novel. Anita Desai is one of these. Every story is developed enough for you to be touched by the characters. Her style is flowing and easy, and altough Desai describes many different cultures and many different sorts of people, it seems as if she has spread angel dust over them all. I felt their soorow and joy, smelt the dust and heat. It was wonderful, and any fear of short stories is illiminated by Desia magic touch.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Diamond Dust is full of treasures of short stories!
16 May 2007
Format:Paperback
If you don't know Anita Desai, the Indian-German writer and author, you should get to know her. She might be the next Nobel Prize winner in literature. This compilation of short stories was picked up by me at a drugstore for only a dollar. The short stories include in this selection are Royalty, Winterscape about an Canadian Indian man and his unusual parentage, Diamond Dust which is truly a tragedy about a beloved animal, Underground about a British couple traveling abroad, The Man Who Saw Himself Drown is an unusual but entertaining story, The Artist's Life, Five Hours to Simla or Faisla, Tepozlan Tomorrow, and The Rooftop Dwellers. Desai's writing style is packed with details and information about the characters, the setting, and the story involved. Desai's writing style is easy to read but you have to read closely to really appreciate her style and language use. I loved Winterscape the best so far, broke my heart in Diamond Dust, was amused by a man who saw himself drown and lived to tell about it, and I'm working through the rest but I bet she doesn't disappoint her readers.
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