- Hardcover: 364 pages
- Publisher: ISIS Publishing (Aug 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0753172178
- ISBN-13: 978-0753172179
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,973,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
One Hundred Shades of White
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Product Description
Review
‘An absorbing novel about mothers, daughters, food and truth.’ Closer
‘A rich, evocative tale.’ Company
"A heart-warming read about families, forgiveness, carving futures and filtering truth." Guardian
‘A great read. Fast, funny and full of life’ Shyama Perera, author of I Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet
‘A genuinely moving novel…like the bottled spices that play such a role in the story, this has all its ingredients in just the right quantities to spirit away all negative emotions.’ Daily Express
‘A luscious book, made lush with spices. Kindnesses and friendships abound, but so do hardships and hard knocks’ Oxford Times
‘She writes evocatively about childhood and there are passages of tight and lyrical immediacy…Moving description packs a powerful punch in this book about family, forgiveness and the power of truth.’ Guardian
‘A carefully woven tale that’s exceedingly good’ Company
‘A dynamic author.’ Good Housekeeping
‘A sensuous and poignant novel…enchanting.’ Sainsbury’s magazine
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.Daily Express
A genuinely moving novel
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was attracted to this book, partly because of the media hype surrounding the extraordinary means to which the author had to go to get her first novel published; and partly because I welcomed the refreshing concept of a story centred around an Indian family in the UK who were from the south of India in general, and Kerala in particular. The glossy book cover enticed me, decorated with vibrant pictures of iced biscuits and cakes.
Overall, the book was enjoyable and descriptive. One could almost hear the sizzling of mustard seeds and green chillies, and inhale the pungent aromas of lime pickle.
Ms Nair's style of writing is of a good standard, albeit inconsistent. It was interesting to read about the same events being visualized alternately by Nalini and her daughter, Maya.
There are elements of magical realism in the book, although not always convincing, and nowhere near on the scale of such great magical realists as Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I had hoped to find something different from the standard themes followed by many writers of stories concerning Asians in Britain, assuming that references would be made towards the southern mentality, and its well-educated people. (It is, for instance, a known fact that Kerala is India's only state with a literacy rate of 100%) However, Ms Nair chose rustic villagers for her characters, coming from conditions rarely to be found in 21st century Kerala.
The characters are well-developed: Nalini displays moxie, as she struggles in a foreign land with an alien culture and language to adapt to a new lifestyle, after her husband has abandoned her and their children. One can understand why she made the controversial decision to cover up his disappearance with a lie, in order to protect her children's honour and sense of self-worth.
One can't help thinking that a glossary would have been helpful. I personally was able to understand the Malayalam terms, and would know the difference between dishes such as aviyal and thoran. However, the lack of a vocabulary list alienates the foreign audience towards whom the book is directed. Many readers would be clueless about some of the expressions used, and would be left to guess at the meaning; thus, they would be unable to appreciate fully certain passages.
Nevertheless, it is an easy book to read, and should be recommended to others; I am looking forward to reading some of Ms Nair's other novels.
Overall, the book was enjoyable and descriptive. One could almost hear the sizzling of mustard seeds and green chillies, and inhale the pungent aromas of lime pickle.
Ms Nair's style of writing is of a good standard, albeit inconsistent. It was interesting to read about the same events being visualized alternately by Nalini and her daughter, Maya.
There are elements of magical realism in the book, although not always convincing, and nowhere near on the scale of such great magical realists as Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I had hoped to find something different from the standard themes followed by many writers of stories concerning Asians in Britain, assuming that references would be made towards the southern mentality, and its well-educated people. (It is, for instance, a known fact that Kerala is India's only state with a literacy rate of 100%) However, Ms Nair chose rustic villagers for her characters, coming from conditions rarely to be found in 21st century Kerala.
The characters are well-developed: Nalini displays moxie, as she struggles in a foreign land with an alien culture and language to adapt to a new lifestyle, after her husband has abandoned her and their children. One can understand why she made the controversial decision to cover up his disappearance with a lie, in order to protect her children's honour and sense of self-worth.
One can't help thinking that a glossary would have been helpful. I personally was able to understand the Malayalam terms, and would know the difference between dishes such as aviyal and thoran. However, the lack of a vocabulary list alienates the foreign audience towards whom the book is directed. Many readers would be clueless about some of the expressions used, and would be left to guess at the meaning; thus, they would be unable to appreciate fully certain passages.
Nevertheless, it is an easy book to read, and should be recommended to others; I am looking forward to reading some of Ms Nair's other novels.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was recommended this book by Amazon and the title in particualr was what attracted me to it.
Basically it's a tale about a family emigrating to England, but things go pear-shaped when the father betrays them and settles in America, leaving a young mother and her two children to fend for themselves in a somewhat hospitable yet hostile London. It particularly focuses on Maya's take on these events and how it shapes her life from her education to relationships until she returns to her roots in her own individual way.
I found the way the author set the chapters out; from the perspective of Maya (the duaghter) and then Nalini (the mother) quite an intersting read. But be warned there's a lot mentioned about Indian food (mainly herbs and spices) and sometimes I was just second guessing at the meaning of some vocab. Although this imagery is often appealing, I found it a little tedious how every emotion and event seemed to encompass vivid culinary descriptions! Often its comic, for example descriptions of Maya's step gran.
Overall it is a good read for immigrants and natives of any land. It gives some familiar and indepth descriptions of the plights and saving graces faced by such communities and also touches on the values of family, friendship, forgiveness, love and suchlike.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read gypsy masala which in a way motivated me to follow my dreams and go travelling around australa I've waited with anticipation to read this next book from this talented writer.
The book in many ways mirrors the multi angled view of the story approach that gypsy takes, but this time, its more flowing, its more natural, and the style actually now works very well...
I can easily identify with maya as some of the things that are talked about will make most 30 somethings feel a bit sentimental and reminiscent.....
The book manages to hold your attention throughout......
Can't wait for her next.....
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Make sure you have plenty of spices handy to get cooking...
I thought this book was a wonderful read.The way the story was narrated by both mother and daughter appealed to me as I liked getting both womens interpretations of the same... Read more
Published 16 months ago by If nobody spoke of remarkable things...
Nice read - not great, not bad
A nice easy read - interesting, fun and above average, but overall would consider it a lightweight novel, nice at the time but not one I would particularly recommend.
Published on 12 April 2010
Pickled beauty
So beautiful I wish I hadn't finished. A mixture of India and England.
"Even the rain falls without passion" ... Read more
"Even the rain falls without passion" ... Read more
Published on 1 May 2009 by David Munslow
Fantastic a book to read again and again
It took me 2 goes to get into the story but then I found it enchanting and read it through from start to finish in a weekend. Read more
Published on 16 April 2009 by Mrs. L. E. Potts
A true blessing
This book has got to be one of my all time favourites. Its an amazing book which is beautifully written, about a mother and daughter who just seem to miss each other in life. Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2008 by Shanara
Fantanstic sad story
What i found great about this book was the way the emotions, guilt and fear of Nalini and Maya came out of the book. It felt so real. Read more
Published on 10 April 2008 by Farhana Ahmed
Nadia
I have just finished this book and what can I say! Preethi Nair is one of the best I have ever read.. this book made me laugh and cry! Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2007 by Nadia
Awesome book
I have bought 7 copies of this book for friends (from teens to grandmas), lent my copy out, recommended it to 3 bookclubs, read it 3 times myself and loved every word written. Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2007 by Lisa L. Kelly
This book has so much heart
This is a beautiful story, captivating and well told. I have passed this book on to a number of friends (including non Asians) and everyone has fallen in love with it - and rightly... Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2006 by SP
First book that made me cry
This book was fantastic, I read all the time. finishing book upon book one after the other. This book had me hooked, I had to put it down so I didn't finish it before my holiday... Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2006 by Saj
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