Clear Light Of Day
By Anita Desai
1980
First Published
3.71
Average Rating
237
Number of Pages
Shortlisted for the Man Booker A “rich, Chekhovian novel” about family and forgiveness from the acclaimed author of Fire on the Mountain ( The New Yorker ). At the heart of this wonderful novel are the moving relationships between the estranged members of the Das family. Bimla is a dissatisfied but ambitious teacher at a women’s college who lives in her childhood home, where she cares for her mentally challenged brother, Baba. Tara is her younger, unambitious sister, married and with children of her own. Raja is their popular, brilliant, and successful brother. When Tara returns for a visit with Bimla and Baba, old memories and tensions resurface, blending into a domestic drama that leads to beautiful and profound moments of self-understanding. Set in the vividly portrayed environs of Old Delhi, “ Clear Light of Day does what only the very best novels can it totally submerges us. It also takes us so deeply into another world that we almost fear we won’t be able to climb out again” ( New York Times Book Review ).
Avg Rating
3.71
Number of Ratings
3,892
5 STARS
23%
4 STARS
38%
3 STARS
29%
2 STARS
8%
1 STARS
3%
goodreads
Author
Anita Desai
Author · 22 books
Anita Desai was born in 1937. Her published works include adult novels, children's books and short stories. She is a member of the Advisory Board for English of the National Academy of Letters in Delhi and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in London. Anita Mazumdar Desai is an Indian novelist and Emeritus John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been shortlisted for the Booker prize three times. Her daughter, the author Kiran Desai, is the winner of the 2006 Booker prize.
