Book: Tiger Hills: A Novel
Author: Sarita Mandanna
ISBN: 0143068407
ISBN-13: 9780143068402,978-0143068402
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 2011
Publisher: Penguin
Number of Pages: 464
Language:English
Author: Sarita Mandanna
ISBN: 0143068407
ISBN-13: 9780143068402,978-0143068402
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 2011
Publisher: Penguin
Number of Pages: 464
Language:English
Sarita Mandanna’s debut novel, Tiger Hills, is an
epic love story set in the undulating hills of late 19th century
Coorg. In the news for reportedly receiving the highest advance ever for a
debut novel by an Indian writer, it was an eagerly awaited book by jurists.
Spanning five decades, the book unravels the tumultuous life and star-crossed
love story of Devi, the protagonist characterized as destiny’s child. Described
as a cross between Gone with the Wind and The Thorn Birds, it
serves as a curtain raiser to the richness of the culture that defines all
things Coorg. Mandanna has created an emotionally complex world against the
backdrop of coffee plantations, local villages, their age-old traditions and
social pressures.
An exquisitely beautiful yet
restless Devi, spoilt by her indulgent family, grows up with the constant
companionship of Devanna, a rather reticent boy who had lost his mother in
tragic circumstances. She would be his first and only love, he knew with a
strong sense of conviction, while Devi had eyes and emotion for none but Machu,
the hunter of tigers, yet another a glorious tradition. Devanna’s scientific
bent of mind takes him away to a missionary school run by a German who
encourages him towards a brilliant career in science. But one gut-wrenching
incident would change everybody’s lives for good, something that even future
generations would not escape unscathed.
History, political landscapes, WWII,
flora, fauna, customs and ceremonies are all described in nostalgic detail by
the author, as are the perennially suffering characters: Devi, Devanna, Hermann
Gundert, Machu, Appu and Nanju. They beautifully, yet heartrendingly play out
their chosen roles as shunned husband, scorned lover, betrayed mentor and
favoured sibling. The author deftly weaves the happenings in the mind space of
her well-defined characters into the unravelling of the storyline, pulling at
your heart strings at every fold.
While the setting is Coorg, the
story is very universal in that it explores love and belonging, duty and
betrayal, hope and despair. The author is in her element as she describes
avidly her beloved Coorg but often times the narration of events borders on the
morbid with characters simply bumped off when their worth has been wringed good
and dry. There are some episodes, which can be best described as predictable
and filmi, for want of a better word. Also, the 460-odd pages that make
up the mesmerizing novel, from year 1878 to WWII kept me firmly in the present,
the narration unable to provide a sense of history or transport me back into
time.
Tiger Hills opens with the birth of Devi being
heralded, inexplicably, by a hundred herons. The reader will possibly view it
as a mystical sign symbolizing an imminently perfect and great life, but
despite all odds stacked in her favour, it was not meant to be. In more ways
than one, the elegantly crafted book and its chief protagonist would draw
parallels. Read it to find out why.
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