What do you think?
Rate this book
Hullabaloo In The Guava Orchard - Faber New Edition
Sampath Chawla was born in a time of drought that ended with a vengeance the night of his birth. All signs being auspicious, the villagers triumphantly assured Sampath's proud parents that their son was destined for greatness.
Twenty years of failure later, that unfortunately does not appear to be the case. A sullen government worker, Sampath is inspired only when in search of a quiet place to take his nap. "But the world is round," his grandmother says. "Wait and see! Even if it appears he is going downhill, he will come up the other side. Yes, on top of the world. He is just taking a longer route." No one believes her until, one day, Sampath climbs into a guava tree and becomes unintentionally famous as a holy man, setting off a series of events that spin increasingly out of control. A delightfully sweet comic novel that ends in a raucous bang, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is as surprising and entertaining as it is beautifully wrought.
Twenty years of failure later, that unfortunately does not appear to be the case. A sullen government worker, Sampath is inspired only when in search of a quiet place to take his nap. "But the world is round," his grandmother says. "Wait and see! Even if it appears he is going downhill, he will come up the other side. Yes, on top of the world. He is just taking a longer route." No one believes her until, one day, Sampath climbs into a guava tree and becomes unintentionally famous as a holy man, setting off a series of events that spin increasingly out of control. A delightfully sweet comic novel that ends in a raucous bang, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is as surprising and entertaining as it is beautifully wrought.
209 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
189 people are currently reading
4,208 people want to read
About the author
Kiran Desai
17books841followersKiran Desai is an Indian author who is a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States. She is the daughter of the noted author Anita Desai.
Desai's first novel, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard (1998), gained accolades from notable figures including Salman Rushdie, and went on to receive the Betty Trask Award. Her second novel, The Inheritance of Loss (2006), won the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award.
Desai's first novel, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard (1998), gained accolades from notable figures including Salman Rushdie, and went on to receive the Betty Trask Award. Her second novel, The Inheritance of Loss (2006), won the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 573 reviews
July 31, 2011
I try my best to respond to the text and not to other readers here, but really negative reviewers? REALLY!? The book is called Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard. Not since Breakin' II: Electric Boogaloo has a work so clearly announced itself as ridiculous. Did you read the back cover? The one that says plainly that this is the tale of a life-long loser who climbs a tree to escape the bastards only to be mistaken for a holy man which is all well and good until the drunken monkeys show up? No, really--the monkeys are paste-eating drunk. Truly. And you picked this book up thinking just perhps it was your cup o' tea, Satre lover? C'mon negative reviewer: you're not fooling anyone here. No one but a blue-blooded ass-clown would pick this book up without knowing exactly what it is. And, for what it is, it's pretty fantastic. I mean sure, there's nearly enough here--the outsider story, the satire of small-town life and politics, the failed hero's journey--to make this a teachable book, but it is from start to finish the delightfully ridiculous book it over-and-over announces itself to be. So if you read this and didn't like it, that's your bad. Don't go sand-bagging a delightful book because you don't like fables or magical realism or drunken monkeys. Don't walk into a shot bar with a neon sign that reads "Tooters for Hooters" expecting a craft brew, ya ridiculous drunken monkey, you.
February 25, 2016
Chauncey Gardener in India, Sampath is a slacker of the first order, completely lacking in ambition and as distractible as an infant confronted with moving shiny objects. After losing his job in a rather dramatic manner, Sampath wanders up the road until he feels the pull of a guava tree and decides to take up residence. The unknowing manage to project onto him a fully undeserved holiness. A new cult is born as Sampath tosses out meaningless parables in answer to the many questions asked him by the gullible. Desai clearly has a bone to pick with the practice of religion (and the postal service) in India. This is a fun read, but although I thought I was catching much of what was tossed out to the reader there must be a lot that my western eyes missed that is perceived by South Asian natives. It is an entertaining and fast read. A criminal monkey and his pack are particularly entertaining. In an American context they might stand in for Republicans aligning with religious frenzy for their own ends. I expect the same breed exists in India. Not a must read, but an entertaining one.
October 17, 2024
Well! This is such a weird read!
I am impressed and I do feel this book is so underrated. I expected the writing to be not this fast paced and so easy to read in just one sitting!
I find the characters realistic though the story has some fantastical elements in the plot.
I can understand the dilemma of our main character Sampath. He’s not the picture perfect main central character. He’s the son the entire family and everyone around him have the highest hopes for like he’s the sole purpose of their lives.
When the son of the family doesn’t turn out to be as what was predicted, things seemed to stop still especially for Sampath.
The story is quite enjoyable and entertaining throughout. It will be more so for the readers who are familiar with how it is with most Indian families.
The dialogues are so realistic that it made me want to run away and escape in another fictional story.
The characters are amazingly realistic however I do still feel that at least I should have known Sampath really well. At times they seem quite detached like how the actual people in our real lives are but also acting so close making decisions for our lives totally uninvited. And this is how the writing felt so real.
The plot seems not much but the short read is quite colourful and full of adventure if you are willing yourself to feel and try to live in this world until the last page.
Totally a surprising read!
Enjoyed the read thoroughly.
I am impressed and I do feel this book is so underrated. I expected the writing to be not this fast paced and so easy to read in just one sitting!
I find the characters realistic though the story has some fantastical elements in the plot.
I can understand the dilemma of our main character Sampath. He’s not the picture perfect main central character. He’s the son the entire family and everyone around him have the highest hopes for like he’s the sole purpose of their lives.
When the son of the family doesn’t turn out to be as what was predicted, things seemed to stop still especially for Sampath.
The story is quite enjoyable and entertaining throughout. It will be more so for the readers who are familiar with how it is with most Indian families.
The dialogues are so realistic that it made me want to run away and escape in another fictional story.
The characters are amazingly realistic however I do still feel that at least I should have known Sampath really well. At times they seem quite detached like how the actual people in our real lives are but also acting so close making decisions for our lives totally uninvited. And this is how the writing felt so real.
The plot seems not much but the short read is quite colourful and full of adventure if you are willing yourself to feel and try to live in this world until the last page.
Totally a surprising read!
Enjoyed the read thoroughly.
November 9, 2007
Kiran Desai has now written a serious book that shows off her deep thinking and writing skills - the inheritance of loss.
whatever. she had me at Hullabaloo.
this book is funny. Hands down funny. And the mother in the book, reminds me of my mother on her more insane days.
I just realized that in a lot of the books that I love, food plays a role. sometimes a big role. in this book, the mother, kulfi, is an amazing cook who knows no boundaries as to ingredients and spices. hm...
And the younger sister falls in love with the ice-cream seller and to show her affection, she bites off his ear.
and the hero (or not) lives in a guava tree with the monkeys. and pretends to be psychic, but he's a fraud b/c he knows so much about everyone in his town because he used to work in the post office and read everyone's mail.
its almost like a shakespearean comedy without the mismatched sets of twins -- entangled plots, running around, some romance, some deception and it all works out in the end. hilariously.
whatever. she had me at Hullabaloo.
this book is funny. Hands down funny. And the mother in the book, reminds me of my mother on her more insane days.
I just realized that in a lot of the books that I love, food plays a role. sometimes a big role. in this book, the mother, kulfi, is an amazing cook who knows no boundaries as to ingredients and spices. hm...
And the younger sister falls in love with the ice-cream seller and to show her affection, she bites off his ear.
and the hero (or not) lives in a guava tree with the monkeys. and pretends to be psychic, but he's a fraud b/c he knows so much about everyone in his town because he used to work in the post office and read everyone's mail.
its almost like a shakespearean comedy without the mismatched sets of twins -- entangled plots, running around, some romance, some deception and it all works out in the end. hilariously.
May 10, 2013
Fairly amusing and fairly brief novel about Sampath, an Indian adolescent, who really does not want to work hard and who would rather laze around. One day he suddenly decides he would like to sit at the top of a guava tree. He stays there and refuses to come down. He begins to be mistaken for a wise man.
There is an air of predictability about this and some of the characters are very formulaic.
There are some very funny moments though and the saga of the drunken monkeys is hilarious. Desai also very neatly dissects bureaucracy and the inability of local dignitaries to make decisions. She also sends up the role of the guru mercilessly and some of the sayings Sampath passes on to those who visit him in his tree are close enough to the sort of things you read in books of wisdom/proverbs to be convincing and amusing at the same time. Desai must have had great fun making them up: Remember "If you do not weed your tomato plant will not flower".
The plot is a little thin at times and some of the interesting side stories would have benefited from expansion. The ending doesn't work, but on the whole it is enjoyable and doesn't stretch the mind too much; which is sometimes a good thing, especially as I'm going to read Middle C next!
There is an air of predictability about this and some of the characters are very formulaic.
There are some very funny moments though and the saga of the drunken monkeys is hilarious. Desai also very neatly dissects bureaucracy and the inability of local dignitaries to make decisions. She also sends up the role of the guru mercilessly and some of the sayings Sampath passes on to those who visit him in his tree are close enough to the sort of things you read in books of wisdom/proverbs to be convincing and amusing at the same time. Desai must have had great fun making them up: Remember "If you do not weed your tomato plant will not flower".
The plot is a little thin at times and some of the interesting side stories would have benefited from expansion. The ending doesn't work, but on the whole it is enjoyable and doesn't stretch the mind too much; which is sometimes a good thing, especially as I'm going to read Middle C next!
March 16, 2018
The novel begins with the most classical of Indian scenes; that of the murky, muggy monsoon rains; the novel deals with the most eponymous of Indian characters-the spoiled, feckless only son. Somewhere in between this Kiran Desai is able to write a humorous, if not exactly ground-breaking, story of Sampath, a diffident ditherer whose foray into a guava tree transforms him into a a sham spiritualist for the gullible and naive.
Like many only sons Sampath is born under the weighty lode of familial expectations stemming from a culture of mindless, unquestioning patriarchy; his shoulders, unable to cope with the weight gradually slope into a life-time of failure-as a student, as a worker where an impromptu act of disrobing serves at the wedding of his employer's daughter acts as the sole act of merit in a lifetime of mediocrity. For reasons inexplicable even to himself, Sampath somehow finds some meaning in a guava fruit given to him by his mother-this soon leads to him climbing a guava tree where he posits himself in all his glory. Eventually he begins to mouth bland platitudes and gains the reputation as a guru-the line between a mad-man and mystic can be as thin as the branch of a guava tree and so his reputation gradually grows until he become famous as a wise sage. Nothing fundamentally changes about Sampath's character, but what changes is how is perceived; his notoriety gives weight to his blandishments, until his reputation is brought low by a group of ribaldrous monkeys, whose simian escapades serve to undermine the reputation he has so carefully cultivated.
The novel at times blazes forth with brief bursts of beauty and is host to a side cast of weird and wonderful caricatures; the long-suffering mother, the vivacious sister and her dopey lover, the over-bearing father and there is a charm to the story which perhaps makes the reader forget it's lack of substance, outside of exploring the often ridiculous nature of the guru's who crop up around India, with their empty, pointless pontifications and sham spiritualism.
Like many only sons Sampath is born under the weighty lode of familial expectations stemming from a culture of mindless, unquestioning patriarchy; his shoulders, unable to cope with the weight gradually slope into a life-time of failure-as a student, as a worker where an impromptu act of disrobing serves at the wedding of his employer's daughter acts as the sole act of merit in a lifetime of mediocrity. For reasons inexplicable even to himself, Sampath somehow finds some meaning in a guava fruit given to him by his mother-this soon leads to him climbing a guava tree where he posits himself in all his glory. Eventually he begins to mouth bland platitudes and gains the reputation as a guru-the line between a mad-man and mystic can be as thin as the branch of a guava tree and so his reputation gradually grows until he become famous as a wise sage. Nothing fundamentally changes about Sampath's character, but what changes is how is perceived; his notoriety gives weight to his blandishments, until his reputation is brought low by a group of ribaldrous monkeys, whose simian escapades serve to undermine the reputation he has so carefully cultivated.
The novel at times blazes forth with brief bursts of beauty and is host to a side cast of weird and wonderful caricatures; the long-suffering mother, the vivacious sister and her dopey lover, the over-bearing father and there is a charm to the story which perhaps makes the reader forget it's lack of substance, outside of exploring the often ridiculous nature of the guru's who crop up around India, with their empty, pointless pontifications and sham spiritualism.
October 10, 2023
What a joy this book is to read! It’s one of the very few that’s had me laughing out loud.
Sampath is fed up with his life and moves into a tree in a guava orchard. He seems to know a lot about the private lives of people who come to visit him and is thought to be some sort of holy man. Devotees hang on his every word, mainly mysteriously vague adages**, and his family move closer to manage the situation. He is joined in the orchard by a troop of troublesome langur monkeys who create the hullabaloo in the title.
Yes, it’s silly but the writing is fantastic. In more serious moments, the descriptions of nature are highly evocative and the descriptions of foods are mouthwatering. I found it very funny and thoroughly entertaining. It’s now one of my favourite reads and an easy 5 stars.
** The quoted adage, Many a pickle makes a mickle, is referenced as coming from . I’m wondering which came first? This adage or the Scots one, Mony a mickle maks a muckle? An interesting cross cultural exchange!
Sampath is fed up with his life and moves into a tree in a guava orchard. He seems to know a lot about the private lives of people who come to visit him and is thought to be some sort of holy man. Devotees hang on his every word, mainly mysteriously vague adages**, and his family move closer to manage the situation. He is joined in the orchard by a troop of troublesome langur monkeys who create the hullabaloo in the title.
Yes, it’s silly but the writing is fantastic. In more serious moments, the descriptions of nature are highly evocative and the descriptions of foods are mouthwatering. I found it very funny and thoroughly entertaining. It’s now one of my favourite reads and an easy 5 stars.
** The quoted adage, Many a pickle makes a mickle, is referenced as coming from . I’m wondering which came first? This adage or the Scots one, Mony a mickle maks a muckle? An interesting cross cultural exchange!
May 15, 2016
What a great balance between wit and lovely literature! I was often reminded of the Magic Realism genre while perusing this work, with it's almost plausible absurdities, a vast array of main characters (mostly related to each other), and its odd reactions to common day events.
I have noticed that unlike their Western counterparts --where there is one or at most two main characters-- most Indian novels feature families or neighborhoods as protagonists. For those of us largely unfamiliar with Indian names and surnames it takes a bit of practice to determine who is who, but in this case it is totally worth it. Desai's skill as a writer is undeniable, and how she turns hyperbole into humor is commendable.
This is a quick read that packs a wallop!
I have noticed that unlike their Western counterparts --where there is one or at most two main characters-- most Indian novels feature families or neighborhoods as protagonists. For those of us largely unfamiliar with Indian names and surnames it takes a bit of practice to determine who is who, but in this case it is totally worth it. Desai's skill as a writer is undeniable, and how she turns hyperbole into humor is commendable.
This is a quick read that packs a wallop!
December 14, 2011
This had an absurd storyline with eccentric characters. I never thought I would like it as much as I did because I am not inclined towards satire and silliness. This book made me realize that beautiful writing can surpass other faults. This is the story of Sampath, an eccentric young man born to a mad woman who has a long genealogy of craziness. He is overwhelmed by ordinary routine and the need for a steady paying job and just runs off to the forest one day and starts living in the branches of a guava tree. Little does he realize that his whole family will follow, camp out in the forest and try to take advantage of the situation. As a bonus, a group of rowdy monkeys befriend Sampath. The hullabaloo is complete when they are all joined forces by the local reporters, police, army and bureocracy.
February 21, 2013
At least two of my friends say that they don't like Kiran Desai's writing. I don't understand them. I read 'The Inheritance of Loss' before I read this, and I absolutely loved it. It spoke to an angst in me that I myself couldn't have given words to, and there are several passages in the book I hold very close to me.
'Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard' is a very different book; it's an incredible story and written with an amazing mastery of words.
It's not an easily believable story, there're elements of the fantastic and as she scythes through the idiosyncrasies of small town India with a razor sharp eye, you actually flinch. Shahkot's pompous middle aged men, rotund aunties, lazy government officers and 'eligible' bachelors come and go in passages that rake through arranged marriage, Bollywood-love and small town stupidity.
There is not one loose end, every character comes full circle, you are never left wondering what happen to him or her, and the chaos at the end of the novel, laugh-out-loud funny though it is, again reflects the writer's skill in the control of the narrative.
She will remain one of my favorite writers. And if you are sitting around wondering if you should read this book, let me tell you something - you certainly should.
'Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard' is a very different book; it's an incredible story and written with an amazing mastery of words.
It's not an easily believable story, there're elements of the fantastic and as she scythes through the idiosyncrasies of small town India with a razor sharp eye, you actually flinch. Shahkot's pompous middle aged men, rotund aunties, lazy government officers and 'eligible' bachelors come and go in passages that rake through arranged marriage, Bollywood-love and small town stupidity.
There is not one loose end, every character comes full circle, you are never left wondering what happen to him or her, and the chaos at the end of the novel, laugh-out-loud funny though it is, again reflects the writer's skill in the control of the narrative.
She will remain one of my favorite writers. And if you are sitting around wondering if you should read this book, let me tell you something - you certainly should.
October 7, 2007
I'm not sure this really counts as a book I've read since I only made it half way through. It was that silly and slow that I just couldn't make it to the end. Set it India, it would make a great bollywood film and probably be quite funny and entertaining to watch. It's about a young man's quest to escape the chaos of his home and find peace and quiet. He ultimately does this turning into a guava and being taken away by a monkey. While there's great potential for a bollywood film, on paper, it's just not very interesting or worth the time.
April 13, 2015
Replace Shahkot with Malgudi and it wouldn't seem out of place. "University research forest", "Hungry Hop", "Gentleman Tailors", a District Collector not yet named, who eventually arrives struggling with his own demons, and the official cook.
This book promised to be loads of fun and it was, helped generously by Desai's excellent prose. The characters are delectably quirky and ordinary in just the right measure, and the usage of magical realism, Rumi-meets-Tao-koans lines, bar cabinet raiding monkeys is just perfectly done.
This book promised to be loads of fun and it was, helped generously by Desai's excellent prose. The characters are delectably quirky and ordinary in just the right measure, and the usage of magical realism, Rumi-meets-Tao-koans lines, bar cabinet raiding monkeys is just perfectly done.
June 12, 2014
Fall in love with well-written absurdity.
November 4, 2016
This is first which I have read with a backdrop of Punjab. Being a Punjabi, you pick up an Indian book and you got to know whole backdrop of the book is based in Punjab, you can imagine my feeling. Hullabaloo definitely hits a bit of nostalgia in me, starting from my childhood, getting up and seeing the maze of houses around your roof or adjoining houses with your own wall. There were so many incidents where I could relate to plots and events very well, Marriage especially food Ladooo, pranthas, Babas, superstitions :) We all have a breaking points, mood swings when we want to run from mundane obligations, we feel like we are into one endless, everybody looks for some solace, some take refuge in Guava Orchard or someone like me in such books or mysteries……�..
Taking about Plot "Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard," is a tale of a young man named Sampath Chawla who lives in town Shahkot, Punjab He was born on the night a severe drought ends when a ferocious monsoon sweeps over the region. Immediately following his birth, the Swedish Red Cross makes a food drop right in front of Sampath's house. The people in the community of Shahkot are convinced that Sampath is destined to be an important man. Not only does he bring on the much needed rain, he causes the Red Cross, flying over Shahkot, to drop food for the hungry people. Sampath's eccentric mother and demanding father are not so sure about their baby becoming a great man. To Kulfi, his mother, he is an odd looking alien with a large brown birthmark on his face.
“It was a terrible thing to be awake while some people flew, carrying the world over his head, and others slept, claiming it from under his feet.�
Twenty years later, Sampath has not yet lived up to the prediction of greatness. In fact, he is anything but great. His father tries to counsel him on how he can get a better job or at least a raise in salary at the Post Office where he works. Sampath pays no attention to his father's advice. At the Post Office, Sampath spends hours alone, steaming open letters written to and from neighbors and by so doing, he learns a great deal about their personal lives and their secrets.
A great controversy develops about the monkeys who live in the guava tree with Sampath. The large monkeys attack people and often steal alcohol and get very drunk. The town officials are determined to rid the town of the monkeys but Sampath decides to save his lovely friends. How he saves them is both surprising and magical. When his father looks for him, he finds a large guava in his place with a brown mark on its skin. Sampath is able to save the monkeys and find a new home for himself; Sampath's dream to become part of the nature becomes a reality.
I believe there is certain kindness and honesty in writing and it is mix with right amount of humor. There are few incidents which can literally give you hysteria of laughter. After reading so much classics and heavy books I wanted to read something light and this book serves the right purpose. The only things which I didn’t like about this book, there are few scenes were bit dramatized at times, I feel it is with every Indian author, they want the books to adapt into movies, which barely happens in India if it is not Chetan bhagat. The ending of the book was also quite predictable.
So I will sign off with 3/5. I think will give it try to The Inheritance of loss too.
Taking about Plot "Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard," is a tale of a young man named Sampath Chawla who lives in town Shahkot, Punjab He was born on the night a severe drought ends when a ferocious monsoon sweeps over the region. Immediately following his birth, the Swedish Red Cross makes a food drop right in front of Sampath's house. The people in the community of Shahkot are convinced that Sampath is destined to be an important man. Not only does he bring on the much needed rain, he causes the Red Cross, flying over Shahkot, to drop food for the hungry people. Sampath's eccentric mother and demanding father are not so sure about their baby becoming a great man. To Kulfi, his mother, he is an odd looking alien with a large brown birthmark on his face.
“It was a terrible thing to be awake while some people flew, carrying the world over his head, and others slept, claiming it from under his feet.�
Twenty years later, Sampath has not yet lived up to the prediction of greatness. In fact, he is anything but great. His father tries to counsel him on how he can get a better job or at least a raise in salary at the Post Office where he works. Sampath pays no attention to his father's advice. At the Post Office, Sampath spends hours alone, steaming open letters written to and from neighbors and by so doing, he learns a great deal about their personal lives and their secrets.
A great controversy develops about the monkeys who live in the guava tree with Sampath. The large monkeys attack people and often steal alcohol and get very drunk. The town officials are determined to rid the town of the monkeys but Sampath decides to save his lovely friends. How he saves them is both surprising and magical. When his father looks for him, he finds a large guava in his place with a brown mark on its skin. Sampath is able to save the monkeys and find a new home for himself; Sampath's dream to become part of the nature becomes a reality.
I believe there is certain kindness and honesty in writing and it is mix with right amount of humor. There are few incidents which can literally give you hysteria of laughter. After reading so much classics and heavy books I wanted to read something light and this book serves the right purpose. The only things which I didn’t like about this book, there are few scenes were bit dramatized at times, I feel it is with every Indian author, they want the books to adapt into movies, which barely happens in India if it is not Chetan bhagat. The ending of the book was also quite predictable.
So I will sign off with 3/5. I think will give it try to The Inheritance of loss too.
February 21, 2014
Sátira blanca, noble y amable.-
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. Sampath Chawla nació con la llegada de un esperado monzón y veinte años después, en la ciudad de Shahkot, es un empleado de Correos distraído, imaginativo, insatisfecho y algo “ausente� cuyo comportamiento durante una boda le hace perder su empleo pero simultáneamente le ofrece una oportunidad para buscar su libertad, por lo que decide mudarse a las alturas de un gran guayabo y, desde sus ramas, comienza a mostrar un conocimiento de cosas de sus vecinos que parece casi sobrenatural.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. Sampath Chawla nació con la llegada de un esperado monzón y veinte años después, en la ciudad de Shahkot, es un empleado de Correos distraído, imaginativo, insatisfecho y algo “ausente� cuyo comportamiento durante una boda le hace perder su empleo pero simultáneamente le ofrece una oportunidad para buscar su libertad, por lo que decide mudarse a las alturas de un gran guayabo y, desde sus ramas, comienza a mostrar un conocimiento de cosas de sus vecinos que parece casi sobrenatural.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
August 22, 2022
ಸೀಬೇಹಣ್ಣಿನ ತೋಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಗದ್ದ� - ಕಿರಣ� ದೇಸಾಯಿ ಅವ� ಮೊದಲ ಪುಸ್ತಕ.
ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಆಫೀಸ್ ಕೆಲಸದಲ್ಲ� ಅವರಿವರ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ಗಳನ್ನು ಓದುತ್ತ� ಅವ� ಬಗ್ಗ� ಹಿಂದ� ಮುಂದುಗಳನ್ನ� ಅರಿತ ಸಂಪತ� ಮುಂದ� ಅದನ್ನೇ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ� ಸ್ವಾಮೀಜಿ� ಹಂತಕ್ಕ� ತಲುಪುತ್ತಾನ�, ಮನೆಯಿಂ� ಓಡ� ಹೋ� ಸಂಪತ್ತ� ಒಂದು ಸೀಬೆ ಹಣ್ಣಿನ ತೋಟದಲ್ಲಿ ತನ್ನ ವಾಸ್ತವ್ಯವನ್ನ� ಹೂಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಮುಂದ� � ಹಣ್ಣಿನ ತೋಟವ� ಸಂಪತ್ತವರ ತಂದೆ� ದೂರಲೋಚನೆಯಿಂದ ಆಶ್ರಮವಾಗ� ಪ್ರತಿನಿತ್ಯ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಜನ ಭಕ್ತರು ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡುತ್ತಾರೆ ಹೀಗೆ � ಕಥ� ಸಾಗುತ್ತವ�. � ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲ� ಬರುವ ಒಂದೊಂದ� ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶಗಳ� ಹಾಸ್ಯದಾಯಕವಾಗಿದ�, ಸಂಪತ್ತ� ಅವ� ತಾಯಿ ಕುಲ್ಫಿ, ತಂಗಿ ಪಿಂಕ�, ತಂದೆ ಮತ್ತ� ಅಜ್ಜ� ಪಾತ್ರಗಳು ಒಂದಕ್ಕ� ಒಂದು ವಿಭಿನ್�. ದಿನನಿತ್ಯ� ಊಟ ಬೇಜಾರಾಗಿ ಸ್ಪೆಷಲ� ಏನಾದರೂ ತಿನ್ನಬೇಕ� ಎಂದು ಬಯಸುವವರಿಗೆ � ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಒಂದು ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟವಾದ ರುಚಿಯನ್ನ� ಉಣಬಡಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಆಫೀಸ್ ಕೆಲಸದಲ್ಲ� ಅವರಿವರ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ಗಳನ್ನು ಓದುತ್ತ� ಅವ� ಬಗ್ಗ� ಹಿಂದ� ಮುಂದುಗಳನ್ನ� ಅರಿತ ಸಂಪತ� ಮುಂದ� ಅದನ್ನೇ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ� ಸ್ವಾಮೀಜಿ� ಹಂತಕ್ಕ� ತಲುಪುತ್ತಾನ�, ಮನೆಯಿಂ� ಓಡ� ಹೋ� ಸಂಪತ್ತ� ಒಂದು ಸೀಬೆ ಹಣ್ಣಿನ ತೋಟದಲ್ಲಿ ತನ್ನ ವಾಸ್ತವ್ಯವನ್ನ� ಹೂಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಮುಂದ� � ಹಣ್ಣಿನ ತೋಟವ� ಸಂಪತ್ತವರ ತಂದೆ� ದೂರಲೋಚನೆಯಿಂದ ಆಶ್ರಮವಾಗ� ಪ್ರತಿನಿತ್ಯ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಜನ ಭಕ್ತರು ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡುತ್ತಾರೆ ಹೀಗೆ � ಕಥ� ಸಾಗುತ್ತವ�. � ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲ� ಬರುವ ಒಂದೊಂದ� ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶಗಳ� ಹಾಸ್ಯದಾಯಕವಾಗಿದ�, ಸಂಪತ್ತ� ಅವ� ತಾಯಿ ಕುಲ್ಫಿ, ತಂಗಿ ಪಿಂಕ�, ತಂದೆ ಮತ್ತ� ಅಜ್ಜ� ಪಾತ್ರಗಳು ಒಂದಕ್ಕ� ಒಂದು ವಿಭಿನ್�. ದಿನನಿತ್ಯ� ಊಟ ಬೇಜಾರಾಗಿ ಸ್ಪೆಷಲ� ಏನಾದರೂ ತಿನ್ನಬೇಕ� ಎಂದು ಬಯಸುವವರಿಗೆ � ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಒಂದು ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟವಾದ ರುಚಿಯನ್ನ� ಉಣಬಡಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
April 21, 2012
Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is the first novel by Kiran Desai. In the town of Shahkot, in the shadow of the Himalayan foothills, lives Sampath Chawla, a bored, dreamy Post Office clerk distinguishing himself with lacklustre career ambitions. When he manages to lose his job, his father, Mr Chawla, despairs that his son will ever amount to anything; his mother, Kulfi, says little, but then, she did come from a mad family; his sister Pinky finds him irritating and exasperating; his paternal grandmother, Ammaji, however, is convinced he will come good. Overwhelmed by the attention, Sampath decides to climb a tree in the Guava Orchard to be alone, to clear his thoughts, a deed that, unfortunately for Sampath, has quite the opposite effect. Convinced he is a hermit, people gather to hear his thoughts: this sets in motion events that will affect not only Sampath and his family, but the people of the district, the Chief Medical Officer, the Superintendent of Police, the Army Brigadier, the University researcher, the District Collector and even a spy from the Atheist Society. This novel has a cast of amusing characters, a plot with a few surprises and is filled with wonderful prose like: “A passing car sent its searchlight-glare crazy and liquid over the sides of the buildings and into the trees, revealing not the colours, the daylight solidity of things, but a world of dark gaps cut from an empty skin of light�. Desai is skilled at creating atmosphere and this novel has a uniquely Indian feel. This novel was a pleasure to read and it is easy to see why it won the Betty Trask Award in 1998.
Read
March 25, 2009Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard was lying in my office library and on a slow work day I decided to give it a read. Written by Kiran Desai, who even jointly won the Betty Trask award for it, Hullabaloo is everything that a book should never be.
It is pretentious, written in a direct vernacular to English translation style and has a story that I had to try very hard to stay connected to.
What is it about? About a Monkey Baba. A young boy from a village called Shahkot suffers from a madness gene passed down to him from his mother's side of the family. This boy, Sampat, can't cut it in the working world, so he runs away and decides to live in a Guava orchard. There he makes monkey friends.
He utters nonsensical things so everyone thinks he must be from another world and declare the guava orchard a hermitage. Half way through the book, I had to try very hard to continue reading. But I had read so much about the Desai mother-daughter duo from our topline newspapers that I felt I should finish it.
The only character I liked was Kulfi, Sampat's mother, who's obssessed with cooking up exotic dishes for her son. Her character reminded me of Tita from Like Water For Chocolate, but only just.
I hope Inheritance of Loss, by the same author, is a better book.
It is pretentious, written in a direct vernacular to English translation style and has a story that I had to try very hard to stay connected to.
What is it about? About a Monkey Baba. A young boy from a village called Shahkot suffers from a madness gene passed down to him from his mother's side of the family. This boy, Sampat, can't cut it in the working world, so he runs away and decides to live in a Guava orchard. There he makes monkey friends.
He utters nonsensical things so everyone thinks he must be from another world and declare the guava orchard a hermitage. Half way through the book, I had to try very hard to continue reading. But I had read so much about the Desai mother-daughter duo from our topline newspapers that I felt I should finish it.
The only character I liked was Kulfi, Sampat's mother, who's obssessed with cooking up exotic dishes for her son. Her character reminded me of Tita from Like Water For Chocolate, but only just.
I hope Inheritance of Loss, by the same author, is a better book.
April 13, 2015
The extreme sarcasm of silliness in an Indian civil society was the essence in this book which kept me laughing while reading. While at some moments I felt the story was going nowhere with all the ear biting and monkey cooking, it took me a while to realize well maybe that was the whole idea about the book- Humour out of nothingness. Who fell in the cauldron though!?!
July 13, 2024
This book was DELICIOUS ! magical realism, funny, aperçus, beautiful imagery, gave me God of Small Things vibes but less intense� just had a great time reading this!! I’m so delighted I picked it up from the “just returned� shelf in the EFL�
things to think more on if I wrote an essay about it: its listing, Sampat’s turn to drag as a balm, the ending (!!!), the use of food, the symbol of the monkeys, the bureaucratic satire, how it deals with eroticization�
things to think more on if I wrote an essay about it: its listing, Sampat’s turn to drag as a balm, the ending (!!!), the use of food, the symbol of the monkeys, the bureaucratic satire, how it deals with eroticization�
September 28, 2021
“Alboroto en el guayabal� fue la primera novela de la conocida escritora angloindia Kiran Desai.
Ambientada en el Punjab, la novela es una mirada crítica y llena de humor, sobre la burocracia, la corrupción y el fanatismo religioso hindú� En definitiva, es una sátira de la vida en India. ¡Y los monos siguen siendo un gran problema en el país!
Ha sido una relectura y más de veinte años después aún me sigue gustando mucho. Es una novela muy india.
Ambientada en el Punjab, la novela es una mirada crítica y llena de humor, sobre la burocracia, la corrupción y el fanatismo religioso hindú� En definitiva, es una sátira de la vida en India. ¡Y los monos siguen siendo un gran problema en el país!
Ha sido una relectura y más de veinte años después aún me sigue gustando mucho. Es una novela muy india.
December 12, 2011
Chapter 3 +4 :
The life of the Indian family is told. The father who gives commands, the children trying to keep up with his demands and the crazy mother thinking of food.
All in all chapter 3 reads itself fluently and it gives a nice, but a bit strange and boring view over the life of a paysan family in the Himalaya.
In the next chapter the life in the city Shahkot is told, little, but interesting and funny things happening at the end Sampath looses his work.
The more I'm reading the more I come into the Indian mood and the more I like it.
Slowly Kiran Desai is linking the at the beginning strangly appearing different scenes. For example the absurd seeming jump between the live in the family and then suddenly 20 years later a wedding in a post office.
I find it good that not everything is clear and that she is revealing and opening the story slowly.
It keeps the tension and makes me want to continue the book.
7.12
Now I'm really inside the book and with Kiran Desai's very fluent writing style reading the book is a real joy. Desai is writing with a lot of humor and the funny events and ideas she introduces, like the monkeys, are making me enjoy the book.
Another thing I like is how she describes the people, the reader learns a lot and the main character Sampath seems more and more inteligent. The book is sill funny and nice to read.
The life of the Indian family is told. The father who gives commands, the children trying to keep up with his demands and the crazy mother thinking of food.
All in all chapter 3 reads itself fluently and it gives a nice, but a bit strange and boring view over the life of a paysan family in the Himalaya.
In the next chapter the life in the city Shahkot is told, little, but interesting and funny things happening at the end Sampath looses his work.
The more I'm reading the more I come into the Indian mood and the more I like it.
Slowly Kiran Desai is linking the at the beginning strangly appearing different scenes. For example the absurd seeming jump between the live in the family and then suddenly 20 years later a wedding in a post office.
I find it good that not everything is clear and that she is revealing and opening the story slowly.
It keeps the tension and makes me want to continue the book.
7.12
Now I'm really inside the book and with Kiran Desai's very fluent writing style reading the book is a real joy. Desai is writing with a lot of humor and the funny events and ideas she introduces, like the monkeys, are making me enjoy the book.
Another thing I like is how she describes the people, the reader learns a lot and the main character Sampath seems more and more inteligent. The book is sill funny and nice to read.
Read
August 9, 2011It was dragging to start with, where it looked like the author was padding out the narrative unnecessarily while the plot itself stagnated, but 1/3 into the book, things got a lot more interesting.
This book takes a light hearted approach to one of India's many charms: gurus, the individuals who pursue/have attained enlightenment, and how they can end up being one without claiming anything to that effect. Young Sampath is not successful at school nor work, hates being stuck in a post office job his father secured for him and longs to just be left alone. In a desperation to escape all the expectations that is placed on him (which he had no intentions of fulfilling), one day he climbs a guava tree and stays there. Soon enough he attracks the attention of many, humans and beasts alike, but not all for a good end.
Desai's quirky imagination, especially in regard to Sampath's dreamy, unusual mother, Kulfi does offer a rich imagery and a certain mystical quality to the book. Although her style of writing is yet to match the masters of post-collonial authors such as Salman Rushdie and Arundathi Roy, she's definitely one to watch out for.
This book takes a light hearted approach to one of India's many charms: gurus, the individuals who pursue/have attained enlightenment, and how they can end up being one without claiming anything to that effect. Young Sampath is not successful at school nor work, hates being stuck in a post office job his father secured for him and longs to just be left alone. In a desperation to escape all the expectations that is placed on him (which he had no intentions of fulfilling), one day he climbs a guava tree and stays there. Soon enough he attracks the attention of many, humans and beasts alike, but not all for a good end.
Desai's quirky imagination, especially in regard to Sampath's dreamy, unusual mother, Kulfi does offer a rich imagery and a certain mystical quality to the book. Although her style of writing is yet to match the masters of post-collonial authors such as Salman Rushdie and Arundathi Roy, she's definitely one to watch out for.
November 7, 2011
since the book was set in shahkot, north india(the capital of divine religious cultures and morals) one would expect the book to be have a wide range of religious themes, settings etc however desai employs a much different setting. she completely turns around and lowers the prestige pattern of hinduism as a religion and culture that was set in books known for this such as 'a passage to india'.
the book's main genre is comedy and that is the device she uses in potraying the indian beliefs. the author potrays them as corupt and totally commercialised people not the simple non-buereaucratical peopole. desai openely says this; " how many hermits were secretly wealthy? how many holy men were not at all the beggers they appeared to be? "
to turn around a corrupt and illegal act of reading through peoples mail as a spiritual proclaimation conveys the insatiable appetite for gurus
when she turns around the religious theme. it is quite predictable since the title itself speaks about what one would expect before reading thus no criticism should be put on its religious setting
the book's main genre is comedy and that is the device she uses in potraying the indian beliefs. the author potrays them as corupt and totally commercialised people not the simple non-buereaucratical peopole. desai openely says this; " how many hermits were secretly wealthy? how many holy men were not at all the beggers they appeared to be? "
to turn around a corrupt and illegal act of reading through peoples mail as a spiritual proclaimation conveys the insatiable appetite for gurus
when she turns around the religious theme. it is quite predictable since the title itself speaks about what one would expect before reading thus no criticism should be put on its religious setting
July 27, 2011
entertaining
April 21, 2018
A charming little book that provides a nice distraction from heavier reading. Smiled through quite a bit of this one.
August 16, 2020
Hiukkasen oli erisävyinen kirja tämä Kiran Desain esikoisteos verrattuna siihen tunnetumpaan eli Menetyksen perintöön. Kirja kertoo nuoresta jokseenkin elämäänsä kyllästyneestä Sampathista, joka lahoaa ikävässä työssä postitoimiston virkailijana, kunnes eräänä päivänä vain lopettaa, jättää kaiken ja kiipeää guavapuuhun.
Perhe löytää Sampathin pian, mutta nuori mies ei tule puusta alas. Sen sijaan hän laukoo puusta käsin valittuja paloja postitoimistossa luvatta lukemistaan kirjeistä ja saa maineen näkijänä ja guruna ja pian hulabaloo hedelmätarhassa on valmis. Sampathin perhe organisoi isän johdolla hedelmätarhaan gurubisnestä, jossa gurun toljottajilta nyhdetään rahaa erilaisin keinoin, paikalle tulee Ateistiliiton vakooja paljastamaan Sampathin huijariksi ja lopulta paikalle ilmaantuu lauma paikkakuntaa terrorisoineita apinoita, jotka vieläpä löytävät viinanjuonnin riemut...
Hulabaloo hedelmätarhassa on hauska satiirinen teos, jolla on kaiken sekoilun keskellä vakavat juonteensa. Sampath ja tämän äiti Kulfi piirtyvät sekavasta henkilökaartista alakuloisimpina ja vakavimpina hahmoina, varsinkin erikoisesta ruoanlaitosta kiinnostunut äiti on varsin mielenkiintoinen tyyppi, vaikka vähän sivujuonteeksi jääkin. Kirjan loppuhuipennus on kuitenkin lopulta äidin vastuulla.
Melkoinen intialainen makupala tämäkin.
Perhe löytää Sampathin pian, mutta nuori mies ei tule puusta alas. Sen sijaan hän laukoo puusta käsin valittuja paloja postitoimistossa luvatta lukemistaan kirjeistä ja saa maineen näkijänä ja guruna ja pian hulabaloo hedelmätarhassa on valmis. Sampathin perhe organisoi isän johdolla hedelmätarhaan gurubisnestä, jossa gurun toljottajilta nyhdetään rahaa erilaisin keinoin, paikalle tulee Ateistiliiton vakooja paljastamaan Sampathin huijariksi ja lopulta paikalle ilmaantuu lauma paikkakuntaa terrorisoineita apinoita, jotka vieläpä löytävät viinanjuonnin riemut...
Hulabaloo hedelmätarhassa on hauska satiirinen teos, jolla on kaiken sekoilun keskellä vakavat juonteensa. Sampath ja tämän äiti Kulfi piirtyvät sekavasta henkilökaartista alakuloisimpina ja vakavimpina hahmoina, varsinkin erikoisesta ruoanlaitosta kiinnostunut äiti on varsin mielenkiintoinen tyyppi, vaikka vähän sivujuonteeksi jääkin. Kirjan loppuhuipennus on kuitenkin lopulta äidin vastuulla.
Melkoinen intialainen makupala tämäkin.
August 7, 2023
A whimsical satire that almost borders on magical realism. Every character is introduced through their quirks but somehow this doesn't get tiring. The book has an unserious note that goes throughout and makes it an enjoyable read. My only complaint is that I didn't really get the point of all the oddities. Sure, Kiran Desai is wonderfully poking fun at society in general, but there isn't any sort of bigger message. This, however, doesn't detract from the joy of reading this book.
December 3, 2023
Raucously funny, to the point of asinine at times. Extraordinarily designed characters, such that their prominent traits gave the book an occasional childish tone. However, it was masterfully plotted out and delightfully written, even if it inhabits some extremities.
February 23, 2025
If I could give this book negative stars I think I would. I really did not like this book. It was so awful I didn’t even finish reading it and just looked up a summary. The ending was the dumbest, weirdest and most chaotic thing I thing I think I ever experienced. This whole book was just a butt load of nonsense. And I get that the chaos is supposed to be symbolism or some crap but honestly it felt the author wrote this book drunk coming home from a bar at 3am or they came up with it in a fever dream. I’m so glad I spent a whole 3 months analyzing this book 🫡
Displaying 1 - 30 of 573 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.