Home is a 3 generation family drama set in Delhi involving a traditional cloth merchant. Follow the life of the Banwari Lal family as it changes with the times.
This novel starts off with the family tree and a brief synopsis of their family dynamics. This sets the reader off on the right foot and then, like a fly on the wall, you grow up with the family as you read through the chapters. This structure and writing style makes Home an easy read and you can imagine that you are growing up with them in Delhi.
Home is about family life with all it's ups and downs. It tells the story of fashion and the demands for clothing. Home tells a lot about the cultures living in North India, class, education and marriage. Because of it's strong local colour, the reader learns a lot about Indian life along the way. The story is told with a lot of love, in a mature, not a sugary sweet way. There is a lot of warmth in this book and you hope that everything turns out right for each and every member of the Banwari Lal family.
I got a lot of joy from reading this book. Manju's story telling is so good that you feel the story is actually unfolding around you rather than being a work of fiction. Her character development is top rate, you really get to know this family as though they were your own. The reading pleasure I got from Home was so high, that I vote it a HIT and the top score of 5 stars.
The flavour of this book also made me smile with it's use of witty dialogue. As an example the grandfather comments "Our customers are loyal to us, beta. If no one buys this ready-made, what will you do? Next year it will be a different fashion. Look at the sari - one size for everybody - no stitching, no tailoring, no fitting, no complaints, everything beautiful and simple."
Home was written in 2006 and has 337 pages.
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