Cracking India: A Novel

By Bapsi Sidhwa

The 1947 Partition of India is the backdrop for this powerful novel, narrated by a precocious child who describes the brutal transition with chilling veracity. Young Lenny Sethi is kept out of school because she suffers from polio. She spends her days with Ayah, her beautiful nanny, visiting with the large group of admirers that Ayah draws. It is in the company of these working class characters that Lenny learns about religious differences, religious intolerance, and the blossoming genocidal strife on the eve of Partition. As she matures, Lenny begins to identify the differences between the Hindus, Moslems, and Sikhs engaging in political arguments all around her. Lenny enjoys a happy, privileged life in Lahore, but the kidnapping of her beloved Ayah signals a dramatic change. Soon Lenny’s world erupts in religious, ethnic, and racial violence. By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, the domestic drama serves as a microcosm for a profound political upheaval.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions
• Release date: Sep 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781571318275

Bapsi Sidhwa

Born in Karachi and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, Bapsi Sidhwa has been widely celebrated as the finest novelist produced by her country. Sidhwa is the author of five novels: The Pakistani Bride, Crow Eaters, An American Brat, Cracking India (which was made into the award-winning film Earth by Indian director Deepa Mehta in 1999, and was named by Modern Library one of the best books in English published since 1950), and, most recently, Water (which was based on Deepa Mehta’s screenplay for the film of the same name). Her work has been published in ten countries and has been translated into several languages. Among her many honors, Sidhwa has received the Bunting Fellowship at Radcliffe/Harvard, the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s highest honor in the arts. She also served, at Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s request, on an Advisory Committee on Women’s Development in Pakistan. Sidhwa now resides in Houston.

Reviews for Cracking India

[yestare · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'd give this more than 5 stars if I could. It is incredibly moving.

[mariamreza · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A moving story illustrating the changes brought about by irrational hatred and how the potential for evil exists in apparently good people. Bapsi Sidhwa also manages to maintain a balanced approach while detailing the atrocities committed at the time of Partition.

[mykl8s · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was when I saw Depak Meta's film, Earth, based on this book, that I recalled how powerful this story was. Told from the viewpoint of a young girl who is trying to understand what is happening to her life and to others around her when India becomes free from British rule, breaks into two countries and suffers. A cautionary story of what colonialism and hegemony do to innocent people caught up in economic systems not of their making.

[dbancrof_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The inspiration for Deepa Mehta’s 1998 film Earth, this historical novel tells the story of a Parsee girl growing up in Lahore, against the hellish backdrop of partition of the Indian subcontinent. Through her young eyes, we experience violence, betrayal, and the shattering of intercommunal friendships. With identifiable characters and disillusioning twists, the book forces readers to question how they would behave in similar situations.

[beth350 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This tells the upsetting story of what happened to ordinary people when India and Pakistan were split into two countries with two religious identities.