OUT OF INDIA - Hardcover

Gavin, Jamila

3.25

48 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1857939638 ISBN 13: 9781857939637

Publisher: Chrysalis Children's Books, 1997

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In 1947 Jamila Gavin was a small child living in India in the foothills of the Himalayas. Her father was Indian and a friend of Mahatma Gandhi, and her mother was English. Her earliest memories are of travelling by sea between India and England on a huge ocean liner. Because she is half Indian and half English she has become used to describing herself as half and half. "Out of India" tells the story of the young Jamila: her memories of growing up in a beautiful Indian palace, the daring games played with her brother, and her family's move to London where her new school friends have endless questions about her old life. The young Jamila experiences the last days of Colonial India and the excitement of Independence. In this autobiographical account, published to mark fifty years of Indian Independence, she relives the experiences of her early years and her memories of those heady days of hope in a new future for India.

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Review:

Evocative and absorbing (Writing Magazine)

Provides a fascinating -- and not always comfortable -- insight into the life of a family straddling two powerfully contrasting cultures (The Guardian)

Hilarious and informative ... Reading and learning has never been so much fun (The Voice)

A timely memoir of her Anglo-Indian childhood which deepens the understanding of her novels . . . a unique record of dual heritage. (The Times)

Her story provides a fascinating - and not always comfortable - insight into the life of a family straddling two powerfully contrasting cultures. (The Guardian)

...offers an enlightening, mixed-race slant on Indian independence as well as an account of a pre-TV, all-skipping 1940s childhood. The contrast between grey, cabbage-scented England and the vibrant sensuality of India is revealing as well. (The Independent)

evocative and absorbing (Writing Magazine, February-March 2003)

a very moving and personal reminiscence...Filled with the author's own delightful and poignant photos, this Anglo-Indian story will touch anyone's heart while also teaching readers about Indian traditions and culture. (4:teens, April 2003)

a hilarious and informative account...It is something many mixed race children will be able to identify with. (The Voice)

Book Description:

Vivid memories of an Anglo-Indian childhood, by the award-winning author of Coram Boy.

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