The Toss of a Lemon [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Viswanathan, Padma

Published by Harcourt, Orlando, Florida, 2008

About this Item

Fine unread condition gold boards with maroon spine and gold spine lettering contained in a fine condition non price-clipped color illustrated dust jacket. Includes Author Dedication; Preliminary Page Quote; Epilogue; and Acknowledgments. Illustrated with a black-and-white frontispiece drawing and a double-page family tree. "Inspired by her family history, Padma Viswanathan takes us deep inside the private lives of a Brahmin family, bringing to life an India we've never before seen. At the novel's heart is Sivakami, married at ten, widowed at eighteen, and left with two childre. According to the dictates of her caste, her head is shaved and she must wear widow's whites. From dawn to dusk, she is not allowed to contaminate herself with human touch, not even to comfort her small children. And she dutifully follows custom, except for one defiant act: She moves back to her dead husband's house and village to raise her children. Her servant, Muchami, a closeted gay man who is bound by a very different set of caste rules, becomes her public face. This singular relationship, scrupulously formal yet indispensalbe fot both, holds three generations together through a turbulent half century of social and political change. The Toss of a Lemon is heartbreaking and exhilarating, profoundly exotic yet utterly recognizable in evoking the tensions that change brings to every family. At once epic and intimate, this masterful novel is the debut of a major new storyteller." - from the inner front jacket flap. "[The book] is a cpativating novel that in relating the story of one Indian woman and her family tells the story of a changing society. Precisely and deftly written, constantly interesting, mrally serious yet sympathetic - I challenge any reader to start reading this book and give up on it. The Toss of a Lemon joins the company of great novels on India." - Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi. "What pleasure I had reading this rich and fascinating saga. It had me keeping the light on into the night, mad to find out what happened next." - Lynn Freed, author of The Mirror.

Seller Inventory # 005651

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Toss of a Lemon [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]
• Publisher: Harcourt, Orlando, Florida
• Publication Date: 2008
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine