Amazon Editorial Review:
Between the pressures to marry and become a traditional Indian wife and the humiliation of losing her job in Silicon Valley, Devi is on the edge–where the only way out seems to be to jump. . . .

Yet Devi’s plans to “end it all” fall short when she is saved by the last person she wants to see: her mother. Forced to move in with her parents until she recovers, Devi refuses to speak. Instead, she cooks . . . nonstop. And not the usual fare, but off the wall twists on Indian classics, like blueberry curry chicken or Cajun prawn biryani. Now family meals are no longer obligations. Devi’s parents, her sister, and her brother-in-law can’t get enough–and they suddenly find their lives taking turns as surprising as the impromptu creations Devi whips up in the kitchen each night. Then a stranger appears out of the blue. Devi, it appears, had a secret – one that touches many a nerve in her tightly wound family. Though exposing some shattering truths, the secret will also gather them back together in ways they never dreamed possible.

Interspersed with mouthwatering recipes, this story mixes humor, warmth, and leap-off-the-page characters into a rich stew of a novel that reveals a woman’s struggle for acceptance from her family and herself.

I have read another book by this author and loved it.

This was quite the story! To me, it was a very serious story, touching on racism, a sense of belonging and the constraints of tradition and the " appearance of a loving and successful family ". I am saving it for a bookbox coming my way.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book was chosen from a bookbox I participated in and it is now on its way by surface mail.(six-eight weeks) Enjoy!

I received this through the Intercultural VBB today. And a beautiful bookmark!
Brilliant!
Looking forward to read it...
Thank you, loveamystery!

A nice read. Strange mixture... the story of a suicide attempt and how to deal with living on, told in an entertaining, light tone. It's sad and funny at the same time, perspectives often change and characters are depicted well with all their good and bad sides. Recommendable!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Holiday Gift Giving Wishlist Surprise RABCK along with some chocolate :-)
Enjoy!

ApoloniaX, thank you so much for this wishlistbook, it looks very good! And thanks for all the other goodies that came with it!!

I enjoyed this book so much!
I love to read about India, its culture and especially food – and this had a nice combination of it all. The recipes at the end of each chapture were mouth-watering, even if some of the incredients and dishes were unfamiliar to me. The book also showed cooking as therapeutic activity – I agree to that completely!

The story was a great mixture of witty humour, sadness and a bit shocking secrets. It was also a story of four women, all quite strong outside but fragile inside – I always love to read about the inner life of women (perhaps it has something to do with my age, I don't know?) and ”Serving Crazy with Curry” showed me very well described, versatile female characters. The further you went with the book, the better you understood why these women turned up the way they were and why their relationships with each other and with other people formed the way they did.

The story of Devi was quite credible – I can believe that such emptiness that she was suffering after the hard incident earlier can cause an action like this. Her way of coping through cooking, mixing traditions to her modern way of life was very ingenious.

Saroj and Avi, Devi's parents, were very realistic couple – Saroj sticking to traditions, wanting to go back to India one day, never really properly adjusted to the life in USA. Saroj seemed to express her love to her family by cooking traditionally food and not wanting to alter anything on it. Maybe that was also a way to use power over the others? After all, she was quite controlling woman. Avi, on the other hand, didn't have any intention to go back to India – and on surface he seemed to be contented with his life – but underneath he had insecurity and doubts.

Shobha, Devi's sister, seemed to have it all – expect a wanted child – but after all, there was a lot more missing in her life. I liked the way Shobha turned out to be during the book, Her work, her marriage to Girish – she seemed to grow up when she met difficulties.

Finally the grandmother Vasu. Devi adored her, and Devi seemed to be her favourite in the family too. Devi kind of admired her, whereas Saroj felt quite bitter towards her mother, feeling that she had never been on the first place on her mother's life. Actually I would have liked to read even more about Vasu's past life in India! She was quite contradictory woman after all.

Now, reading back what I've read, it seems that to me this book was mainly about the relationships between mothers and daughters. And during the past years, I've found out that it is the type of book that fascinates me a lot. And somehow in this book I find the character of Saroj to most interesting. She is the kind of woman who things that appearance, especially inside the Indian community, is very important and she defenitively gets a setback when all the things in the book happen and mix their life.

All in all, this is a heart-warming story and the kind of book you really didn't want to finish at all – a book that will stay in mind for some time! On the other hand, I think this story is complete the way it is and I wouldn't wish to know what happens next!

At the end of book, there is a funny chapture: author of the book, Amulya Malladi is interviewed by Devi, the protagonist of the book. Also other characters interfere into it and it is quite hilarious! Devi is asking things from Amulya who is asking them from Devi who is asking back... very funny, makes you wonder who was the writer of this book!
The very last chapter is about reading group questions and topics for discussion.

Thanks ever so much for this wishlist book, Chania! I travelled to India a few years ago and love to read about the country. And about food too :) Kiitos!

A very enjoyable read indeed. A melancholy look at a generational and a cultural gap, with warm humour mixed in. I especially enjoyed Devi's recipes! Thank you for sharing :)

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The book's now off to jumpingin in Canada. She chose it from the First Sentences VBB. Enjoy!

Thanks, Annimanni, for the book, postcard and bookmark! How funny that this book started out in Vancouver and is now back for a stay here.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot. The women in this story all had characters that were difficult in one way or another, and I felt that the author treated them with affection and respect, despite their flaws.

This book will soon be on its way to Tsjara, who chose it from ApoloniaX's South Asian VBB.

On its way to Tsjara by surface mail.

It's here! ^_^ Thanks for sending jumpingin (and for your lovely Vancouver postcard too)! Looks like this book has already travelled quite a bit (though it doesn't look that way :p). Hmm.. seems there are some recipes in it too, maybe I'll try some :)

I enjoyed this book a lot, and was especially interested in the relationship between the three generation of women. Though the subject is quite heavy (story starting with an attempt at suicide), the tone is light, making it feel sort of paradoxical. Also, the descriptions of the food are mouth-watering.


Off to a mystery BCer who chose it from the International BookXerpting...
Hope you will enjoy it!

This book arrived safely with me today.
It seems all those who have read it, also liked it. I'm interested to find out, if I'll like it to 😀

Thanks for putting it on the list for the first pages roundabout!