I randomly picked up this book from my local library because of the vivid cover. I then decided to borrow it simply because the story is based in my native home town of Chennai. I didn’t particularly expect to enjoy it – the blurb at the back of the book is a bit boring, but I was looking forward to a bit of nostalgia and references to places and food, and so on.
And this book met my very simple expectations perfectly!
About the book
Grand Life Apartments is a middle-class apartment block surrounded by lush gardens in the coastal city of Chennai, India. It is the home of Kamala, a pious, soon-to-be-retired dentist who spends her days counting down to her daughter’s annual visits, who is studying in the UK. Her neighbor, Revathi, is a 32-year-old engineer who is frequently reminded by her mother that she has reached her expiry date in the arranged-marriage market. Jason, a British chef, has impulsively moved to India to escape his recent heartbreak in London.
The residents have their own complicated lives to navigate, but they all share a love for where they live. When a developer threatens to demolish the apartments and build over the gardens, the community of Grand Life Apartments is brought even closer together to fight for their beautiful home.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My Review
If you’re a fan of Alexander McCall Smith (review of a couple of his Scotland Street books here), you will also love this book. It’s got the same gentle, unhurried pace, it’s set very beautifully, and very accurately in Chennai. There is a lot of local flavor. The story itself takes a backseat to the characters and the setting. Most of the book focuses on three very sweet characters facing a turning point in their lives.
To add a bit of tension, some builders want to take over this apartment complex for their own expansive purposes. The landlord Mani and our three heroes take on the baddies in a court case and win. Now, if you have even a little knowledge of India, you would know how absolutely implausible such a scenario is. My grandmother had a similar court case going on for most of her life; she’s been dead for twenty years now, and still the case is not resolved. In fact, I would say our modern Indian legal system is more like the one in Bleak House, and there’s no way in hell that these people with no money or connections could have resolved anything in such a short time.
So that storyline was a bit of a dud, but what I really enjoyed were the characters. Jason is adorable, and I loved all his efforts to cook South Indian Tamilian food using the most famous Tamilian cookbook of all – Cook and See. I still remember getting this cookbook as a wedding gift and being completely nonplussed at how technical it was. It’s really a cookbook for people who already know how to cook!
I just googled and checked, and I see there have been some efforts at modernization (hopefully added some pictures?). They have even made a website of these recipes.
Anyway, getting back to the topic of my book review, the other two characters are also dealing with their issues. Revathi is in her mid-thirties, and a boy from the US has been arranged to meet her and, hopefully, get married. Revathi is under a lot of pressure, and when she meets the guy, she is torn even more. He is a nice guy, polite, friendly, and kind, but could she love him?
And then, there’s Kamala – very reminiscent of my mom, or most Tamilian moms. She represents the old trying to understand the ways of the young (and failing most of the time). There’s a slightly boring subplot about her and her daughter, which feels trite and doesn’t move the story much. Although I liked Kamala, she was more of a trope than a fully fleshed-out character.
The book’s ending is a bit bleh. None of the storylines, except for the lawsuit, is resolved properly, and I suspect the plan is to make a series of these books.
If they do plan to make a series, I just might check it out whenever I am in a nostalgic, homesick mood!
