Fasting Feasting

The title of Anita Desai's 1999 novel uses food as a metaphor.  The first half of Fasting, Feasting takes place in India where food is celebrated. The second half takes place in America. There are two families who are primarily featured in the book.  The Indian family, which includes Mama, Papa, Uma, Aruna and Arun, use food as a way to commune with each other and with their friends. When son Arun travels to Massachusetts to attend college, he stays in a dormitory during the school year and with the Patton family during summer vacation. The Pattons are a typical American family who use food as an isolation tactic, never sharing a meal.

The theme of the novel is family relationships. The Indian family contrasts sharply with the Pattons. Their story is mainly concerned with Uma, the oldest, who is used as a servant by her parents. She has not been able to make a successful marriage so she stays at home with her parents raising her brother Arun, ordering around the cook and has plenty of house cleaning to do.  Arun, on the other hand, does not seem to fit in anywhere. He prefers to be alone, his own isolation tactic, after a lifetime of having to do whatever his family decides that he will do.  The Pattons, by contrast, have no bonds of connection.  Each member of the family does whatever they want to do and whenever they want to do it.

Fabulous reading!  5 out of 5 stars.