Novel
The Crow Eaters
Bapsi Sidhwa · 1978
Synopsis
Faredoon Junglewalla, whom everyone calls Freddy, newly married to Putli, leaves central India for Lahore with his family and his mother-in-law Jerbanoo, a woman of thunderous temper. He sets himself up there as a merchant, prospers through various ventures, has seven children and becomes a notable of the city's Parsi community. His quarrels with Jerbanoo are the comic engine of the novel, which paints the qualities and failings of the Parsis in colonial India at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Context
The novel first appeared at the author's own expense in Lahore in 1978, then in 1980 from Sangam Books in Bombay and from Jonathan Cape in London; Muhammad Umar Memon translated it into Urdu in 2012. According to its author, it was the first novel ever written about the Parsis, and many members of the community took offence before adopting it; its publication in Lahore was accompanied by a bomb threat. Kirkus, in 1982, noted in it humanity and a touch of pathos, mingled with farce that is at times heavy.
Who it is for
In English; a comic novel that requires only a little curiosity about the Parsi community.
Prizes and reception
Selected in 2022 for the Big Jubilee Read list; the BBC then described it as wickedly funny and searingly honest.
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