If Anita Desai's novels revolve around the theme of alienation and lonliness, then this book is certainly no exception. When the protagonist feels the impact of yet another pregnancy, both the minor irritations and the frank grittiness of life become too much to bear. She shuts down emotionally and escapes physically to the island of her childhood where she hopes to remain pregnant with the baby forever since bringing another child into the world is more that she can handle. Though seemingly fantastical in nature, Anita Desai paints a very vivd portrait of a woman who seems alienated by the very air that she breathes. Readers will be gripped by the storyline though the English may seem somewhat stilted and artificial to the American reader. The tidy summation , as well, seemed a bit simplistic and not exactly what the reader may have hoped for. All in all, a great little book embracing the universal themes of a woman's life.

I always feel like I've read something good if I'm still trying to interpret it weeks after I've finished it. Such is the case with "In Custody." On one hand, it's a very entertaining, almost slapstick account of a poor chump who serves badly at a less-than-stellar academic institution. After finishing it, though, I've been doing a lot of thinking about new versus old theme in particular... [There] are very valid questions today, which makes this a timely read.

I haven't seen the film, and I'm not a student of Urdu poetry, but I really enjoyed this book. In fact, it's the only truly delightful, light-handed academic satire I've ever read. You'll find none of the hit-'em-over-the-head-in-case-they-miss-the-point nonsense of Jane Smiley's Moo and none of the archness and linguistic density of Alexander Theroux's D'Arconville's Cat. Desai employs a gentle, kind humor and simple, but totally controlled, style to create two memorable characters who will long outlive more fervid attempts to show the sometimes ridiculous lengths to which academics must go to achieve their goals and the goals thrust upon them.

It's been a while since I've read it, but am inspired to write about it since this book is far superior to the one I'm reading now by the same author (Journey to Ithaca). I loved this book. I feel that Desai truly captured the feeling of a bygone time (which was bygone already in the story). The frustration the poor lecturer felt at his failed attempts to record the great Urdu Ghazal master, which led to one disaster after another...poor loser, is felt by the reader. If you've ever been to India, you can just imagine the setting, the streets, the buildings, the city where the lecturer goes to make his recordings. The underhandedness of the Master's mistress, and the drunken stupidity of the "chumchas" is so typical, as is the nagging wife of the lecturer who just doesn't understand his artistic pursuits. Desai gave this book a wonderful ending too. Despite all that went wrong, the Master still saw through his drunken haze the sincerity of the lecturer and left him "In Custody," of his compositions. A masterful, bitter sweet ending.

Okay, this is an opinion but I didn't like this book. This was not a book for me. I read it, at every step I was caught between what I interpreted to be either dither pretentiousness or elevated lierary pedestrianism, but as I wrote, this is my opinion only. But, as far as I was conerned, worse still I liked it so little that I was virtually compelled to tell someone. To say that this is a brilliant set of observations of humanity would be like saying that a photocopier is capable of seeing into the soul of man, analyzing it, making it extremely and tediously dull, and them making double sided copies of it, in black, gray and white.

Sorry to be so jaundiced but I really don't see what all the fuss is about...

I enjoyed reading Desai's Diamond Dust and other Stories due to the wide range of themes she explores in these stories, ranging from insensitivity to others as in" Royalty" , human obsessions as in the title story ,the need for privacy in " Underground " ,sibling and filial relationships in a cross-cultural framework as in "Winterscape" , a nostalgia for the bygone days and times as in " Tepoztlan Tomorrow " .The sense of place is very strong in these stories , bringing about a confluence of cultures ,and casts an undeniable influence onthe characters ,moulding their perceptions and affecting their choices . The stories are memorable due to the powerful delineation of characters reflecting the subtle shades of the complex human personality .The stories stir up the feelings of the reader through the psychological depth and the perceptive tone .The element of drama and climactic conflict seems to be lacking in these stories , yet it is the imaginative vitality and the poetic vision of the author which becomes the tour de force of these stories .

Some of these stories are excellent, some just good. Winterscape was one of the best stories I've read. I found the collection to be an excellent observation of "East" meets "West." "Underground" had an especially excellent exploration of this theme.

Make sure this is not the first Anita Desai novel you read. This is so unlike her previous works, it makes you wonder who the author really is. The language is different - much lighter and easier to read. Some parts of it remind you of Roy or Desai Jr.

The Fasting part is long. It's main protagonist Uma - you cannot help compare her and her context to Bim in Clear Light of Day - leads a pitiful existence peppered with everything evil that can happen with arranged marriages. Is there anything cheerful in her existence? However, there are moments in her life - her "little escapes" by associating herself with the nuns and their little art and craft projects was quite touching.

The Feasting part was interesting. It had its moments of promise - but ended rather quickly without the characters having any time to develop. Maybe this was deliberate and reflective of the lack of communication amongst the family members of the Mass suburbia - I am not sure.

The ties between the two parts are tenous and quite forced. I would almost like the Feasting part developed and nurtured a little and published on its own. Fasting is easily forgettable - its banality of themes and its treatment is quite unacceptable from a writer of Desai's ability. Read Clear Light of Day instead - which I believe is one of the best books of the century.

I must say, I find some of the negative comments of others surprising since I felt this to be the most compelling of Desai's books. I think that it is deceptively simple and quite profound in parts. I have read it twice and upon the first the reading I admit that I did not think that I stumbled on to something special. But something told me I should consider it further, because like an unexpected feast, it was memorable. I felt so pulled by it that I actually decided it would be a book worth sharing with my students. They are currently in the process of reading it and enjoying her prose while considering the novel's subtle undertones. Unlike many other novels, this one does not gloss over or pretend to hide the obvious flaws and irrationality of either the Indian or American culture. Instead, it delivers a poignant, often startling, and ultimately, I think, positive view of acceptance--of one's life, of one's family and of one's culture. As far as the ending is concerned, it is wholly truthful. What aspect of life ends with any real sense of closure? Like Desai's characters, we only move and meander along, unsure of our footing at times. Her ability to draw out richness from the limited simplicity of her characters lives is quite remarkable. The more I reflect on the novel, the more I am impressed with her insight and intelligence.

The books deals with two differant cultures. First part of the book highlights the Indian traditions, cultures and mostly the place of a woman in an Indian family. Anita Desai has done an excellent job in describing the indian family to every single detail of existance. Though this type of families still exists in India, Please do not generalise this view to the whole nation. It is only a 40% of families that could relate to the book specially in states where literacy is meagre.

I must say however, there are lots of uma's in India, today, and all they need is a little encouragement with education and exposure to the outside world, and she could definitely be a very strong woman. I loved this character of Uma in the book because she was both willing to take a chance with life and at the same time dedicated to her family. And she took all that happened to her life with such grace that she did not give me a chance to cry for her. Thats her inner strength.

The second part of the book deals with the dillemma of Arun in a world which he could not have imagined. Arun, the younger brother of Uma reaches Massachusettes for his higher studies, and is totally taken aback by the lifestyles of the west.

The most beautiful part of the book is its literatrue. So well written and with accurate details, its definitely a joyful read.

This is one of the worse books I have ever plodded through. I can't believe I actually finished it. It is full of rambling prose, and uninteresting characters, in a very boring, uneventful plot. Why would anyone want to write such a book? What is the point? Matteo and Sophie aren't very deep people, and the bit about the Mother was so uninteresting. It wasn't even worthy of one star and is in such contrast to books by the same author, that have a soul. Why would anyone want to write about this kind of indulgent, boring uninteresting people, even though I know their type exists. They aren't worthy to be characters in any literature.

I did not find this book interesting. I had to struggle to finish it. What distinguishes Anita Desai's work is her vivid and beautiful description of nature. The second half where Sophie goes on a journey to discover the roots of 'Mataji' does not connect well with the readers. A lot of time the book was very boring and going nowhere in the name of spirituality. I read this novel with great anticipation as I liked Desai's 'Clear Light of The Day' very much. If you are expecting something like that then this novel will come as an disppointment.

Desai is a writer who repays re-reading. This book is subtle and textured. The author plays marvelously with time and consciousness in ways reminiscent of Virginia Woolf, brought up to date.

Anita Desai is a very famous author from India. In her story, "Games at Twilight," a peaceful game of hide & seek turns into an unforgettable nightmare for one boy.

This book is boring. The book is character driven, but it never gets deep enough into the characters to make them interesting. It's overly wordy and too descriptive to the point that it is excessive and overloaded beyond the point of being able to draw an accurate image of what is being described. I only finished the book because it was pretty short, but even that took me a while because it was so slow and boring.

Set in contemporary India; Nanda Kaul has finished raising her family - children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren - and seems to want nothing more than to be left alone in her remote hillside home to finish out her days in isolation, peace and quiet. That is until her greatgranddaughter Raka is unexpectedly left with her while the child's mother is ill. Raka is even more remote and independent in nature than Nanda Kaul. The style of writing is poetic; that is, there is no excess of words, and what words are there create vivid images. The story is character-driven, thus proceeding at a slow pace. And it is sad. I would definitely not recommend this book to readers who prefer their stories to wrap up neatly and with happily-ever-after endings.