Spoonful Of Curds

Review by VANDANA KUMARWhat can one add to a book that one reads. Especially when the book happens to be Bharati Jagannathan's spoonful of curds. Especially when the back cover describes it as perhaps the closest one can get to a new R. K. Narayan.Well saying close or even half close is high praise and leads to great expectations from the book. It doesn't disappoint. Truly 'new' being the operative word. Because spoonful of curds is this wonderful collection of stories that have a unique regional flavor of being centered around Tamil Nadu and its people but at the same time has that universal thing we can relate to whether in Silchar or Goa as it touches upon pertinent issues that involve not just their women - not getting married for example.

'A Spoonful Of Curds' is a mesmerizing collection of short stories which revolve around Tamilians, both within the country & abroad. It is an enjoyable family-centric book which narrates the story of our everyday life, the bonds we share with our loved ones, the heart-wrenching situations we face, etc. It talks about the past & present lifestyles & the treatment we receive from typical families.The stories are refreshing, which one may adore & relate at times. The author presented each story, which develops around social issues, myths or stereotypes. I liked the way she discussed those serious topics smoothly & in a different perspective. The climax of every single story is unexpected & greatly executed. The book cover is designed in a Tamilian sort of way & it is apt for the book.The book is filled with familial humour & comfort. It was wonderful to read so many different aspects of Tamilian life. This became my go-to book to experience the different flavours of life.I feel that this book will not be perfect for beginners, as the stories are rather lengthy, and many characters are introduced, which may confuse the reader. I recommend this book to readers who can wait to have the book's spell to work on you.Bharati Jagannathan is presenting stories set in the recent past, told for the present and sure to be cherished in the future.

The spoonful of curds is basically a book with short stories set in Tamilnadu or around Tamil folks both India/abroad .When I read its blurb and the reviews I was really intrigued and I wanted to pick it up but unfortunately after picking up the book I realised that this book is only about one particular community within Tamil speaking crowd and I think from the title of the book this should have been obvious to me my bad I missed noticing the nuance.  The book itself however was a great read indeed only that I could not connect to many events terms faiths and descriptions due to the fact that I am a non Brahmin / non - hindu. Hence I think this book cannot justify for all Tamilians or their culture as such but can only the culture of one particular group or community of people.The author has indeed written a very sensitive collection of stories touching upon both issues that women face day to day, a lot of stereotypes and social issues for example How the society treats a woman who is unmarried/childless for a long time. Some stories were very short less than 10 pages but some of the stories were a bit long.My favourite of these was the story called guilt it is about a disabled husband and a young wife who has to suppress her temptations both physical and mental. This was very well written and thought provoking. Some stories are heart warming and others heart wrenching some cliffhangers makes you wonder how it might have ended making you finish the story in your head and some stories leave you with a thought to ponder on for days later, some stories I wished were books on their own, not wanting them to end how and where it did.These stories were definitely unique and each had a lesson to be learnt from. The writing style this book was articulative.So overall it was a pretty decent read and was definitely worth investing my time in and I'm glad I picked it up and would definetely recommend to anyone who likes to read short

A spoonful of Curds consists of twelve short stories.It is a book full of yearning; yearnings buried within one's soul. Yearnings we do not express till the end. I took long pauses after every story. I kept it on my side table and waited for the moment when my heart would stop aching so that I could go back and read another story. It never happened. I finished the book long back and it left me wanting more of it. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know if Revathi could ever muster up the courage to ask those 'stupid questions' to his husband. If yes, what answers she got? I wanted to know if Meenatchi got a good match; a boy who would love her for her true self.One who is a fan of family fiction must read this.

There is something so warm and homely about this book that I couldn't help but fell in love with it! Each story felt like reading about someone whom I have known my entire life. This is the beauty of this book!If you haven't read this book, you are missing a gem!