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The Toss of a Lemon : A Novel by Viswanathan, Padma is a work of fiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is The Toss of a Lemon : A Novel about?

From Publishers Weekly Journalist, playwright and short-story writer Viswanathan's absorbing first novel, based on her grandmother's life, goes deep into the world of southern India village life. Starting in 1896, the story follows Sivakami, a Tamil Brahmin girl, from her marriage at the age of 10 through her long widowhood, while Indian political and social life lumbers through immense changes. Before he dies, Sivakami's astrologer husband, Hanumarathnam, foresees his death in the malignant interactions between his stars and his son Vairum's. Though he trains a trustworthy servant to assist Sivakami until their son comes of age, the world that Hanumarathnam leaves behind is rapidly changing, and the family is not entirely fit to survive it; Vairum, especially, suffers the pain of a father's disaffection and, later, a widowed mother forbidden to touch any human being during daylight hours. Irreconcilable conflicts between tradition—especially the strict caste rules of Brahmin life—and the modernizing world lead predictably to alienation and tragedy, but on an epic scale. Viswanathan is especially adept at unobtrusively explaining foreign customs and worldviews to Westerners while

Who reads The Toss of a Lemon : A Novel?

Author

Viswanathan, Padma

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Published

2009

Language

EN

ISBN

9780547350721

Category

work of fiction

Subjects

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

Rating

4 / 5 (170 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14