Tiger Hills

Quick Overview

Sarita Mandanna’s debut novel is an overwhelming subject thoroughfare, ambitiously attempting to address issues of love, place, suicide, war, family, religion, superstition, rape, bullying, colonialism, childhood, education, death, money, business, beauty and so much more. It’s a buy one subject get a thousand free type of book; topical sardines crammed onto the pages. To be fair to Mandanna, she pulls off this spectacular feat fairly well, and for the first twenty or so years of the novel (about half way through) I was completely, spectacularly, unashamedly hooked.

This first section addresses the early lives of Devi and Devanna who grow up together in the beautiful Coorg Mountains of Southern India. The pair are inseparable through childhood, though the reader understands at a very early stage that their lives will not be left un-tinged by tragedy; the herons which fly above Devi’s mother as she gives birth, the horoscope reading and reflections of the local priest and the all knowing narrative voice leave us waiting and prepared for some type of agonizing and painful event. All though it was easy to foresee the love triangle which opens up between Devi, Machu the tiger killer, and Devanna (Devanna believing that Devi will always be his, whilst Devi vows as a stubborn ten-year old that she will eventually marry the famed and heralded tiger killer Machu) Mandanna manages to completely shock the reader with the terrible act which fuses all three together into a future of black tragedy (I won’t ruin it for you, but it’s horrible. Lots of horrible things happen actually. If you’re not into pet death/squirrel torture then I suggest you don’t read it over breakfast- my big mistake.)

Whilst this part of the story is encaptivating, enthralling, Mandanna now moves on into the lives of the ageing protagonists and their children. Whilst I was never tempted to put the book down (the beginning was so beautiful, I knew there must be an ending to match) the tale becomes worn in this stretch, weighted down by topic, the heavy sense of time and the burden of threads left untidy. Whilst this is a wonderful novel, it struggles to achieve the momentous heights it had laid out for itself so early on.

A Picture Portrait

Yellow hibiscus/Indian flowers: Flowers, nature, gardening and botany are all themes used for their symbolistic ends by the author. Devanna creates a garden in tribute to Devi though fails to plant the yellow hibiscus, Devi’s favourite plant which reminds her of Machu; a fact Dev is unaware of. A space in the garden remains which Dev hopes to fill with a rare flower he has searched for since his childhood. The fact that the garden is beautifully rich with flowers and life, though remains bare of the plants they both truly love, encaptulates the feeling which pervades the final stretch of the novel: The pair living lives which are full of everything bar that which they truly desire.

Croquet on the lawn, dahhlinggg: English colonizers and their brash and pompous ways; it really is enough to make you hate yourself. Also a feature of the latter part of the novel, we are given an insight into their lifestyle, and the irrepressible influence this has on the people of Coorg. Devi’s adopted son Appu is given an english education and finds himself in a strange no-man’s land across cultures. Drinking whisky and partying hard, he insists the family discuss their day in the dining room before proceeding to supper. Furthermore, we are shown how his hybridity, whilst leading to cultural insight and political power, can only result in personal disaster; his marriage with local Coorg villager Baby doomed to failure.

My Favourite Review…

…is by Sarah Johnson on Blogger.com (http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/2010/05/report-on-sarita-mandannas-tiger-hills.html) and goes a bit like this:

‘In a way I felt I arrived in Mandanna’s Coorg as a tourist who decided to stay. I was caught first by the magnificence of the landscape, flora, and fauna, then slowly introduced to its people’s customs, ceremonies, and traditions. Only later did I get to know the characters. They don’t reveal their inner selves to strangers easily, though after a while I didn’t feel like a stranger any longer. The novel’s historical focus becomes more political in the later sections, though European influences on Coorg (the missionaries, the coffee planters, the prestige of an overseas education) are seen throughout.

Tiger Hills presents universal themes such as our relationships with our surroundings, the unpredictable patterns of our lives, and the happiness we evoke and stifle in one another, and the author’s rich, mesmerizing language brings them all to life. And in composing this eloquent hymn to her homeland, she made me believe that Coorg must be the single most beautiful place on earth.’

Criticism

Let’s be honest, there was enough of that in ‘Quick Outline’….but seriously, even the Hitler youth are some how squeezed in. In a historical representation of Southern India? Really? It’s enough to make your head explode.

Love,

Zoe

3.5/5 Stars

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