This is a delightfully amusing first novel by a young author. The novel begins with a small village experiencing a drought, and an offbeat, dysfunctional family awaiting the birth of their child. The boy, Sampath, grows into a disaffected youth, living at home, in a dead-end job at the post office where he delights in reading the townspeople's mail.
When, at last, he gets tired of complaints from his boss, his family, and others trying to tell him how to manage his life, he runs away and climbs a tree on a deserted farm. There, spouting trite sayings and vague advice such as "Once you have broken the bottle you can no longer distinguish the air inside from the air outside," Sampath becomes famous as a holy man.
Throw in a sister who bites off a man's ear to show her affection and some monkeys with a taste for alcohol, and you've got a great beach read. This novel is well-written, fast moving, and thoroughly enjoyable. The only complaint I would have about it is that it leaves you wanting more of a "finished" ending. Perhaps Sampath will return.
Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, by Kiran Desai
Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998.
