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All the Fishes Come Home to Roost An American Misfit in India Rachel Manija Brown 9781594865268 Books

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All the Fishes Come Home to Roost An American Misfit in India Rachel Manija Brown 9781594865268 Books

This book should be seen as part of a larger picture. I found myself incapable of reading the book as a self contained entity, but instead as a reflection of much larger issues of India, religion, culture, the publishing industry, and the memoir genre in particular. Judging from the various reviews of the book, other readers were doing the same. I feel that the spectrum of reviews going from glowing to trashing are as much a reflection of the reader's position on these other matters as they are a reflection of the quality of the book.

Although I am a native Texan, (not of the same mindset as a certain ex-president), I lived for many years in India. I married there and my son was born there. From my own experiences, I found nothing remotely unusual about the incidents in the book. Everything seemed very believable and normal. However there was definitely a large degree of "cherry picking" which favoured the unpleasant and tended to neglect the positive aspects of life in India. This tended to portray her childhood as being traumatic, while I feel that in reality it was probably a very rich upbringing.

Is this an indication of some deep maladjustment on the part of the author? (note the rhetorical question;-) Possibly - but not necessarily. This style has become a very marketable formula in an already troubled publishing industry. It has become so over used that it is becoming cliche. However it was still the "in" style at the time that this book was being put together.

We must also remember that a book is not just the work of one writer. As the book goes from the writer to the agent, and then to the publisher, there are numerous editorial changes. At some point the author looses control of the work. One cannot help but notice that the style of the book changes in the last quarter. Although this is pure conjecture on my point, I am hazarding a guess that this change reflects editorial input designed to make the book more marketable. I am guessing that it is the first three quarters of the book which is closer to the author's original writing style. But I would love to hear from someone who is much closer to the author concerning this point.

Well that is just my two bits worth.

Peace

David Courtney


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All the Fishes Come Home to Roost An American Misfit in India Rachel Manija Brown 9781594865268 Books Reviews

This book has everything one could hope for in a memoir information, entertainment, and enlightenment. The author's childhood in remote India would be horrifying in anybody else's telling; she manages to make it both horrifying and funny. Unlike many modern memoirists, the author manages to come to some peace with her past and with her family.
I wish this author would write MY memoirs someday, because I really love her voice. The "plot" of her life is quirky, to be sure, but she tells it with such warmth and grace, I could not put this book down.
Sometimes cliches come true. I simply couldn't put this book down. I had laundry to put away, chores to do, and kept saying "Just one more chapter."

I'm slightly internet acquainted with the author, so when the book came out I bought it here, to support someone I "know" -- an interesting and increasing phenomenon -- and then let it sit on the shelf for several weeks. Yesterday afternoon I picked it up as I was cleaning the house, and read the first chapter.

And was riveted. Brown's eye for detail, her use of language, her humor and candour make this a pleasurable read. The circumstances she describes make it gripping. I'd cruise along, snickering at the eccentricity of the people around her, and then be stopped in my tracks, sometimes by horror at the things she and the children around her endured at school, and sometimes by the beauty she managed to find in a distinctly un-beautiful landscape.

What struck me in retrospect, after reading comments here and elswhere on the net, was something I didn't really recognize as I read it, though it was in front of my eyes. Brown doesn't ridicule the people who surrounded her at the ashram, she views them with the ruthless logic of a child, and all the while looks at the adults around her with the unspoken question "Don't you people see that this is seriously screwy? Is it just me?" The question is there in the book -- Brown was clear from the start that she got that things were skewed and that the adults didn't get it -- but I didn't recognize the voice and mindset of that questioning until I thought back. Brown was a rational seven year old set down in a completely irrational situation. That she was able, twenty or so years later, to write about it with humor as well as horror is a testament to her resilience.

This is an unforgettable read. Highly, highly recommended.
Very interesting story about a young girl growing up in a very strange commune type situation in India. The story is told with much humor and the last paragraph in the book really does bring it all home to roost!
ok
Brown recounts her horrifying, traumatic childhood with much-needed humor and perspective. Despite her unusual circumstances growing up in an ashram in India, Brown's experiences should resonate with any survivor of childhood abuse or severe emotional trauma. Highly recommended.
A fun read
This book should be seen as part of a larger picture. I found myself incapable of reading the book as a self contained entity, but instead as a reflection of much larger issues of India, religion, culture, the publishing industry, and the memoir genre in particular. Judging from the various reviews of the book, other readers were doing the same. I feel that the spectrum of reviews going from glowing to trashing are as much a reflection of the reader's position on these other matters as they are a reflection of the quality of the book.

Although I am a native Texan, (not of the same mindset as a certain ex-president), I lived for many years in India. I married there and my son was born there. From my own experiences, I found nothing remotely unusual about the incidents in the book. Everything seemed very believable and normal. However there was definitely a large degree of "cherry picking" which favoured the unpleasant and tended to neglect the positive aspects of life in India. This tended to portray her childhood as being traumatic, while I feel that in reality it was probably a very rich upbringing.

Is this an indication of some deep maladjustment on the part of the author? (note the rhetorical question;-) Possibly - but not necessarily. This style has become a very marketable formula in an already troubled publishing industry. It has become so over used that it is becoming cliche. However it was still the "in" style at the time that this book was being put together.

We must also remember that a book is not just the work of one writer. As the book goes from the writer to the agent, and then to the publisher, there are numerous editorial changes. At some point the author looses control of the work. One cannot help but notice that the style of the book changes in the last quarter. Although this is pure conjecture on my point, I am hazarding a guess that this change reflects editorial input designed to make the book more marketable. I am guessing that it is the first three quarters of the book which is closer to the author's original writing style. But I would love to hear from someone who is much closer to the author concerning this point.

Well that is just my two bits worth.

Peace

David Courtney