A Breath of Fresh Air

Rating:
Summary: Review by a male reader
Review: An intriguing story about human nature. A complex blend of the contemporary Indian society and it's conservative thinking. The ever-lasting conflict between a man and a woman.

Amulya Malladi has illustriously depicted, how society predefines the roles and expectations of each character, which changes as life progresses. The innocent girl, Anjali grows into an independent woman in one horrific night in the backdrop of the Bhopal gas tragedy. She lives with the scars of her husband's betrayal and the eternal question "why". "Why is a man always right? Why does a women bear consequences for his actions? Why is society always partial towards him? Why is my child suffering as a result of my husband's need for a few moments of pleasure."

A commendable first book by young author, Amulya Malladi. She has written an engrossing novel, which shows potential for greater works to follow (which I look forward to). I truly recommend this book to everyone. I could not put it down once I started reading it.

Rating:
Summary: the BEST book I've read this year
Review: Be prepared to weep at the end but this novel is beautiful. Writing is superb and the characters are not only believable but they stay with you long after you close the book.

Anjali is waiting for her husband, Prakash, to pick her up after a trip to her parents. Prakash doesn't show and Anjali faces a life-changing situation as a result. Anjali divorces, remarries and has a son, Amar. The story weaves their fragile lives with a past that comes into the present.

Chapters are short and moving; each brought across by the character's feelings and thoughts.

Can't say enough good about this story. Remember your kleenex and get ready for a novel to stay with you.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: Beautifully written in simple english, this book definitely touches one's heart. Did not get a chance to read her second book yet but I am sure I will.

Rating:
Summary: Turns an simple story into something filled with life
Review: Excellent not because of an immensely creative storyline, but rather due to Malladi's portrayal of a somewhat simple story that she brings to life. It is her character development and perfect creation of basic human emotions that seperate this work from others I have read that have similiar stories.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I am not done reading the book yet. But this is the first time in a few months that I really dont want to part with a book. If only I could read it at work *sigh*

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book!
Review: I loved this book from beginning to end. I was so engulfed in it I couldn't put the book down. I read this book and "The Mango Season" and I have to say Amulya Malladi has what it takes to keep you interested. It was a pleasure to read both books written by her. Anjali is such a strong character as well as her husband Sandeep. I am just waiting for the next book!!!

Rating:
Summary: A story of a carefully crafted and beautiful fabric.
Review: I want to recommend Amulya Malladi's new novel, A Breath of Fresh Air. Don't let the easy read that this book is contribute to any doubt that this is good literature. As literature it allows us to recognize in moments, our world and ourselves. Amulya takes the opportunity of the Carbide Factory gas explosion in Bhopal, India that happened in 1984 to weave a fascinating tale about a woman in the area of the explosion. Her novel has such a charming development and rhythm that harkens to the Classics. Like the writers the central English teacher character, Anjali, emulates; Amulya effectively elucidates the trials of a nation's birth - India - coming to grips with it. In the drawing room of one character, a military man, you find the landscape of a varied fabric and icons of the subcontinent of India. This mash of emblems reminds me of the political scenes that Graham Greene describes in his great political dramas. And of course the humid climate of Hyderabad and Bhopal are not but some of the elements in common to Mexico and Port-au-Prince in Grahams' novels. Anjali's plight in the Bhopal explosion aftermath both immediately and 20 years down the line follows the keen and intriguing character-analysis of Graham Greene. I think the simple style of Amulya's first novel betrays the strong literary tradition she continues. It has been a decade since I've consumed a novel so voraciously. Pick up, A Breath of Fresh Air . I'm sure you'll love it.

Rating:
Summary: The Title Says It All
Review: I would not have normally picked a book set in India but after hearing some buzz about A Breath Of Fresh Air and seeing it on the library shelf, I figured I had nothing to lose.

The story opens with Anjali waiting for her husband Prakash to pick her up at the train station but he is late because he is with another woman. That would have been bad enough, but because he was not there to pick her up it set off a terrible chain reaction of events. There was an explosion at the plant near by that sent deadly gas out into the air and Anjali was trapped. She almost died from the fumes. Even though she loved Prakash with all her heart, she left him.

Now many years later, we find Anjali happily married to a wonderful man, Sandeep. Life is not all a bed of roses though. Anjali and Sandeeps son is very ill and will not live to become an adult. His lungs were damaged from the gases that Anjali breathed in that fateful night.

While out at the local market, Anjali runs into Prakash, who is also remarried. This sends Anjali reminiscing at the past and the events that lead her to where she is right now and then coming to terms with Prakash and her divorce from him.

A Breath Of Fresh Air is a brilliant story that will transport you to another time and place and I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to feel the story that they are reading.