Last Burden [Paperback] Chatterjee, Upamanyu

Book Details

• Publisher: Penguin

• Author: Upamanyu Chatterjee

• Language: English

• ISBN: 9780140236255

• Binding: Paperback

• Pages: 304

• Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches

About the Book:

Jamun is a fascinating portrayal of life in an Indian middle-class family by Upamanyu Chatterjee, the best-selling author of English, August. This second novel brilliantly recreates the life of an average Indian family at the end of the twentieth century.

The central character, Jamun, is a young man, unmarried and adrift. He stays away from his family, which consists of his parents, Urmila and Shyamanand, his elder brother Burfi, his sister-in-law Joyce, his two nephews, and their ayah. Jamun returns to the family home when his mother is hospitalized. While he tells himself that he’s staying to take care of his ailing parents, he secretly acknowledges there’s another, probably stronger, reason—an old friend, Kasturi, who has returned to the city, pregnant and married.

The novel flits between time and space, and through Chatterjee’s brilliant use of language, it presents a funny, bitterly accurate, and vivid portrait of the awesome burden of family ties. With unparalleled richness and depth, Jamun takes readers on an emotional journey, capturing the complexities of family relationships.