http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9780802142818-7: Set in the isolated home of a retired judge in the Himalayas at the time of a Nepali insurgency. The book follows multiple stories - the judge's granddaughter Sai's love of her math tutor, the judge's cook's obsession with his son who has finally made it in America - or so he thinks, the struggle of the son as an immigrant in an unforgiving New York, the region's political upheaval, and the story of how the judge became the irascible lonely man he is. Normally, I love books of this sort - generations of family, children coming-of-age between two cultures, Asian foods and traditions...and this one started out wonderfully - beautiful writing, interesting characters...but for some reason it just didn't hold my interest, and by the end, I just couldn't wait for it to end. I was unsatisfied with the love story, I wanted more from the relationship between the cook and his son -- it just didn't come together for me. I haven't had much luck with books that are awarded the Booker prize, but I'll probably keep trying. If you like these types of stories, I don't think you can do much better than Rohinton Mistry's novels for plot and Anita Desai for language.(* - Winner of the 2006 Man Booker Prize)
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