Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pub. Date:October 30, 2007
Paperback: 288 pages
Leela is a twelve year old girl, living in a little village called Jamlee, India during the Ghandi era. She doesn't care for school and barely marks the growing unrest between the British colonists and her own countrymen. Why should she? Her future has been planned since her engagement at two and marriage at nine.
But then everything changes: her future husband Jamanlal is bitten by a snake and dies. And that has big consequences for Leela: she if forced to go Keeping Corner, a custom in her culture for widows, her long hair is shaven off, and she has to stay inside the house for a year,mourning for a boy she hardly knew.
When her schoolteacher hears of her fate, she offers Leela lessons at home. For the first time, despite her confinement, Leela opens her eyes to the changing world around her. India is suffering from a severe drought, and farmers are unable to pay taxes to the British. She learns about a new leader of the people, a man named Gandhi, who starts a political movement and practices satyagraha--non-violent protest against the colonists as well as the caste system. The quiet strength ofsatyagraha may liberate her country. Could she use the same path to liberate herself?
Keeping Corner is a very impressive teen novel between cultures. I never heard of this traditional mourning ritual. It was sad to read how Leela's live changed so dramatically because of an accident which she didn't have any influence on.
But it also was great to read how she picked up her education and followed her brother to Ahmedabad to go to the ashram and follow Ghandi's movement.
The only point of critique I had about this book was the non-explanation of who was who in the story, especially in the beginning. All the family members are called by Indian family names: Kaki is her aunt, Kaka is her uncle, Ba is mother and Bapuji is father. At the end I found the glossary with the explanation of the terms, but I would have liked it more if the author explained it a bit more in the story itself.
The novel is based on the life of the great aunt of the author.
Great review, I never heard of this book before but it sounds really nice. I like that there is a little bit of history in it. The names would confuse me too! :)
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