Anita Desai’s In CustodyA Critical Appraisal (Paperback)  | Released: 2011

A memorable book. The best that Anita Desai has written. Paul Bailey in the Evening Standard (about In Custody) The beauty of In Custody is that what seems to be a story of inevitable tragedies turns out to be a tale of triumph over these tragedies. Magnificent. Salman Rushdie in the Observer The novel In Custody by Anita Desai is significant as Desai here explores the psyche of male protagonist outside the circumscriptions of familial ties and obligations. She makes a departure from her earlier obsessive preoccupation with the interior landscape of hypersensitive and neurotic women. Anita Desais In Custody: A Critical Appraisal attempts to decipher even the un-deciphered issues of the novel. It offers an exhaustive critical commentary on the novel and the novelist. The book, comprising various articles on Indian-English fiction, Anita Desai, her art of plot construction, theme, characterization, narrative technique, textual issues, imagery, symbolism, etc. explores Desais fictional world. It highlights the textual treasure and interpretations in a very simple way for easy comprehension by the readers. It will be useful to the students and teachers of English literature, particularly Indian English literature, and researchers in these fields.Table of Contents: Preface 1. A Short History of Indian English Novel 2. Anita Desai: Biographical Details 3. Anita Desai: A Novelist with a Difference 4. Major Novels of Anita Desai 5. Anita Desai: A Psychological Novelist 6. Enduring Popularity of Anita Desai as a Novelist 7. Anita Desais Art of Plot Characterization and Prose Style 8. Female Characters of Anita Desai 9. Narrative Technique of Anita Desai 10. Various Critical Comments on Author and on the Novel 11. In Custody: An Introduction 12. Chapterwise Summary of the Novel and Critical Comments 13. Critical Appreciation of the Novel In Custody 14. Structure and Theme 15. Deven Sharma: An Unheroic Hero 16. Characterization 17. Existentialism in Anita Desais Fiction 18. Isolation and Alienation 19. Thematic Study of Love and Marriage 20. Desais Use of Irony 21. The Language Controversy 22. Use of Symbolism and Images 23. Various Episodes of the Novel Multiple Choice Questions True or False Bibliography