Critical Responses To Anita Desai ( Vol. 2 ) (Hardcover)  | Released: 2004

Anita Desai and her novels have been an enigma for decades. Scholars, critics, researchers and students have never stopped marvelling about supremacy of ‘Idea’ over ‘Matter’ in the works of this gifted novelist. The philosophical mood, the realization of a grand design, the presence of unsaid, unarticulated realities — all these have forever teased the mind of the discerning reader. In the present volume, Anita Desai has been extensively and intensely probed. As the reader will see, the thrust has been more on psychological and intellectual facets of her fiction, rather than social, cultural or physical areas. This is the trend of criticism these days and it is rightly so. The fine subtleties, the small but significant turn of events, the role of place in the formation of mental scene, the vitality of characters, the force of their personalities, the intricate web of relationships — all these have been examined and expressed in words that are at once easy to understand as well as graceful to aesthetic sense.Table of Contents: 21. From the Continent to the Island: Image as Archetype in Anita Desai's Bye-Bye, Blackbird-N.R. GOPAL; 22. A Clash between Male Chauvinism and Existential Concerns in Anita Desai-DEV1KA; 23. Anita Desai's In Custody: An Analysis-N. SHARADA IYER; 24. Postcolonial Re-presentations in Anita Desai's Fire on the Mountain-ANTONY JOHAE; 25. 'Journey to the East' Once Again: Anita Desai's Journey to Ithaca-RAMA KUNDU; 26. Hugo, the Nowhere Man: A Study of Anita Desai's Baumgartner's Bombay-S.P. SWAIN; 27. Voices in the City. A tour de horizon of Existentialist Philosophy-GAIENDRA KUMAR; 28. Failed Householders: Renouncement and Distributive Strategies in Fasting, Feasting-ALESSANDRO MONTI; 29. Where Shall We Go This Summer?—Sita's Incarcerated Self-S.P. SWAIN; 30. Fetters of Illusion: In Custody-F.A. 1NAMDAR; 31. Crossing the Border: A Study of Baumgartner's Bombay (1988) and Journey to Ithaca (1995)-USHA RANI; 32. Journey to Ithaca: A Quest-Novel-SUMAN JANA; 33. A Critique of Fasting, Feasting-M.Q. KHAN; 34. Mothers and Daughters: A Comparative Critique of Fasting, Feastingand Difficult Daughters-ASHA CHOUBEY; 35. Fasting, Feasting: A Study in Desires and Dreams (Un) Fulfilled-USHA RANI; Bibliography Contributors