Book of Rachel is a work of fiction authored by Esther David. The book won India's Sahitya Akademi Award in the year 2010.[1]
Author | Esther David |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | fiction |
Published | 2007 |
Publisher | Penguin India |
Publication place | India |
Media type | Hardcover |
Pages | 280 |
ISBN | 978-0143444534 |
Plot
editThe main protagonist of the book is an old Jewish widow named Rachel from Bene Israel community who tries to preserve Jewish culinary art[2] and simultaneously tries to protect a local synagogue from local land mafia.
Reception
editIn her review, Geeta Doctor wrote for India Today "To most people it would consist one portion of R. K. Narayan [and] a dash of sentimentality from Tagore's Kabuliwallah."[3]
Deeptha Achar, Professor at the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda wrote "...the book is more ambitious. It not only portrays the community [Bene Israel] from within but also examines the pushes and pulls, economic, cultural, which impinge upon it."[4]
Awards
editReferences.
edit- ^ Alaka, Sahani (13 January 2019). "It's a balancing act to retain the Jewish ethos in a multicultural country like India: Esther David". The Indian Express. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ Kashi, Anita Rao. "The surprising landscape of Indian Jewish food". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ Doctor, Geeta (20 March 2006). "Book review of Esther David's 'The Book of Rachel'". India Today. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ "Portraying A Vanishing Community". The Book Review, Monthly Review of Important Books. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ "Sahitya Akademi Awards". sahitya-akademi.gov.in. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ "Indian Jews live a very secretive life: Esther David on writing a book on Indian Jews' recipes 'Bene Appetit' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 April 2022.