Shadows At Noon
The history of the Indian subcontinent in the 20th century, set out in an easy-to-read manner, making it a pleasure to learn. Joya Chatterji, a Professor of South Asian history and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, has rightly won high praise for this epic work. From the closeness of family memories to the investigative skills of the best journalists and academic research par excellence, this is a work to keep and cherish.
Unlike many dry history books, this book deals with the major subjects of nationhood and partition, of forced (and ‘voluntary’) migration but highlights the effects these had and continue to have on, particularly, Indian society at all levels.
The author deals with everyday home life, how food and leisure activities relate to the caste system, religion and the different cultures that make up the complex, yet fascinating, countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This reviewer found the book to be as pleasurable to read as a page turner novel and highly recommends it.
Essential reading for anyone wishing to write a novel set in 20th-century Asia, this is a book to keep proudly on the bookshelf and to return to time and again.
