Book Review: Fire on the Mountain by Anita Desai

Nanda Kaul an old lady wants to be left alone for the last years of her life. She lives in a quite house at Carignano in Kasauli.

This relatively short book is divided into three parts. The first part discusses Nanda Kaul’s life at Carignano. The arrival of her great granddaughter Raka is covered in the second part. The third and last part of the book is about Ila Das’s departure from Carignano. Nanda Kaul’s daughter is Asha. Asha is mother of Tara and Tara is Raka’s mother.

When Raka comes to live with Nanda Kaul she is not received with an open heart. Instead Raka is initially very reserved and seldom does she talk. Raka would disappear all day in the forest and come back in the evening. She loves walking and hiking in the evening. She seems to enjoy her life as she has no responsibility and is free from worry.

In the last chapters of the book the author writes about the changes in Ila Das and Nanda Kaul’s lives. When Ila Das heads home she is murdered by Preet Singh. Nanda Kaul receives a phone call. This is when the news of her friend’s death is announced to her.

This novel has characters which are really close to reality. The description of the setting and characters is really amazing. Yet the language used by Desai is simple and enjoyable for the reader.