The walled city David, Esther

Text illustrations by the author - T. P. Verso.

Vibrant with the sights, sounds and shifting moods of Ahmedabad, the walled city of the title, Esther David's perceptive novel traces the rigidly circumscribed lives of three generations of women in an extended Jewish family in the city. The novel unravels the narrators struggle to reconcile her Jewisness with the exuberance of the alien ethos in which she grows up and to which she is drawn. While she agonizes over life, love and god, rebelling, submitting, groping to find her identity and make sense of her relationships, the rhythm of the city slides into discord as tensions smoulder and old values crumble. Rich in observation and insight and written in a highly individualistic style, The Walled City is a haunting study of the powerful forces that both unite and divide generations and communities. (Source: www.infibeam.com)