Clear Light of Day

Feminist in its leaning, Desai’s compassionate novel focuses on the role of sisters, daughters and mothers within the family. This domestic drama is set in the depths of Old Delhi and details the tensions of the post-colonial condition after Independence and partition. There is a clear, symbolic stratification between New and Old Delhi, with the latter becoming a place of stagnation and frustration, and the family is separated as the nation has been. Desai has said that she considers Clear Light...