The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi

The Mango Season Reviews

• 
  Jeanette

  Honestly, I could hardly finish this one. I'm the daughter of an immigrant parentage (completely different cultural ideals and objectives from mine on far more than just the marriage market issue) and owning nearly 180 degrees opposition to a great majority of the pursuits I desired, and which I did early and later pursued (left home when I was just shy of 17 and never spent a night on the street either). So I find it extremely difficult to look at things through this narrator's "eyes". She complains about her nag mother and compliant father endlessly. And yet doesn't have enough exposed here of her own "spirit" or "will" or real identity (plus she is so status quo prone in actions) to compose some place of intersect between her life in America and her Indian identity. Plus she is over 25 and with advanced degrees holding options galore? That is HER job to complete that intersect and have the best outcome occur for the realities of both "sides". Somehow. It's not all that hard with some clear speech and drawing of lines. And especially not consistently living in the "feelings" arena- as she does here. It just makes it worse for the parents, IMHO.
  
  This is so simplistic too and the plot is like a old early rock tune in which the same lyric and sequence of notes are just repeated over and over again. It's sweet and mushy in sometimes poetic type descriptions. All about a mood? And I've read tons of India placed books, so it's not what I expected? They usually carry so much more depth than this one did. I felt that it was truly like a 6 inch deep pond.
  
  Actually, I do not care for mangoes either. The ones I have come across are way too sweet and pulpy for me.
• 
  Alina

  A catchy and quick story about Indian traditions and rules, sprinkled with humor.
  
  After seven years away from India, Priya sees everything with different eyes: the biases of her family, the scorching heat, the filth in the streets, the traffic.
  But, despite this, she hasn't freed herself completely of her upbringing and hardly finds the courage to tell her family about her American fiancee. I sometimes was irritated with Priya's childish reactions and outbursts of fury, failing to present her case and decisions in a calm and mature way.
  
  As a minus, I would have liked Indian words to be translated/explained at bottom of the page. I understand the idea of keeping the original word and, even if often the meaning can be inferred, sometimes small additions are necessary and interesting.
  As a plus, the Indian cooking recipes at the start of each chapter were a nice addition.
• 
  A

  Indian girl moves to America. Falls in love with an American boy. Worries that her traditional family won’t accept him. Those three sentences pretty much sum up the entirety of this book, which had promise but fails to deliver in terms of creating three-dimensional characters. The first quarter of this novel consists of Priya, the main character, complaining about what a horrible person her mother is. The rest of the story gives her family similar treatment, reducing them to a collection of stereotypes. While these characterizations likely reveal a measure of truth about traditional Indian society, it would have been nice to see other dimensions of their personalities.
  
  While I certainly understand where Priya is coming from – who wouldn’t be appalled by her grandfather’s belief that all white people are thieves? – I nevertheless felt that the way she dealt with her family was hypocritical at best. She criticizes her cousin for allowing their family to treat his wife poorly (because she is North Indian, not “their Indian”) yet doesn’t have the guts to tell her mother that she is engaged until after her mother arranges for her to meet a “nice Indian boy” to marry. Indeed, it’s not until after this “nice boy’s” family proposes marriage that Priya finally comes clean. Priya’s angst illuminated the pressures Indian women can face when torn between a traditional culture and Western ideals, yet with 229 pages of storyline one would have expected the author to incorporate more of a plot into the novel. Priya’s emails with her fiance are stilted and, at least to my American ears, it would have been helpful if the author had included a glossary at the end of the book to explain all of the Indian terms she incorporates into the narrative.
• 
  Andreea

  When I was recommended this book, I was told that it has a 'wow' ending. Reading the book, I started to fear what kind of 'wow' the person was referring to, because I had my own wish on how this book should have ended. And I was relieved when I got to the end and my fears were not fulfilled. The Mango Season is just another book about the Indian traditions, the rules of the family, the arranged marriages and the expectations that parents have from their children. Except that this book is not your regular book about all that. Unlike any other book on the subject that I have read, it's written with a dash o humor, even in some painful situations. But Amulya Malladi knew exactly how to balance humor, emotion and strength, which I deeply liked. What I was surprised to find in this novel was the meanness of the women in the family. Unlike men in other novels about the Orient traditions, these men were quite nice and lovable. I do recommend it, it's a true page turner.
• 
  Andreea Chiuaru

  Dacă „Anotimpul fructelor de mango” ar fi fost o comedie romantică produsă de Netflix la care să te uiți în weekend, ar fi fost perfectă. Eu însă sunt incapabilă să închid ochii la cărți mai slăbuțe și să motivez prin „e o carte de weekend”.
  
  Am motivat mai mult pe blog:
  https://blogdeidei.ro/anotimpul-fruct...
• 
  Rachel

  In reading The Mango Season, I was introduced to a country and culture that I knew nothing about. You are immediately drawn into the culture of India, and the values of Indian family life. It is Mango Season and Priya returns home to tell her parents of news she knows they won’t want to hear. She has become engaged to everything that they are against. Living in the United States, Priya meets an American man and falls in love. Returning home to face the sweltering summer heat, the mango harvest, and her family has consequences that she is far from prepared for. She becomes taken aback by her lack of ability to accept the cultural things that were once second nature to her.
  This book is written with such vivid detail that it automatically becomes a page-turner. I couldn’t put it down for even a minute once I got into it. The characters are so interesting and the events that are natural to their society seem so foreign to me, making it all the more interesting. While reading I could smell the mangos and hear each character’s voices. “My lips twitched into a smile as I remembered how the remnants of mango pickle lay on discarded plates of food after a meal- the core of the mango stones lay in bloody red oil like dead and mutilated soldiers in a battlefield of yogurt and rice. I used to think it was barbaric, eating the pickle with bare hands, tearing into the fleshy part of the mango that stuck to the core. Now I thought it was exotic…” Page 66
  
• 
  Saikhnaa Ch

  Уул нь улс орнуудын ёс заншил, мэдлэгээ нэмэх үүднээс орон орны тухай ном унших санаатай. Яагаад ч юм Энэтхэгийн тухай ном арай их уншаад байх юм. Энэ ёстой хөөрхөн, хошин ном. Дунд сургуулиа төгсөөд Америкт боловсрол эзэмшихээр очоод, тэндээ ажиллаж, найз залуутай болж суурьшсан Энэтхэг охин яг Мангоны улирлаар амралтаараа гэртээ ирж байгаа тухай. Ээж нь гэж яг энэтхэг кинон дээр гардаг сонгодог, үглээ, яршигтай, үнэхээр инээдтэй авгай. Яаж ийгээд охиноо Энэтхэг хүнтэй гэрлүүлчих санаатай. Тийм ч урт биш, бас мангонд дуртай бол манго бүхий хоол ундны жортой, ёстой хөөрхөн, бас хөгжилтэй харилцан яриатай ном
• 
  Preeti

  The entire book takes place within a span of a few days (2-4), but is full of detail. The sights and sounds of India, even the smell and taste of mangoes, are abundantly described. It throws you right back to the Homeland.
  
  The story is about a woman who, having grown up in India, has lived in the U.S. for the past 7 seven years (school, then career) and finally goes back for the express purpose of telling her family that she is engaged to and wants to marry an American. O_O
  
  Amulya Malladi does a great job of depicting Priya's (the main character) extended conservative family. The archaic views of the older generation contrast sharply with Priya's views - after all, she was heavily influenced by America's 'evil culture and wily ways.'
  
  Half the time, I was getting so horribly disgusted at the narrow-minded views expressed by the older adults of the family, and I could completely identify with Priya's feelings - of being treated like a 5-year-old even though she was 27 and had been on her own for such a long time.
  
  Not only is the book great, but the (almost) ending packs a punch too. It was delightfully hilarious.
  
  [Sidenote: Also includes a few good South Indian recipes... If you're into that whole cooking thing.]
• 
  Belinda

  4,25 sterren - het zal je maar gebeuren, na 7 jaar studie terug op vakantie naar familie en ze willen je uithuwelijken! De vermenging van een nieuwe manier van leven verweven met de oude tradities van het land van herkomst. En land vol met mango bomen, kleur en traditie. Zal deze jonge vrouw haar eigen keuzes maken of ten onder gaan aan de druk van haar familie? 📗📕📖
• 
  Rehan Abd Jamil

  I have found another favourite author. This is indeed a very nice story. Love, family values, food, and lots of humour made it special..
• 
  Ahtims

  There are some books, which when once started are difficult to put down again. And lo behold, if you start reading such books late night. This happened to me yesterday. I started on Mango Season around 11 pm, reluctantly went to bed at 12.30, day dreamt about the characters while at work ( luckily or unluckily, today was a very busy day), read a bit more at lunch time, and finally finished it off at a stretch at around 9 pm today. My son had an inkling that I liked the book a bit too much, when he found that I was neglecting to teach him or supervise his homework ( at our home , it is the otherway round. Most of the times it is my son who reminds me that he needs to be taught, unless he is at the computer)
  I just devoured this book - like a juicy, ripe, luscious mango. I could smell, see and taste the flavors of South Indian life. I could identify with most people. I feel south Indians would identify with this book, I dont know about other people. I just went through a few of the reviews in Good Reads and to my surprise that many people had given it only one or two stars. I would really recommend this book to anyone; but then tastes are diverse.
  
• 
  arabella

  What a horrible book. As a Pakistani woman, I'm always searching for a read with a great brown female protagonist who doesn't abandon her culture, or criticize the life that she once lived, or the customs that she no longer lives within. However, I have yet to find such a book. Some come closer than others but this was by far one of the most disappointing books I have ever read in my life. Not only does Priya spend more or less the ENTIRE book complaining about her mother and her family, but she also judges everything with the embarrassing insecurity of someone who has yet to find the balance between how they were raised, and who they are now, someone who can't accept their culture. Not only the terrible characters, but the ending was bogus and predictable. Don't bother wasting your time on this one.
• 
  Yomana

  The story basically evolves around the indian tradition and how it is a must for girls to save their money for the purpose of dowry when they get married later in future. It was also about the orthodox people who were very cautious about their status as Brahmins and getting married to someone out of their caste was forbidden.
• 
  Robbin Melton

  Wow. This book...initially I didn't like the author's writing style or the flow of the story, but I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did. Slowly, the story about an Indian-born woman who returns home from America after seven years unfolds. Struggling to acclimate to her native land which she now sees through American eyes, Priya is thrust into talks of arranged marriage. The catch, however, is Priya has a fiance with whom she's lived for two years...ubeknownst to her family. So, it takes Priya more than half the book to reveal this secret to her family who strongly believes she can and will marry a nice Indian boy...and that's where the real story begins.
  On the side are Priya's aunt whose own parents never fail to remind her what a disappointment she is for her inability to land a husband after meeting more than 60 potential husbands; a sister-in-law who thinks she's better than the family she married into; and the intertwined and complicated dynamics between multi-generational men and women of Priya's family.
  This book literally has two moments in which my heart stopped and I love that the author leaves you wanting for more, all the way down to the book's very last sentence.
  This starts slow, but it is so worth it if you stick with it. I highly recommend this book! It's not your typical story about arranged marriages and Priya is not your typical girl.
• 
  Maddie

  Priya is a woman born and raised in India, who for the past 7 years of her life has lived in the US while attending university and working. While there she falls in love and gets engaged to an American man, despite knowing her family would be completely devasted by that. Now, Priya travels back to India to spend a week with her family and inform them about her upcoming marriage.
  
  This is a cute and humorous novel, full of very 'senzorial' descriptions of India and Indian food.
  
  Here is my full video-review of this book:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmOU0...
• 
  Aditi Barve

  This is a book written for white people. What with the recipes and the exotic-sounding words.
  
  Priya (the protagonist) comes across as whiny, and prissy. Her entire family is boorish, and small-minded, and racist, except her. She's redeemed because she has seen the light by living in "the America" and being engaged to a white man.
  
  This is what I learned from this book.
  Indian mothers want their sons marry rich girls and get a handsome dowry, and their daughters to marry a boy of their choice. Marriages are arranged. If you marry a person who is not in your caste, you get ostracized. Your worth in heaven is measured by the number of heirs you produce. If you are 27 years old, you're over the hill, and may as well be a spinster all your life.
  
  After a few chapters I got annoyed by the litany of complaints, and never finished the book. And thus we all lived happily ever after.
  
  P.S.: I'm Indian btw.
• 
  Subashini

  The story is about Priya, who comes from a strict Telugu Brahmin family & her struggles to convey to the family regarding her American boyfriend. It’s a fast and easy read. I shall add it’s mouth-watering too with a recipe at the end of each chapter, especially using mangoes which are my favourite fruit. It brings back sweet memories when reading The Mango Season, the fight between Priya & Nate for HAPPINESS reminds me the fight between my sister & I had for the same HAPPINESS, the sticky stone at the centre of the mango. It was flimsy at times but I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Like the mango fruits which are succulent, sweet, sour, & bitter, Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season is a mix little package of all of it.
• 
  Stjernekaster

  I read this book in 1 day, needless to say I enjoyed reading it. First of all I thought that the recipes before each chapter was a lovely idea to include, because it brought me into the world of the food-culture and made it easier to imagine the world as a realistic one. The characters were great, and most of all the description of the differences between the two cultures was what I liked the most. I didn't know much about the Indian culture before reading this, but now post-reading I find myself much more informed, which I appreciate a lot. It has given me a much better insight and understanding.
  It was well written, with good characters, interesting plot, and personal gain, which is why I give it 4 stars.
• 
  Amy Sheridan

  If you had any doubt over whether or not every culture has dysfunctional families, this book will prove it.
  
  It was a sweet book, my only problems with it were:
  
  1) the author assumes that the reader has some understanding of Indian culture and phrases - if you're a person like me, with little to no understanding of it, there are some phrases and parts that can be a bit distracting.
  
  2) The formatting of the narrator's emails to her fiance, being in all caps, was kind of annoying.
  
  Other than that I liked it and if the author decided to write a sequel with Priya's family finally meeting Nick, I would not hesitate to pick it up.
• 
  Oana

  Such a nice read! I am not very familiar with the Indian culture and reading this book was eye-opening. Priya's story, her fear of telling her parents about her American fiancee by returning in India after 7 years in the US is full of flavor and humor. And the ending is sooooo good! Great story.
• 
  Chandana Kuruganty

  I looved this book!
  Amulya Malladi,you are a phenomenal author.
• 
  Shasni Bala

  Nice story, emotional too i must say. I've never read books written by indian in particular, for these book it's Amulya Malladi. I'm still not quite sure if i like her way of writting, probably i need to explore more of her books soon. Even though for me the beginning of the story was abit boring but then it hit off with so much anticipation of what will happen next. For those who are foreign to indian culture might find this book informative and may raise eyebrows of how critical Indian can be in preserving their culture. But, do bare in mind these days indians are not as critical as those times (though they are still some percentage of them are critical but it's better than before). It's a simple book to read and the ending was not what i've have expected. I would recommend this book, so why not buckle up and take a quit trip to the land of spices.
• 
  Dianais

  I enjoyed this quick read so much until the last pages when a small detail ruined it for me...made it seem forced and unnatural. Too bad...
• 
  Belinda Vlasbaard

  4 sterren- Nederlandse paperback
  
  Recensie volgt later.
• 
  Adriana

  Priya's visit home let me into a culture I know little about. She was apprehensive to tell her parents that she was engaged to an American. And as I learned more about her and her family her apprehension turned into panic. She could lose her family for someone she loves because they didn't believe Indians should marry anyone but Indians. I thought the story was very interesting. I couldn't believe how racist the family was and how set in their traditional ways. I felt for Priya because she loved her family so much.
• 
  Michelle Wegner

  I love India. I've been there several times, and written a book with my husband about some of our friends there. I loved this book because of the "insiders perspective" into an Indian family's life. People in the U.S.A. are usually very surprised when they find out that arranged marriages are still very common in India. There are many beneficial, successful marriages done this way, and many that are not.
  
  My favorite part of this book is where the author says, "India was not just a country you visited, it was a country that sank into your blood and stole part of you. As an insider all those years ago I couldn't see it, but now after several years of exile I could feel the texture of India. It was the people, the smell, the taste, the noise, the essence that dragged you in and kept you."
  
  I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves India, or wants to know more about the culture.
• 
  Nanya Srivastava

  The plot is very familiar--a girl from a conservative Hyderabadi family goes to the US, falls in love with a foreigner, returns to convince her family to accept the match. There's nothing 'new' in the story. However, this book was really hard to put down (I finished it in a day). Food, particularly mango, forms a very important part of the narrative. There are many bits which are funny, and many which are frustrating. The language is simple and the story is cliched, but the narrative keeps you hooked. A must-read if you've ever had to muster courage to tell your parents about the 'love of your life'.
• 
  Noemí

  Choque cultural y enfrentamientos familiares, pero todo bastante descafeinado. Se lee rápido y ya. Nada del otro mundo.
• 
  Raluca

  This book was so nice and easy to read. I couldn't put it down!