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Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
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Plot Summary of Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
"This is a hliarious book set in a remote part of the north of India, south of the Himalayas. The book starts with an unbearably hot summer where the people in the town of Shahkot are dying for the monsoon rains to start. The suffering, irritations and frustrations this waiting brings on are described in humorous detail.

Then the story is set to usher in the birth of Sampat. As he grows inside his mother Kulfi, she feels a strange sort of craving hunger. She crosses the threshhold into an obsession, scouring the hills and mountains for herbs, vegetation and animals to cook.

The main part of the book is concerned with Sampat's dislike of the business of living around people with expectations of him and making a living. He wants to escape all this and the boring job his father has secured for him at the post office as a clerk. He escapes one day and makes himself a home on a tree in a guava orchard at the foothills of the mountains. Unfortunately the world follows him. People flock to him. They dub him a wise man and listen to him. The monkeys that have been plaguing the town of Shahkot also flock to him to share the food offerings that are made to him on a daily basis.
"

Shaleen, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - upbeat
Time/era of story - 1980's-1999
Inside culture (main char) - Indian (Ghandi, not Sitting Bull)
Culture clash? - family young v. old guard
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society) - Indian (Ghandi, not Sitting Bull)
If story of urban/rural... - Small town life
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - blue collar
Age: - 20's-30's
Has magical powers? Yes
Eccentric/Mental Yes
Eccentric: - eccentric - deluded
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - Indian Indian
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - healthy but a geeky weakling

Main Adversary
Identity: - society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a substantial amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 10 ()
Mountains/Cliffs Yes
Mountains: - climbing with ropes
Forest? Yes
Small town? Yes

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - No single main character?
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
Across the Lakes by Amal Chatterjee
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
Atul's Quest by Nader Habibi
Londanstani by Gautam Malkani
The Unknown Errors Of Our Lives by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni


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Kiran Desai Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Shaleen  

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