Review
From the book jacket: In a dingy shack in the less than desirable neighborhood that he calls home
12-year-old Anand is entrusted with a conch shell that possesses mystical
powers. His task is to return the shell to its rightful home many hundreds of
miles away. Accompanying him are Nisha, a headstrong but resourceful child of
the streets, and a mysterious man of indeterminate age and surprising resources
named Abadhyatta.
Their journey will take them from the teeming
streets of Kolkata, India, across the arid plains and
turbulent rivers to a secret valley high in the Himalayas. Along the way they encounter powerful spirits, both good and unspeakably evil; fantastical
creatures; and a trio of intrepid travelers who will linger in your memory long
after the last page of this book is turned.
Comment: I read
The
Conch Bearer...
Beyond the Book
Divakaruni says she wrote the book for two
reasons; firstly to give her two sons bragging rights that their mom
had written a book and two of the heroes were named after them
(sorry, I don't know which two!); and in our post 9/11 world, to
give American children a book about children who might superficially
seem very different to them, but in fact are not that different
after all.
The Conch Bearer is the first in a planned trilogy. The second
book,
The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming is due to be released in
September. Unlike many series books,
The Conch Bearer reaches
a satisfying conclusion in its own...
