Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Nov 2008
320 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
First Darling of the Morning is the powerful and poignant memoir of bestselling author Thrity Umrigar, tracing the arc of her Bombay childhood and adolescence from her earliest memories to her eventual departure for the United States at age twenty-one. It is an evocative, emotionally charged story of a young life steeped in paradox; of a middle-class Parsi girl attending Catholic school in a predominantly Hindu city; of a guilt-ridden stranger in her own land, an affluent child in a country mired in abysmal poverty. She reveals intimate secrets and offers an unflinching look at family issues once considered unspeakable as she interweaves two fascinating coming-of-age stories—one of a small child, and one of a nation.
"Freelance journalist Umrigar alternates between sweet and biting accounts of her middle-class Parsi upbringing in 1960s and 1970s Bombay." - Publishers Weekly.
"American readers may not understand the Indian political context, but the underlying chords in this story about growing up and going away will certainly resonate." - Library Journal.
"A brilliantly etched, vividly recalled Indian childhood. The songs of the sixties and seventies hum through this poignant memoir." - Sahara Time.
"A moving account of childhood . . .With painful honesty, Umrigar tells us about her family [and] the not-always-happy stretches of childhood." - India Today.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Thrity Umrigar is the bestselling author of eight novels, including The Space Between Us, which was a finalist for the PEN/Beyond Margins Award, as well as a memoir and three picture books. Her books have been translated into several languages and published in more than fifteen countries. She is the winner of a Lambda Literary Award and a Seth Rosenberg Award and is Distinguished Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University. A former prize-winning journalist, she has contributed to the Boston Globe , the Washington Post, the New York Times and Huffington Post.
Author Interview
Link to Thrity Umrigar's Website
Name Pronunciation
Thrity Umrigar: thri-tee oomrigar
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