Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Select delivery location
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Githa Hariharan
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Thousand Faces of Night Hardcover – Import, January 1, 1992

by Githa Hariharan (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 126 ratings
See all formats and editions
Previous page
  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Viking/Allen Lane
  3. Publication date
    January 1, 1992
  4. ISBN-10
    067085686X
  5. ISBN-13
    978-0670856862
  6. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking/Allen Lane (January 1, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 067085686X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670856862
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.74 pounds
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 126 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Githa Hariharan

Githa Hariharan

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Githa Hariharan has written novels, short fiction and essays over the last three decades. Her highly acclaimed work includes The Thousand Faces of Night which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book in 1993, the short story collection The Art of Dying, the novels The Ghosts of Vasu Master, When Dreams Travel, In Times of Siege and Fugitive Histories, and a collection of essays entitled Almost Home: Cities and Other Places. She has also written children’s stories; and edited a collection of translated short fiction, A Southern Harvest, the essay collection From India to Palestine: Essays in Solidarity and co-edited Battling for India: A Citizen’s Reader. Her most recent novel is I Have Become the Tide.

Hariharan has, over the years, been a cultural commentator through her essays, lectures and activism. In 1995, Hariharan challenged the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act as discriminatory against women. The case, Githa Hariharan and Another vs. Reserve Bank of India and Another, led to a landmark Supreme Court judgment in 1999 on guardianship.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
126 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

There are 0 reviews and 0 ratings from the United States

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Parul
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in India on December 19, 2020
Verified Purchase
This was a very disturbing book, because it actually shows the reality of patriarchal society in India. Every man and woman must read this book.
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Cecilia Raffaelli
3.0 out of 5 stars Quand les femmes ne peuvent pas décider de leur vie
Reviewed in France on February 14, 2014
Verified Purchase
Récit de la vie de trois femmes qui ont dû se soumettre à la tradition indienne, acceptant de se marier avec des hommes choisis par leur famille. Le bonheur ne sera pas au rendez-vous, plutôt le contraire. La religion-superstition sera souvent leur seul source d'espoir. L'auteur ne tombe jamais dans le drame, tout est raconté avec beaucoup de retenue et, pour ça, il est poignant. Un livre qui donne beaucoup à réfléchir sur la réalité indienne encore long temps après la lecture.
Report
Dr. Kenneth W. Douglas
5.0 out of 5 stars A tender and surprising tale of women's lives in India
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2004
Verified Purchase
This small but (quite literally) perfectly formed book deservedly won Githa Hariharan the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Novel in 1992. It is a short, condensed narrative: Hariharan manages to pack a remarkable amount of content into her admirably concise tale.
The book concerns the lives of three very different Indian women: Western-educated, high-caste Devi, her mother Sita, and her maid Mayamma. Devi returns to Madras ater experiencing the bewildering freedoms and frustrations of student life in America, and soon finds herself (not unwillingly) drifting into an arranged marriage brokered by her mother. After experiencing isolation, rebellion and disillusionment, she finds herself sadder but also stronger and wiser. The ending of the book is surprisingly hopeful, however, as Devi finds herself reconciled with her mother after having come to understand Sita's own difficult life choices in the past.
Hariharan has structured her novel with the delicacy and precision of a piece of music. It falls into a natural arch structure, with the first part leading up to Devi's marriage and introducing the themes of Devi and Sita's conflicting desires and expecations; then a long, slow central section as Devi finds herself trapped in loveless domesticity; and finally a faster-moving closing section which brings resolution. Hariharan writes beautiful prose - laconic without being spare; poetic without being flowery: sometimes oddly reminiscent of Jeanette Winterson. She also uses some striking tales from Hindu folklore and mythology to inform her narrative, such as the recurring image of the woman who suckles a snake. It isn't always an easy read (there are relatively few concessions to Western readers in terms of explaining some of the cultural nuances and unfamiliar vocabulary), but it richly repays the reader's effort.
3 people found this helpful
 Report
Archana Gaur
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on October 16, 2017
Verified Purchase
I got the book in very good condition. No issues related to the quality of the product.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Bishal Meher
4.0 out of 5 stars Review of the Quality of the book, not content
Reviewed in India on February 25, 2024
Verified Purchase
The book is light in weight. Paper is okay,not too good but not bad either. The only problem I have( I'm sure it's an isolated incident) that the front cover and around 25-30 pages were bent, which is not a big problem for me. All in all, a good purchase.
Customer image
Bishal Meher
4.0 out of 5 stars Review of the Quality of the book, not content
Reviewed in India on February 25, 2024
The book is light in weight. Paper is okay,not too good but not bad either. The only problem I have( I'm sure it's an isolated incident) that the front cover and around 25-30 pages were bent, which is not a big problem for me. All in all, a good purchase.
Images in this review
Customer image Customer image
Customer imageCustomer image
Report