Winner of the Guardian Fiction Award, this story of life in village India, where children are forced so young to be adult, will appeal to a wide range of ages. Hari and Lila are the eldest of a poor family and life is very hard indeed: their father is often drunk, their mother sick, and there seems no way out of the debt that the family is in. Even growing industrialisation seems to offer a new threat to them. Despite the hardships they face, their tenacity and spirit stays strong and there is a happy ending. A very powerful story that fully deserves its place as a modern classic. ~ Andrea Reece
The story of Lila and Hari, the eldest children of a poor Indian village family, who must use all their courage to secure all their futures against appalling odds and increasing hardship. There is a six-part TV tie-in starring Saed Jaffery.
Anita Desai was born and brought up in India and has written widely for both adults and children. She has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and has won the Guardian Fiction Award.
