"A masterpiece." ―Booklist (starred review)

"[An] ambitious and spellbinding debut novel." —Shelf Awareness

"[A] heart-wrenching tale of forbidden love" ―The Washington Post

"What a marvelous writer Ruthvika is. Her characters are so vivid and passionate, the stakes are so high and the history so complicated. The Fertile Earth is a compulsively readable novel." ―Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy

"The Fertile Earth is the kind of novel that you find yourself wanting a friend to read alongside you, to share in the beauty, tragedy, triumph and heartbreak of the world brought to life within its pages. Ruthvika Rao has crafted an astonishing, intelligent epic set during the early decades of post-Independence India, a story filled with moral complexity, intertwined fates, awakenings and romance. Reading The Fertile Earth it's clear that Rao is not only a sophisticated storyteller but an impressive prose stylist―her sentences sing. This is a novel you will not be able to forget." ―Angela Flournoy, author of The Turner House, finalist for the National Book Award

"From its unforgettable opening pages, The Fertile Earth held me spellbound. At its heart is a transgressive love story that dares to bloom in a world of caste-based violence, vengeance, and political transformation. Ruthvika Rao is a fearless writer, and her debut is nothing short of dazzling." ―Tania James, author of Loot, longlisted for the National Book Award

"What a rich, deeply memorable novel. The Fertile Earth beautifully explores loyalty and love, violence and politics and ideology, promises and returns and the arbitrariness of origin―not to mention the inextricable histories of family and nation. This is an inspired, gorgeous book, and Ruthvika Rao's storytelling has a confident, compassionate intelligence―I'd follow her bright voice anywhere." ―Natalie Bakopoulos, author of Scorpionfish

"Bold, sensual, and captivating, The Fertile Earth pits love against memory, love against class, love against politics, love against time, love against all. Read it, and find out which one wins." ―Shobha Rao, author of Girls Burn Brighter, longlisted for the 2018 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

Write your own review

Rated of 5 by Molly B. (Claunch, NM)
A sweeping story
I enjoyed this book very much, because of its sweeping story line and its presentation of a different country, a different world. I've been to India, but a couple of visits there don't compare in the least to the depth of descriptions and the details that Ms Rao offered up. Her portrayal of life in such a different country, and during different time periods and stages of political unrest, were enlightening. And then she included such compelling and timeless themes as humanity, the morality of taking human lives in honor of larger causes, revenge, control, and the class system. And some danger, unrequited love, and passion. What's not to appreciate?

Rated of 5 by Linda A. (Sherman Oaks, CA)
Tragedy and Tribulations: Can Love Win Out?
Ruthvika Rao's sweeping debut novel, The Fertile Earth, chronicles a tense and emotional Romeo-and-Juliet-esque saga that begins with a childhood infatuation and plays out over years of separation, hardships, miscommunication and joy. All this against the backdrop of ongoing family dramas and roiling political and social changes in India during the 1960s and seventies.

The lives of Vijaya, born into the powerful landowning Deshmukh family of Irumi, and Krishna, son of the widowed washerwoman who works in the Deshmukh house, are forever impacted by a reckless childhood adventure that leads to tragic results for them and their siblings, Vijaya's younger sister, Sree, and Krishna's older brother Ranga. Much in the wake of this event is cloaked in mystery and misinterpretation both for the fictional families involved and for the reader who must wait hundreds of pages to learn all the back story facts.

Vijaya is eager to leave home and is grudgingly allowed by her family to attend a college in Madras. Krishna, permitted a full education by Vijaya's uncle after singling him out as low caste but worthy, becomes a promising mathematics student in Hyderabad who must also navigate pressures to join a growing leftist political movement.

I enjoyed the author's rich descriptions of the story's cultural and natural worlds, though it seemed some passages went on for too long. She deftly depicts the Deshmukh family's immense wealth and power which is symbolized by the glittery "gadi," their palatial home on the hill overlooking contested ancestral lands. This vividly contrasts with the plight of the vetti, bonded servants treated like slaves, subjected to societal inequities and violence. The explosion of class warfare, causing a brutal reversal of fortune for the Deshmukhs, is the ultimate test for the future of Vijaya and Krishna. Will they end up together? It's the question that pushes the narrative forward.

Overall, I found The Fertile Earth to be a wonderful work of historical fiction, intricately plotted and researched. My only frustration in reading was that although Rao expertly sets up the situation and the main characters in the first chapters, the story unfolds so slowly that most of the motives underlying questionable actions and relationships among the principals are not revealed until late in the book. These mysteries, however, were part of what propelled me to read to the end!

Rated of 5 by Patricia G. (Washington, DC)
An incredible talent for description!
Ruthvika Rao's debut novel, "The Fertile Earth", opens with a shocking scene of political murders, then quickly backtracks fifteen years to the childhood of the four intertwined main characters. This is a story of the toxic history of a class-divided society, told through the lives and loves of fascinating characters.

Vijaya and Sree are pampered daughters of the extremely wealthy and all-powerful upper caste Deshmukh family that rules the local village and surrounding farmland in southern India. Krishna and Ranga are brothers, sons of a lowly servant to the family. Vijaya and Krishna develop an innocent, but forbidden, childhood friendship. The lives of all four children are shattered by an accident in the jungle that leaves younger sister Sree alive but permanently disabled. Ranga is blamed, and is brutally punished.

It is a rare feat to start a book by giving the reader the ending, but Rao accomplishes this perfectly as she lays the foundation for the Naxalite uprising in the late 1960s through the lives of the four main characters and their families. Rao has an amazing talent for description, of both characters and setting. The mental images stayed with me for weeks after I finished the book. The descriptions of a face, the crease in a shirt, the raised bump of a vicious scar were so vivid that her characters seemed real. With just a few sentences, Rao paints a full picture.

As well as a historical novel, it is also a beautiful love story, full of twists and turns, of lives that shaped by the political upheavals in India in the latter half of the twentieth century. I loved this book not only for the beautiful storytelling, but also because I learned about part of India's history that I was not aware of. I highly recommend this book to any reader, and I am looking forward to Rao's next novel.

Rated of 5 by Agnes G. (Southern Pines, NC)
A worthwhile tome
Make no mistake about it. This book is not an easy read. Approach it as you would enter into an extended trip. There will be some days when you want to stay in your room and just read all day. There will be other days when you need to lay it aside and enjoy the people, sights and sounds of your physical surroundings. Many have commented on the lyrical writing. It is stunningly beautiful. The story is rich and nuanced. I am not familiar with Indian names so it took me awhile to sort out the males and females.

Rated of 5 by Marie W. (Prescott, AZ)
A Captivating Read
Usually it takes a few chapters for a story to draw me in. Ruthvika Rao hooked me within a few pages of this new historical novel.

The story takes place mostly in Telangana, India, where the author grew up. It covers the years and political upheavals of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. History, adventure, family, romance, and politics fill these pages, but this book is really about the people.

Rao's beautiful writing invites the reader in. Her characters interact with each other and their environment seamlessly. We get to know them organically, through their words, thoughts, and actions. Thus they felt very real to me.

There is plenty of drama in this book, and some violence. These were violent times. These kinds of events really happened and were a part of these people's lives.

I highly recommend this book, both for book groups that enjoy learning about history and can handle some violence, and for serious readers. I will definitely be watching for more books by this author!

Rated of 5 by Vicki S. (Pahoa, HI)
The Fertile Earth
I really enjoyed reading The Fertile Earth,it's a memorable story. The book takes place in India, while it's beautifully described with its temples, scenery, you can taste and smell it, as the descriptions are very vividly portrayed. But there is a complicated history involved here, with the country fighting for its independence and the caste-system. The characters are memorable, you feel like you know them personally. Good story telling, I recommend it highly!

Rated of 5 by Ellie B. (Mount Airy, MD)
Beautifully written, unforgettable love story and history lesson
From the first page, you are drawn into the drama caused by the inequalities of the caste system in India, interwoven with the communist influences politically. The author's words allow you to feel and see the beauty as well as the dangers in the countryside. Her characters are real, well developed, authentic. The story line, based on actual historic events, will keep you mesmerized until the very last page. This would be an excellent selection for book clubs.

Rated of 5 by Mary A. (Lake Nebagamon, WI)
An Unforgettable Book
The Fertile Earth is an unforgettable book and will remain with me for a long time.

The story comes at a complicated time during post independence India. Vijayce Deshmukhs is from a family of ancestral aristocrats, who at that time had power over the villagers living on their land. Krishna and brother Ranga are sons of the Deshmakh's servant.From childhood on, Vijayce and Krishna have a strong connection. The story tells of their family relationships and how political beliefs can completely change lives.

I could fully understand the injustices of their caste system. Does a persons loyalty stay with their family or to political beliefs.

This is a compelling Historical, political and love story.

Rated of 5 by Patricia C. (Naples, FL)
A Poignant Story of Love Amid Social Inequities
Two brothers from the servant class of India's caste system, two sisters from the highest social class whose family own the land and thus the entire economy of the southeastern area of India are the stars of this well written love.

The author explores how love between the young couple survived the horrors of the communist terroristic attacks on the upper classes, and the struggles of not just the two but the entire community of Irumi. She has drawn her characters so authentic that I could visualize them.
Lots to talk about discussing this book. I highly recommend it to readers and especially book clubs.

Rated of 5 by Sue Z. (Cornelius, NC)
The Fertile Earth
Ruthvika Rao has written a wonderful book that must be read and reread in order to appreciate every nuance and secret in the story.
In mid 20th century India, the age-old custom of landlords holding all the land and exercising feudal rights over the country population is being challenged by the communists and the Naxalite extremists.
It is during this turbulent time that the story takes place, pitting family members against each other and against those who must support their way of life.

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Ruthvika Rao is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow and recipient of the Henfield Prize in fiction. She was born in Warangal district, Telangana, and grew up in Hyderabad. Her short fiction has appeared in the Georgia Review, the Southern Review, New Letters, StoryQuarterly, and elsewhere.