Summary and Reviews of A Breath of Fresh Air by Amulya Malladi

Media Reviews

United Press International (Book of the Week) - Shirley Saad, In simple language, Malladi tells a simple story of love, betrayal, jealousy, guilt and forgiveness...A glimpse into a foreign culture is always a treat, and this novel combines that with characters with whom we can empathize, as they deal with universal problems and emotions. A Breath of Fresh Air is a fast and fascinating read.

Mark Athitakis, SF Weekly Amulya Malladi's gemlike first novel has a provocative, almost absurd concept--it's a love story framed by the horrifying Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, India, in 1984...the quality of Malladi's writing elevates [A Breath of] Fresh Air well above standard-issue book-club fodder, and her strong control over plot helps her avoid the overwritten narrative drift that plagues most first novels...Malladi's story is a fine study of the tenuous control we have over love and memory.

Abilene Reporter-News - Larry Lawrence A Breath of Fresh Air highlights the human ability for forgiveness and perseverance along with the abiding power of love.

San Francisco Chronicle Book Review - Sandip Roy Malladi's writing style is unadorned and simple....[she] slowly builds up the drama of a past life and a present life colliding and the child who gets caught in between...One way to capture the human toll of a disaster like Bhopal is with a photographer's eye for minute detail. Instead, Malladi has tried to look at the shadow it casts on the souls of those who survived and wanted nothing more than to carry on with their small, ordinary lives.

St. Petersburg Times - Mindi Dickstein Amulya Malladi...writes dispassionately and yet movingly of love and destiny in modern India...[she takes] humdrum details of family heartbreak...raising them to the level of clear-eyed, well-crafted art. Malladi writes with a steady, sure hand; accumulating details casually, she catches the reader unaware with the depth of her insight into love and loss.

Time Magazine - Jessi Hempel Malladi's subject is...compelling the survivors of the Bhopal tragedy remain neglected and angry after 18 years. [Malladi] was a child in Bhopal when the disaster happened and wasn't affected because her house was upwind of the Carbide factory. The victims of the accident now total 14,000, a number Malladi humanizes by keeping her story intimate.

The Weekend Australian - Susan Kurosawa Malladi...writes with a restraint reminiscent of Anita Desai...she has captured the emotional ramifications of a disaster such as Bhopal with maturity and dignity. I challenge you not to shed a tear.

Booklist - Carol Haggas In this accomplished debut novel, Malladi depicts believable and well-defined characters facing tumultuous circumstances with grace and sensitivity, passion and pride.

Kirkus Reviews First novel about an Indian woman haunted by the Bhopal tragedy...this is absorbing stuff, particularly Anjali's struggles as a contemporary woman in India.

Library Journal - Lisa Rohrbaugh Malladi's first novel is an intriguing story written in a simple and elegant style, and readers will look forward to more work from this promising writer.

Publishers Weekly Debut novelist Malladi deserves credit for illuminating a troubling aspect of Indian culture.