In a book club? Please take our annual Book Club Survey

Summary and Reviews of The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Conch Bearer

by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (6):
  • Readers' Rating (6):
  • First Published:
  • Sep 1, 2003, 272 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Mar 2005, 272 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

An exotic and compelling adventure story that is almost impossible to put down (Reading Age 10+)

You are about to embark on a remarkable journey. It begins on the teeming streets of Kolkata, India, and will transport you across arid plains and turbulent rivers to a secret valley high in the Himalayas. Along the way you will encounter powerful spirits, both good and unspeakably evil; fantastical creatures; and a trio of intrepid travelers who will linger in your memory long after the last page of this book is turned.

In a dingy shack in the less than desirable neighborhood that he calls home 12-year-old Anand is entrusted with a conch shell that possesses mystical powers. His task is to return the shell to its rightful home many hundreds of miles away. Accompanying him are Nisha, a headstrong but resourceful child of the streets, and a mysterious man of indeterminate age and surprising resources named Abadhyatta . . .

This is fantasy of the first order; an exotic and compelling adventure story that is almost impossible to put down. It is also a significant literary achievement by a distinguished author, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.


A letter from the author…

Dear Reader,

Two different wishes led me into writing The Conch Bearer. One was to create a story for my two boys to enjoy and brag about ("My mom wrote a book, and guess who the 2 heroes are named after?") The other was, in post 9/11 America, to give the children of this country a book with Indian characters—foreign, strange, brown skinned characters— a boy & a girl that seem very different from them but turn out, in their hopes & fears, not to be that different after all. Characters (I hope) that they will come to love. When you love people in books, it's a little harder to hate people like them in real life, no?

Once I started writing, though, what took over was the sheer fun of creating a story—and a story with magic in it (which I've always loved). I wove in places I know and places I've only dreamed about. Folktales and myth and cautionary stories and contemporary hardship and impossibilities and things I plain made up as I went along. When I write my adult books, there's a critic in my head pursing his lips and going, No, no, no. For the entire length of this book, I exiled him. (It was wonderful! Maybe I'll never let him back in!)

And so I now have a third & final wish: that readers will have as much fun reading The Conch Bearer as I had writing it.

Happy Reading,

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

I read The Conch Bearer to our two children last year (then aged 8 and 10). We all enjoyed it and they always wanted to squeeze in a couple more pages when it was time to stop. One reviewer suggests that The Conch Bearer is merely a rehashing of Kipling - presumably comparing it to Kim. All I can say to that is I suggest the reviewer try reading Kim to a few elementary school age children and see how she does!..continued

Full Review (347 words)

This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access, become a member today.

(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book



Divakaruni says she wrote the book for two reasons; firstly to give her two sons bragging rights that their mom had written a book and two of the heroes were named after them (sorry, I don't know which two!); and in our post 9/11 world, to give American children a book about children who might superficially seem very different to them, but in fact are not that different after all.

The Conch Bearer is the first in a planned trilogy. The second book, The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming is due to be released in September. Unlike many series books, The Conch Bearer reaches a satisfying conclusion in its own right.

Bibliography

The...

This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Conch Bearer, try these:

  • Wolf Brother jacket

    Wolf Brother

    by Michelle Paver

    Published 2006

    About this book

    More by this author

    Six thousand years ago. Evil stalks the land. Only twelve-year-old Torak and his wolf-cub companion can defeat it. Their journey together takes them through deep forests, across giant glaciers, and into dangers they never imagined. Ages 9+.

  • Wandering Warrior jacket

    Wandering Warrior

    by Da Chen

    Published 2004

    About this book

    More by this author

    According to the ancient scriptures, Luka will be the future emperor of China. In preparation, he has been trained in the ways of the kung fu wandering warriors by a wise monk named Atami, but when Atami is captured by the enemy Luka must begin his own journey to become the warrior and leader he is destined to be. Ages 12+.

We have 4 read-alikes for The Conch Bearer, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Bluest Eye
    by Toni Morrison
    The story of a black girl in America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others. First published 1970; won the 1993 Nobel Prize.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Three Days in June
    by Anne Tyler

    A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.

  • Book Jacket

    Harlem Rhapsody
    by Victoria Christopher Murray

    The extraordinary story of the woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance.

Who Said...

Use what talents you possess: The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

D to T N

and be entered to win..