✨Book : Ice Candyman
✨Author : Bapsi Sidhwa
✨Genre : Historical fiction
✨Pages : 277
✨Publication: 1988, Penguin Random House India
✨Format : paperback
✨Book Cost : ₹299


4.4 /5

Blogpost by Dhanu

The novel is set in Lahore during 1940s, pre-independence era, through the innocent eyes of Lenny Sethi, the protagonist. The timeline of the story is four year old girl who has partial physical alignment and is extended upto her age ten, that is, 1943 to 1948.

The narrative begins when Lenny was four year old who had been diagnosing for her polio affected leg. Shanta, Lenny’s babysitter, is an 18-year-old Punjabi girl who goes by the name Ayah throughout the novel. She witnesses the cruelty of adult world that is being tied up with creed, violence, vengeance, brutality and so on. The story revolves around the scenarios of partitions and the brutal incidents that people faced in their foreign land, where they had previously migrated for their lives.

Each scene and character are presented in a more lively manner. The character developments of the novel is gradual and has intricately enrooted with the settings and time zone.

The character, Ice Candyman gradually transforms the subtle and delightful storyline into horrific and cold-blood events after the advent of religious disparities in Lahore. Godmother is another significant character who withstands as the lovable grandmother of Lenny. Her role in the novel has added a strong pillar with unique representation.

The other character Imam Din is the cook of Lenny’s house who also has major plot play. His presence broadens the perspectives of the ethnic perception for Lenny as well as the readers.

The language used in the novel is lucid and beginner-friendly yet devastating. The writing style has well crafted with the intention of churning emotions, agony and anxiety of the readers till the end.

I read the book back in 2019 which was lectured for us in 2018. The thing is, My friends had nightmares about the incidents or realistic scenarios of being in the timezone and witnessing each act of inhumanity after hearing the glimpse of the story outline. And they were haunting me until I finished the book. This keeps the storyline still fresh and wounded in my mind till date. Bapsi Sidhwa retains the attention of her readers till the last page of the novel.

–> Random Facts
The same novel had been published in 1991 under the new title, Cracking India.

In 1998, the movie entitled Earth was released based on this novel.

Highly recommended this fiction.

Happy Reading!