Fire On The Mountain (1977) is a story about solitude, family, and rejection of patriarchy and social norms in favor of authenticity. It takes place largely within the interior mental and emotional worlds of its female characters and features vivid, poetic descriptions of Nature. Set shortly after India gained independence from Britain and centering on Nanda Kaul, a great-grandmother who has retired alone to Carignano, a minimalist home in the hillsides of Kasauli, India, the novel explores her psychological struggles as she is forced to take in her great-granddaughter who is recovering from typhoid.
Anita Myles writes that "Desai’s novels constitute together the documentation, through...
