Rating: 
Summary: Heavy-handed, Tone-deaf, and Moralistic
Review: Anita Desai has been celebrated by some for her ear for dialogue, but she gets it all wrong here. Her presentation of life in the United States is especially obvious. Her characters, living in Massachusetts, talk like they are in Texas. The American daughter, predictably, is a bulemic, something that may strike Indian readers as novel but in Desai's hands is nothing more than a cliche (Feasting, Fasting--get it?) And she seems terribly amused by her young American jock's pastime of "jogging," a word that a real American high school football player wouldn't be caught dead using.As for her chapters set in India, Desai allows ideology (i.e., feminism) to drive her narrative, with predictable results. Is the way she incorporates dowry death into her story any less of a cliche in India than the way she utilizes the bulemic girl (who has no other distinguishing characteristics) in order to describe American excess? Unfortunately, American readers of Anglophone Indian fiction are so often overwhelmed by the exoticism of these stories that they fail to seperate the wheat (Rushdie, Roy, Pankaj Mishra) from the chaff (Desai, Divakaruni).
Rating:
Summary: Heavy-handed, Tone-deaf, and Moralistic
Review: Anita Desai has been celebrated by some for her ear for dialogue, but she gets it all wrong here. Her presentation of life in the United States is especially obvious. Her characters, living in Massachusetts, talk like they are in Texas. The American daughter, predictably, is a bulemic, something that may strike Indian readers as novel but in Desai's hands is nothing more than a cliche (Feasting, Fasting--get it?) And she seems terribly amused by her young American jock's pastime of "jogging," a word that a real American high school football player wouldn't be caught dead using. As for her chapters set in India, Desai allows ideology (i.e., feminism) to drive her narrative, with predictable results. Is the way she incorporates dowry death into her story any less of a cliche in India than the way she utilizes the bulemic girl (who has no other distinguishing characteristics) in order to describe American excess? Unfortunately, American readers of Anglophone Indian fiction are so often overwhelmed by the exoticism of these stories that they fail to seperate the wheat (Rushdie, Roy, Pankaj Mishra) from the chaff (Desai, Divakaruni).
Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: Anita Desai has the ability to see both sides of the story.
Fascinating material!
Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: I Can't Believe How Bad This Was!
Review: As much as the writing style is nice and it is easy reading, this book is so depressing with no likable character, that it became painful to finish. The depiction of the "Typical American Family" is so contrived it's rediculous. At some points I almost started laughing. Overall I would absolutely not recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A little empty music.
Review: Despite the critical acclaim and Booker Prize nomination, this book is an uninspired attempt to contrast the social ills of two very different societies. The theme is perhaps noble and difficult, but Desai fails to pull it off. Neither of the main characters, the siblings Uma and Arun, are protrayed in more than one dimension and are hardly worth caring for. One learns less about them than how they are perceived by others. The events that pepper Uma's life in India are nothing more than disjointed vignettes, and Arun's little window into a dysfunctional suburban American family left an empty feeling. Desai deserves credit for her skills in human and social observation but the entire novel is only that and never once engages the reader's heart and mind in the story-telling. Finally, the writing style in the two parts of the novel is so contrasting that I wondered if they were written by two different authors.
Rating:
Summary: Delves into the Inner Sanctum of an Orthodox Indian Family
Review: from BlueJeanOnline.com
by Dashini Ann Jeyathurai, age 19, Teen Correspondent In Fasting, Feasting, Anita Desai takes on a task that many Indian and expatriate authors have deemed Herculean in nature, a task that involves delving into the inner sanctum of an orthodox Indian family in India. Many who have attempted this challenge failed and came out looking ignorant and insensitive of certain aspects of the culture. Few have succeeded, and among them is Anita Desai. The reader is faced with several poignant issues played upon in a middle-class family attempting to deal with modernization, but they ultimately that realize life is meant to be lived in their society. A society with a veritable amount of prejudices weaved into its complex tapestry of customs and beliefs. The story in itself is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Uma, who starts out as a wide-eyed child at a convent who has an enthusiasm for education and an awe of the enigmatic nuns who seem to glide through the school grounds. Unlike her younger sister Aruna, our protagonist does not have the privilege of having "books marked healthily in green and blue for success and approval." Instead, with the birth of her brother Arun, Uma takes on the role of nanny. Here, one encounters the distinct preference her parents have for the male child - a practice that was not uncommon at the time. The teenage Uma questions this sexism when she points out that an ayah had looked after both Aruna and herself as children. Why wasn't the ayah's care sufficient for a male child? Desai next explores the conventional belief that tied a woman's worth to her physical appearance. A woman who lacked beauty was often rushed into the first marital offer she received, only to pay a heavy price later on. Desai shows the challenges a single woman faces regardless of how successful she is. By contrast, Uma's cousin is portrayed as the ultimate success because she is able to marry well thanks to her looks. One wonders how happy she truly was, however, when she eventually takes her own life. Arun, Uma's brother, takes center stage several chapters into the book as he begins his studies in America, where he meets the dysfunctional Patton family. Arun is faced with unlimited freedom and grapples with an alien culture in which his landlord's daughter periodically vomits after meals and Ms. Patton is almost a non-entity in the family. Ultimately, Anita Desai has established herself as one of India's finest fiction writers. To me, great authors are the ones who can make you keep turning the pages, eager to read the next line although there may be more pressing matters at hand - and Desai fulfills that description....
Rating:
Summary: Literature at Its Best
Review: I am amazed at some of the negative or lukewarm reviews this book has received. I read this when it was first published and was left breathless. I was in a state of bliss. This is what literature is supposed to be, I thought. This book, the first I had read by Anita Desai, restored my faith in fiction. I have been dissatisfied with the state of fiction for years and was ecstatic that I had found a book that could please me in a way that only great art is capable of doing. It is unfortunate that Desai has not received the popular acclaim that she deserves, despite her critical acclaim. She will undoubtedly be recognized as one of the best writers of the late twentieth century. I simply cannot say enough about this powerful, beautifully written, and subtle novel.
Rating: 
Summary: You Are What You Eat
Review: I challenge a reader of this book to count the number of times the words dust and dusty appear when the story moves from the suburbs of a town in India to a suburb outside of Boston. Hey! What happened to the dust in India or have I missed ironic intent? When you are finished with this task you might note the repetition of phrases containing chrome, plastic, greasy, beer cans, blood-red undercooked beef, damp verdant growth concealing communities of insect life. These ominous descriptions are rarely interrupted by dialogue. It is a story about two dysfunctional families and how neurotic behavior is absorbed by different cultures. The Indian family clings to traditions, while in America consumers constantly seek the newest and the fastest. Food and reaction to food is a unifying theme. America is obsessed with its barbecue grills and packaged food. In India ancient customs preserve delectable concoctions like lodoos, puris, samosas, accompanied with warm cups of tea and the fragrance of jasmine. The ideas behind this narrative are very compelling and despite my complaints that at times the material is overcooked, this book held my attention and gives the reader plenty of food for thought.
Rating:
Summary: A Dual and Honest View
Review: I must say, I find some of the negative comments of others surprising since I felt this to be the most compelling of Desai's books. I think that it is deceptively simple and quite profound in parts. I have read it twice and upon the first the reading I admit that I did not think that I stumbled on to something special. But something told me I should consider it further, because like an unexpected feast, it was memorable. I felt so pulled by it that I actually decided it would be a book worth sharing with my students. They are currently in the process of reading it and enjoying her prose while considering the novel's subtle undertones. Unlike many other novels, this one does not gloss over or pretend to hide the obvious flaws and irrationality of either the Indian or American culture. Instead, it delivers a poignant, often startling, and ultimately, I think, positive view of acceptance--of one's life, of one's family and of one's culture. As far as the ending is concerned, it is wholly truthful. What aspect of life ends with any real sense of closure? Like Desai's characters, we only move and meander along, unsure of our footing at times. Her ability to draw out richness from the limited simplicity of her characters lives is quite remarkable. The more I reflect on the novel, the more I am impressed with her insight and intelligence.
Rating:
Summary: The writing is so beautiful although context is kinda boring
Review: I think Anita Desai is a very good writer in the sense that the book was so beautifult written. I love her similes and descriptions. The plot is interesting in a sad sort of way. I personaly liked the feasting part better. I think it was becasue it gave more backgrung info and had more stories. There was really no conclusion or even climax to the book. So if you are one of those people that needs a very exciting book, then dont get this. But if you appreciate nice writing and some interesting description, I definetly think you should.
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