Renuka

Hill stations are not as sleepy and gtranquil as they might seem. You will discover forbidden love and intrigue in the most unlikely places. Kipking’s Mrs. Hawksbee and her Simla crowd would have approved. The friendship between Renuka, a Bengali poet, and Rachel, an American missionary, lies at the heart of this novel. Two women from entirely different backgrounds, they share a bond that overcomes the barriers of nationality, race and religion. Both are exiled to a hill station, which is populated with provincial and prudish memsahibs, who adjust their recipes to compensate for the altitude and substitute ingredients from home. While Rachel’s husband works at a psychiatric hospital in the plains, in Ranchi, she looks after their sons who attend a mission school in the hills. While editing a cookbook, Rachel begins to realize the contradictions within her community. She also discovers the seductive voice of Renuka’s poetry…Renuka, Stephen Alter’s fourth novel, builds to a startling climax, while uncovering hidden truths about love, sexuality and passion.