Cracking India

By Bapsi Sidhwa,

Book cover of Cracking India

Book description

A New York Times Notable Book: A girl’s happy home life is suddenly disrupted by the 1947 Partition of India in this “multifaceted jewel of a novel” (Houston Chronicle).

Young Lenny Sethi is kept out of school because she suffers from polio. She spends her days with Ayah, her beautiful…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Cracking India as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Sidhwa’s book describes the partition of India that formed present-day India and Pakistan. These tortured days and the tragedies and massacres that followed are viewed through the lens of a gentle and educated Parsi family. The narrator is Lenny, a young girl afflicted with polio, whose active observations center on the members of her family and servants. Her eighteen-year-old Ayah and the devotion of the ice-candy man play out against the backdrop of terrible hatred and betrayal, where religious affiliation trumps all, even what some call love, and others, lust. 

This book had me weeping for days. Its simplicity is…

Want books like Cracking India?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Cracking India.

Browse books like Cracking India

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Polio, India, and Mumbai?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about Polio, India, and Mumbai.

Polio Explore 18 books about Polio
India Explore 446 books about India
Mumbai Explore 35 books about Mumbai