Flame Tree Road, Shona Patel
Flame Tree Road, Shona Patel
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Flame Tree Road

Author: Shona Patel

Narrator: Neil Shah

Unabridged: 10 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/30/2015


Synopsis

From the acclaimed author of Teatime for the Firefly comes the story of a man with dreams of changing the world, who finds himself changed by love 

1870s India. In a tiny village where society is ruled by a caste system and women are defined solely by marriage, young Biren Roy dreams of forging a new destiny. When his mother suffers the fate of widowhood—shunned by her loved ones and forced to live in solitary penance—Biren devotes his life to effecting change. 

Biren's passionate spirit blossoms as wildly as the blazing flame trees of his homeland. With a law degree, he goes to work for the government to pioneer academic equality for girls. But in a place governed by age-old conventions, progress comes at a price, and soon Biren becomes a stranger among his own countrymen. 

Just when his vision for the future begins to look hopeless, he meets Maya, the independent-minded daughter of a local educator, and his soul is reignited. It is in her love that Biren finally finds his home, and in her heart that he finds the hope for a new world.

About Shona Patel

Shona Patel, the daughter of an Assam tea planter, drew upon her personal observations and experiences to create the vivid characters and setting for Teatime for the Firefly. An honors graduate in English literature from Calcutta University, Ms. Patel has won several awards for creative writing and is a trained graphic and architectural designer. Teatime for the Firefly is her debut novel.


Reviews

India, the caste system, no rights for women except through marriage. FLAME TREE ROAD addresses these issues that were prevalent in India during the 1800's. Biren Roy is the main character. His father died at a young age, and his mother, like all Indian widows, became an outcast once their husbands w......more

Goodreads review by Colleen

See the full review at www.luxuryreading.com. I was absolutely blown away by Shona Patel’s debut novel, Teatime for the Firefly, when I read it a few years ago and haven’t been able to forget her intelligent and independent heroine, Layla Roy, or Layla’s determination to chart her own life in an Indi......more