The Crow Eaters

Author: Bapsi Sidhwa

Pages: 280

Faredoon (Freddy) Junglewalla is either the jewel of the Parsee community or a murdering scoundrel. Freddy s mother-in-law, Jerbanoo, thinks he is planning to do away with her, but for Freddy, who has always been a pragmatist, murder would never do. Insurance fraud and arson, however, are well within Freddy s repertoire – in fact he thinks he has invented the idea, so advanced is it for India in 1901… As his skills grow he becomes a man of consequence among the Parsees, with people travelling thousands of miles to see him in Lahore, especially if they wish to escape tight spots they have got themselves into. In this wickedly comic novel, the celebrated author of Ice-Candy Man takes us into the heart of the Parsee community, portraying its varied customs and traits with contagious humour. Noted Canadian director Deepa Mehta plans to make The Crow Eaters into a film.