Lavanya Sankaran, The Red Carpet

The Red Carpet

Lavanya Sankaran

Dial, Apr 25, 2006, $13.00

ISBN: 0385338201

These eight stories focus on people from Bangalore where "beggars and billionaires" make up the two caste social system. The tales are well written as conflict exists between rich and poor, tradition and modern, East and West, and religion and secular. Each contribution is well written, poignant and insightful as readers obtain the duality of western influence with some locals believing it is intrusive and destroying a way of life while others welcome the choices and freedoms. Perhaps the best example of the battling sides is "Bombay This," in which thirtyish software programmer Ramu asks his old fashion traditon-based mother to find him a wife. Readers who want something intelligent but different will want to read The Red Carpet anthology as it is worth the time and intriguingly the underlying concepts of conflict between the groups and even between subgroups applies in the United States with issues like abortion.

Harriet Klausner