Traditional Indian homes have three to four generations living inside of them—after marriage, a wife typically moves in to her husband's family home. Needless to say, family is extremely important in Indian culture, and in Anita Desai's Clear Light of Day, that is infinitely clear. We meet the Das family at the beginning of the novel in post-partition India, and throughout the story flashback to their childhood through adolescence and early adulthood. With their age, we see the evolution of Muslim-Hindu tensions, the power of childhood and forgiveness, and how the roles of mothers as caretakers evolves with the modernization of India. The only aspect of the book more fascinating than the family tensions amidst death, love, and rebellion is the fact that Desai considers the novel her most autobiographical work.
