cover image Tiger Hills

Tiger Hills

Sarita Mandanna, Grand Central, $24.99 (480p) ISBN 978-0-446-56410-6

Set in southern India, Mandanna's epic if overly dramatic debut follows the fortunes of two intertwined families from the late 19th century to the eve of WWII. Devanna is a young boy when his mother commits suicide, and the one person he relates to is his best friend, the lovely and adored Devi: "They became a staple sight in the village, the pale-skinned firebrand and her scrawny worshipper; if Devi had fascinated him before, Devanna now clung to her like a bedraggled puppy." But when she's 10 years old, Devi meets Devanna's adult cousin, Machu, a hero for having killed a tiger, and from that day, decides that she will marry only Machu. This childish notion becomes the driving force in her life. Years pass before she is able to arrange a meeting with Machu, but to Devi's dismay, he seems immune to her beauty. Unaware of Devi's desire, Devanna begins his medical school studies and plans a future with her. At school, though, he endures cruel hazing and he returns home a different man, which changes the course of many lives. Mandanna's sweeping saga is ambitious, engaging, and relentlessly tragic. (Mar.)