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Bibliography

Dame Blanche, 2001

Dame Blanche, 2001 Paperback, 223 pages Published: March 2001 Weight: 268 grams Size: 205 x 132 x 22 mm Publisher: Knipscheer, Harlem Netherlands Price: € 15.75

Joys and sorrows of four generations of Hindustani. The main character Indrani connects her story, and that of her deceased son Ravi and father, her daughter Lakshmi, the stories of her (geat-)grandparents, her former husband Rajinder and her Dutch lover,-who-could-not-become-her-husband Martin, with the lives of Cilia, the landlady and whore from the Hague, with Dewi (wife vs the other woman), and with her niece Shalini. She describes the latters Hindustani traditional marriage with the Dutch Bart. Mala Kishoendajal adds a piece of her Indian literary soul by including her favourite author R.K. Narayan's version of a piece of Ramayana. The press: Against a background of gaudy Hindu customs and rituals Indrani makes frantic efforts to survive as the editor of a magazine while raising her daughter. Kishoendajal’s laconic humor makes that Dame Blanche hasn’t become a private lament but a modern bildungsroman that leaves an energetic impression. - Marnel Breure, Our World.

A little monument on the Surinamese Hindustani in Holland. In this novel every story revolves around a person who becomes realistic as the author goes far back in time in order to put events in their perspective. - Weekly Newspaper Suriname. The strength lies mainly in the description of the emotions of a young woman who is looking for happiness at the crossroads of two cultures. These emotions have been framed in the portraits of all the characters that play a role in her life. Douwe de Vries, Friesch newspaper. Combination of well-used literary devices such as style and composition, and a challenging position against cliché images that prevail between two cultures. - Jos de Roo..