Book of Rachel

Book of Rachel

First edition
Author	Esther David
Language	English
Genre	fiction
Published	2007
Publisher	Penguin India
Publication place	India
Media type	Hardcover
Pages	280
ISBN	978-0143444534

Book of Rachel is a novel by the Indian-Jewish author Esther David. The book won India's Sahitya Akademi Award in the year 2010. ^[1]

Plot

The main protagonist of the novel is an old Jewish widow named Rachel from Bene Israel community who tries to preserve Jewish culinary art ^[2] and simultaneously tries to protect a local synagogue from local land mafia.

Reception

In her review, Geeta Doctor wrote for India Today "To most people it would consist one portion of R. K. Narayan [and] a dash of sentimentality from Tagore's Kabuliwallah." ^[3]

Deeptha Achar, Professor at the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda wrote "...the book is more ambitious. It not only portrays the community [Bene Israel] from within but also examines the pushes and pulls, economic, cultural, which impinge upon it." ^[4]

Awards

• Sahitya Akademi Award 2010 ^{[5] [6]}

References.

1. Alaka, Sahani (13 January 2019). "It's a balancing act to retain the Jewish ethos in a multicultural country like India: Esther David". The Indian Express. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
2. Kashi, Anita Rao. "The surprising landscape of Indian Jewish food". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
3. Doctor, Geeta (20 March 2006). "Book review of Esther David's 'The Book of Rachel'". India Today. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
4. "Portraying A Vanishing Community". The Book Review, Monthly Review of Important Books. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
5. "Sahitya Akademi Awards". sahitya-akademi.gov.in. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
6. "Indian Jews live a very secretive life: Esther David on writing a book on Indian Jews' recipes 'Bene Appetit' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 April 2022.