পথের পাঁচালী

Apu and his sister Durga grow up in a poor Brahmin family in a Bengal village in the early twentieth century. Their father, Harihar, is a priest who is often away looking for work, their mother, Sarbajaya, struggles to feed the family and an elderly aunt, Indir Thakrun, lives with them. Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay describes the children's discoveries, from the first train they see to the monsoon rains, and the hardships that come with illness and poverty. It was adapted into the first film of Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy.

Readers who like classic Indian fiction, and who care about stories of childhood and rural life, will find a tender and poetic novel. It suits anyone who has seen Ray's film and wants the original.

Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

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