Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard Audiobook By Kiran Desai cover art

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard

A Novel

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection of titles.
Yours as long as you’re a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for $8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard

By: Kiran Desai
Narrated by: Vidish Athavale
Try Standard free

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.20

Buy for $16.20

Sampath Chawla was born in a time of drought that ended with a vengeance the night of his birth. All signs being auspicious, the villagers triumphantly assured Sampath's proud parents that their son was destined for greatness.

Twenty years of failure later, that unfortunately does not appear to be the case. A sullen government worker, Sampath is inspired only when in search of a quiet place to take his nap. "But the world is round," his grandmother says. "Wait and see! Even if it appears he is going downhill, he will come up the other side. Yes, on top of the world. He is just taking a longer route." No one believes her until, one day, Sampath climbs into a guava tree and becomes unintentionally famous as a holy man, setting off a series of events that spin increasingly out of control. A delightfully sweet comic novel that ends in a raucous bang, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is as surprising and entertaining as it is beautifully wrought. Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Small Town & Rural World Literature Funny Witty

Critic reviews

"Enchanting--A meticulously crafted piece of gently comic satire that attests to the author's pitch-perfect ear for character and mood, and her natural storytelling gifts."
--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Clearly envisioned and opulently told."
--Chicago Tribune

"Delectable--With this sprightly first novel, Kiran Desai takes her place among the pack of gifted young Indian writers."
--The Wall Street Journal

"Crackling, witty, sharply visual prose--[Desai] is a delightfully funny, amiable satirist."
--Atlantic Monthly

"A festival of comic eccentricity--exudes charisma, poetry, and joy in language and life."
--Baltimore Sun

"A charming, lyrical fable about destiny and the nature of kinship."
--Harper's Bazaar

"Wryly hilarious--a roller-coaster ride through the nonsense of chance and human foolishness."
--Portland Oregonian
All stars
Most relevant
Compelling story. Well written with a few twists and turns. Totally satisfying. I’m going to read her other books.

The humor

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.