PR: Another thought I had was that things seemed to tie up a bit too nicely at the end. Do you feel like books are better when there is sorting out at the end? Do you foresee writing a book where you stop at “Well. So that’s how things are. They didn’t get any better or change and there you have it. Such is life.” Not necessarily a sad ending but rather a non ending.
AM: I don’t know if things did get tied up too nicely. Her grandparents and parents are still fighting over Priya’s choice of a husband. She’s still not able to tell them that Nick is black and when they find out, it’s obviously going to be considered yet another betrayal. I actually wanted to leave things to show that this is how it’s going to continue. She’ll never have her parents’ full support and they will always find something to complain about, and she will probably give them enough reason.
From personal experience, I know that my marrying a Dane was not well received by my parents and even though, finally, it came down to, “You have to do what you have to do and you don’t listen to us anyway,” we’re not all living like one big happy family. Sure, there are other reasons why my parents and I don’t get along, but I think one of the reasons is that I’m married to a man they didn’t approve of. And I think Priya will probably have the same experience.
Regarding if books should have a nicely wrapped-up ending or not, it depends upon the book. Sometimes I read a book and the ending is left hanging and I feel it’s done for effect and not because the story demanded it. Sometimes it’s nice that the author didn’t tie it all up. But again that is a personal choice based on how a reader reacts to a story.
Take Gone with the Wind. I’m sure there were readers who wished that at the end Rhett and Scarlet would hold hands and walk into the sunset, while I was pretty happy with the ending and thought that was the only way the book could end.
PR: Strange isn’t it? After all those years, so many things have changed-our lives, our careers, and yet here we are…
AM: We’ve known each other… oh, since we were in diapers. I think it’s rather nice that you and I can still have a conversation about this or anything else. I have found that I have lost touch with many of my friends from the old college days, yet you and I have managed to hold on and have some semblance of a friendship. Thank you so much for doing this with me. When my editor said that I could do the Q &A with you, I was quite thrilled that we could work on a joint project like this and it has been absolutely wonderful!
PR: I agree. This has been fun. I’m really happy for you, and as always, my love and best wishes are with you.
AM: Well, that’s a wrap!
What is the significance of the title The Mango Season? How about the title of the prologue, “Happiness Is a Mango”? Why does Amulya Malladi constantly refer to mangoes, and how does this symbol resonate within the novel as a whole?
How is the constant reference to food significant to the unfolding of the story? What does the inclusion of recipes add to the “flavor” of the book?
In which ways does Priya embrace America upon her arrival there? Which cultural traditions does she eschew?
Contrast Priya’s relationship to her mother with those she has with her father and brother. Why do you think she finds it easier to relate to the males in her family? What sets Priya and her mother at odds?
Do you think that Priya should have told her family about her engagement right away, perhaps even before her arrival in India? Why doesn’t she? What larger problems does her reluctance to discuss her romance indicate about Priya’s relationship with her family?
What is your impression of Nick through Priya’s rendering of him via her memories and their e-mail correspondence? What characteristics are appealing about him?
What are Nick’s fears about Priya returning to India? Why does he want to go with her? How are his worries borne out?
Why does Malladi disclose Nick’s race only at the end of The Mango Season? What hints does she sprinkle throughout the book that he is black? Does this disclosure make a difference in your understanding and perception of the novel?
How are Priya’s female relatives constrained by their places in society? How do they chafe under these restrictions? Do any rebel, and if so, how? What effect does Priya have on them, and in turn, how do they influence her?
What spurs Sowmya to exact promises from her future husband before she’s married? Does this surprise you, based on Sowmya’s characterization at the beginning of the book?
“What can we do when someone takes your trust and throws it away?” asks Priya’s mother (p. 39). How does this theme of establishing-and losing-trust thread through the book? How do Priya’s relatives trust and distrust her? In which ways has their attitude infantilized her, and how has it made her stronger and more independent?
“Happiness is such a relative term that it sometimes loses definition,” Malladi writes (p. 56). How does Priya’s definition of happiness evolve as the book unfolds? How would her parents define happiness differently from her?
Priya refers to the “two people inside me” (p. 69). How does Priya seek to reconcile the two halves of her personality? Which aspects of her character derive from her Indian upbringing? Which from her choice to embrace America?
Is Nate indulged more than Priya by their parents? How does he adapt to the strictures of Indian society, and within the family structure in particular? How is he a modern figure, and how does he feel a link to the past?
“Behind the façade… we were strangers to each other,” Priya says of her family (p. 98). Is this statement an accurate representation of her familial relationships? With whom in the family is Priya most herself?
Why does Priya go through with the bride-seeing ceremony? What about her might be attractive to Adarsh? What are the benefits and disadvantages to having an arranged marriage?
How does Priya envision love and marriage? In which ways is this an “American” view, and how is it influenced by her Indian heritage? How does it contrast with the vision of her family in India?
How does Thatha view Priya’s refusal to marry a handpicked Indian beau? Do you believe that their relationship will ever recover? Why were they close in the first place, despite their differences?
“You cannot make mango pickle with tomatoes,” Thatha says to Priya (p. 170). How does this sum up his view of her relationship with Nick? Does it also apply to any other relationships in the book?
“I had to start living my own life on my own terms,” Priya says (p. 142). Is this goal easier to accomplish when Priya is in the United States? Why? Does being in India stifle her sense of self?
How does the theme of sacrifice thread throughout the book? What sacrifices is Priya prepared to make for love? How does her mother hold up her sacrifices to Priya, to force her daughter to accede to her wishes? Ultimately, is this an effective technique?
How does racism, both against Indians and within the Indian culture itself, influence the perceptions that the Indian characters in the novel have of Americans? What else informs their perception of blacks, whites, and “foreigners”? What slights do you think Indians have felt based on the color of their skin?
Malladi deliberately leaves the ending of the novel ambiguous. Why? What do you envision occurring once Priya’s family receives the photograph of Nick?
Amulya Malladi
