The Serpent and the Rope

Rama, a young scholar, meets Madeleine at a university in France. Though they seem to be made for each other, both alike in temperament and character, at times they are divided, a huge gulf separating them. Rama's trip back to India for his father's illness forcibly reminds him of the underlying contrasts between India and Europe. When he returns to France, Rama and Madeleine must face the problems in their marriage. Can they preserve their identities, or must one sacrifice one's inheritance to make the relationship a success? With an introduction by R. Parthasarathy 'Lyrical, fluid, colloquial.' New York Times 'More than any other writer of his generation (Rao) established the status of Indian literature in English.' The Hindu