Helen Lavinia Underwood

The House of Lakshmi Chatterjee Helen Lavinia Underwood

The House of Lakshmi Chatterjee takes place on a single day in 1968. Set in Calcutta, India, it explores the mind of a young woman-an American expatriate-as she tries to come to terms with who she is in the midst of a world she could scarcely have imagined. The narrative alternates between present and past - between her efforts to plan a party for the evening of September 29 and her memories of previous years. Despite herself, she becomes "house-mother" to a motley collection of people--including a ghost!--who are drawn, for a variety of reasons, to the House of Lakshmi Chatterjee in the heart of Calcutta. Together, they represent a broad cultural spectrum-Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Tibetan Buddhist, and atheist. Even Mother Teresa gets into the act!