The evocative saga of escapism, the tuneful melody of the long lost songs of childhood is

the central theme of the award-winning novel, “Where Shall We Go This Summer?”.The
storyline with its bold strokes of realities is an effort to illustrate the happiness of
escaping from the realities to the land of utopia; hence the title aptly justifies the core
theme. the novel ends however the taste remains.
The ideal story weaver of the recent era, Anita Desai is a writer of her own class.
Psychoanalysis of each and every female character makes her novel as if a journey to the
maze minds. Born in the year 1937, Anita Desai with her deft characterization and with
her remarkable anti romanticist approach so very eloquently brings out the dilemma,
tension, fears, agony, frustration and love of the womanhood whilst making her each
novel as if a saga of sheer realism. The idealistic world which each of her character wants
to experience hence stands as the logo of that eternal longing of mankind. The story of
Anita Desai ends but what remains is that lingering afterimage of the story.
Synopsis:“Where Shall We Go This Summer?”, an illustrious novel by Anita Desai is
a story of an oppressed mind. Like all her earlier novels this particular novel also
illustrates the tense nesses between family members and the loneliness, isolation and
alienation of the middle-class women, Sita, the female protagonist of the story. The
central character Sita in this novel ‘Where Shall We Go This Summer?’ feeling the
frustration of the suffocative four walls is seen taking refuge from her marriage at the
utopian land of a magic island. Pregnant with her fifth child, Sita therefore desperately
takes refuge from the mundane realities of her marriage to the island, which happens to
be the homestead of her deceased father. It is when Sita feels that she is again pregnant
for the fifth time then the irritations and grittiness of life becomes somewhat heavy to
bear for her. She makes an attempt to shut down emotionally and isolate herself from the
daily chores. It is then she feels the dire need to fade far away and dissolve to the utopian
land, which is illustrated here as the island and the dwelling place of her dead father. The
catastrophe of the story lies where Sita is seen perturbed with the very idea of bringing
another child, as it is indeed something more than what she can handle. She physically
escapes to the island and hopes to remain pregnant forever with the baby. A neat
summation and a tidy approach makes where shall we go this summer? a heart-rending
story of a dejected female.
The unusual situation of life is skillfully crafted in the novel. The story ends leaving the
feeling of an intense pain of a young middle class wife who so passionately desires to bid
bye the hypocrisy and boredom of her daily existence.
Where Shall We Go This Summer by Anita Desai""1Published by Vision Books Pvt Ltd, India and Architectural Book Publishing
Company, this book stands as the portrayal of the unchanged realisms of life.
The concept of “escapism: both in the real and imaginary sense gains a profound diction
in Anita Desai’s “Where Shall We Go This Summer?” precise narration perched between
dexterous dramatization and innate sensibility makes the novel “where shall we go this
summer” an account of sheer reality. Deep insight, flawless style and that matchless
intensity of the psychoanalysis that Desai does in this novel make it a rare work of
mellowness and concord.
(Last Updated on : 06/01/2009)