Book Review: ‘The Bitter Fruit Tree’ by Prakash Parienkar

Book Title: The Bitter Fruit Tree
Author: Prakash Parienkar
Publisher: Niyogi Books
Number of Pages: 192
ISBN: 978-8119626885
Date Published: Jun. 1, 2025
Price: INR 250

Book Review

Prakash Parienkar’s “The Bitter Fruit Tree” is a collection of thirteen stories set in Sattari, a forested region in northeast Goa. The stories revolve around village life, environmental challenges, and deeply rooted cultural traditions. The stories often unfold against the backdrop of festivals like Dussehra and Holi, illustrating the struggles of low-caste outsiders and those caught on the wrong side of mob hysteria, which often leads to tragic outcomes.

The book opens with Tyalgi, a low-caste drummer, facing an impossible predicament: his wife has died inconveniently on Dussehra, halting his participation in the village ceremony. He appeals to the gaonkars, hoping for a burial site at the roots of a bitter fruit tree across the river, located on government land. The story highlights the plight of the poor with no redress in the face of overwhelming grief.

Parienkar’s characters are mainly farmers and their wives who struggle to scratch out a living from their land or cattle. Their aspirations are often simple, usually revolving around the desire for sons or, in the case of cattle owners, a she-calf to provide milk for sale. On the fringes of these villages live those who set traps for otters or build tree houses to hunt monkeys simply to survive.

Check out our Latest Book Reviews

The stories illustrate how conflicts can arise between individuals and between individuals and their environment, and how a person’s mood may clash with that of the group, potentially having adverse effects. These stories evoke a sense of melancholy in the reader due to their profound comprehension of both the solitary and the collective.

Books are love!

Get a copy now!