ABOUT THE BOOK
‘The Coffer Dams is an absorbing tale about mechanical strength and spiritual weakness, physical certainties and moral doubts. It is set in modern India, but the conflict of values at its heart is universal.’ John Masters, author of Bhowani Junction.
Clinton, founder and head of a firm of international engineers, arrives in India to build a dam, bringing with him his young wife, Helen, and a strong team of aides and skilled men. They are faced with a formidable challenge, which involves working in daunting mountain and jungle terrain, within a time schedule dictated by the extreme tropical weather.
Set-backs occur which bring into focus fundamental differences in the attitudes to life and death of the British bosses and the Indian workers. The Coffer Dams is timely reminder of the British contempt for Indian lives and for nature.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KAMALA MARKANDAYA (1924 – 2004) was born in Mysore, India. She studied history at Madras University and later worked for a small progressive magazine before moving to London in 1948 in pursuit of a career in journalism. There she began writing her novels; Nectar in a Sieve, her debut published in 1954, was an international bestseller. A contemporary of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and R.K. Narayan, Kamala Markandaya is now being rediscovered as an essential figure in the post-colonial canon.
REVIEWS
‘The Coffer Dams is an absorbing tale about mechanical strength and spiritual weakness, physical certainties and moral doubts. It is set in modern India, but the conflict of values at its heart is universal.’ John Masters, author of Bhowani Junction.
'A compelling read, and one which I absolutely think should be included on reading lists, for as well as speaking of the past, the themes are still so relevant today' Emma R's Book Blog
'Should be a seminal text to show the racial tensions between the old ruling class and the newly independent Indians.' Books by Bindu
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