Suzanne Fisher Staples: The Setting Is the Story

by Megan Lynn Isaac

Overview

After spending more than a decade as a journalist in South Asia, Suzanne Fisher Staples turned to writing realistic novels about young people coming of age in modern Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, as well as the United States. Her elegant prose and compelling character development draw readers into lives and cultures that are always warmly appealing. In Suzanne Fisher Staples: The Setting Is the Story, Megan Lynn Isaac explores the award winning novels of this unusual writer.

Comprised of eight chapters—one exploring each of Staples's works (six novels and a memoir) and an additional chapter detailing the critical reception of her most famous books, the Pakistani trilogy (Shabanu, Haveli and The House of Djinn)—Isaac considers the predominant themes, characters, and settings of each work and provides background information about the countries, religions, art forms, and other aspects of the cultures of South Asia that are central to Staples's writing. Original material from the author's interviews with Staples provides new insights into her work and experiences. Biographical information about Staples, both in chronological and narrative form, is also included, as well as a comprehensive bibliography of scholarly material related to Staples.

This book will help scholars and fans of Staples to explore the themes and literary techniques employed by her, as well as to deepen their understanding of the cultures and traditions upon which she draws.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810857575
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/25/2009
Series:	Studies in Young Adult Literature , #37
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Megan Lynn Isaac is associate professor of English at Elon University. She is the author of Heirs to Shakespeare: Reinventing the Bard in Young Adult Literature (2000).

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Chronology xiii

Family Trees for Pakistani Trilogy xvi

1 Always a Writer: The Green Dog and Staples's Sense of Story 1

2 Sbabanu: Striking a Balance between Self and Society 17

3 Haveli: A Modern Tale of Anarkali 47

4 Echoes of the Past and Heralds of the Future in The House of Djinn 65

5 Critical Reception of the Pakistani Trilogy 85

6 Learning to Discriminate: Injustice in Dangerous Skies 105

7 Dancing a World into Existence: Shiva's Fire 121

8 Under the Persimmon Tree and an Unlikely Pair of Stargazers 141

Bibliography 161

Index 169

About the Author 175