Village By The Sea

The Village by the Sea: An Indian Family Story is a coming-of-age novel by Anita Desai, set in Thul, a small fishing village near Bombay. It follows thirteen-year-old Lila and her younger brother Hari as they struggle to care for their ill mother, alcoholic father, and two younger sisters after their family falls into severe hardship. When a proposed factory threatens the village’s way of life, Hari leaves for Bombay in search of work while Lila remains at home to hold the family together. The novel explores poverty, family duty, rural-to-urban migration, environmental change, hope, and resilience through the children’s experiences. First published by Heinemann in 1982, the novel won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. The Penguin India paperback edition was published in 2010 and has ISBN 9780143335498; numerous editions are available.