Sheba Jose's Chamor is both delicate and disturbing, an acutely observed evocation of a young girl's universe on a family plantation in Kerala. In the intricacy of relationships-with family, servants and the natural world-is contained the heartbreak of change. In vividly drawn scenes and fluent dialogue, the novel captures the transition from the simple pleasures of childhood to the pain of a lost paradise -- Sunil Sethi, columnist

An engaging tale of innocence, love and humanity set in the enchanted garden of childhood. Sheba Jose tells her story of a remembered life in charming south Indian locales with passion and conviction -- Paul Zacharia, writer and columnist

Sheba Jose tells the story of Chamor in such vivid and nuanced detail that it becomes, for the reader, a shared experience-as they subconsciously amalgamate memories evoked from their own past with events that affect and shape the characters that emerge from the author's mind. Expectations, values and emotions form the core of relationships. Chamor is an engrossing rendition of human nature and of the significant role of chance in all our lives. Storytelling at its best! Highly recommended -- P. Thiaga Rajan, minister for finance and human resources management, Tamil Nadu

Sheba Jose was born and educated in south India and knows well the terrain and ethos of the land that she writes about in this book. She is equally familiar with the quite different physical and cultural landscape of north India, where she has lived for close to two decades. She has a bachelor's degree in science and a master's in English literature. She currently resides in Australia.