The Time of the Peacock

These stories re-create a strange and fascinating world, where a child may look through squares of lattice enclosing a garden of Indian jasmine and Kasmiri roses to the sheepyards and paddocks of the Australian countryside. They are unique in their depiction of life of an Indian family in rural Australia, but they would be distinguished in any case by their quality – their crystalline images and lyrical feeling, their sensitive perception of light and shade, of human suffering, exile and joy.

Mena Abdullah and Ray Mathew have created a beautiful new world in Australia: the gay, touching and agonising life of an immigrant Indian family as seen by their younger daughter. – The Australian

Never has the other fellow's point of view been put forward with more gentle suavity than in this tale of Indian children growing up in rural Australia … The style throughout has a simplicity and purity of language that is a delight to read. – The West Australian

…a jewel of a book. – Nancy Keesing