PR: Speaking of food, you know I found something similar between your book and Like Water for Chocolate, that you put recipes before every chapter, or almost every chapter.

AM: Well, food is an integral part of Indian society. When we go to visit my parents, my mother will ask us to sit and eat even before we have set our bags down. Whenever I’d go to visit relatives, I’d find myself spending a lot of time in the kitchen with someone or the other, watching them cook or helping them cook.

And I love to cook. So, even though Priya (not you, the book one) isn’t a great cook, I think she appreciates good food because she grew up with it. And I wanted to show the kitchen dynamics and politics as well. A lot of women in one kitchen, there has to be some masala there.

The Mango Season is nowhere as brilliant as Like Water for Chocolate, which is one of those books where the lines between reality and fantasy blur and the end result is a beautifully written story.

PR: Like Water for Chocolate is like a water painting with no defined lines. When you look at something, you think it’s sort of a tree but it could also be part of the mountain behind it.

AM: That’s a fabulous way of putting it. Laura Esquivel does have that magic touch. I’d like to be like her when I grow up.

PR: When I first read The Mango Season, I thought, “Why is everybody sounding so emotional? Do we really talk like this in India? We definitely don’t talk like this in the U.S. ” And then I thought about it some. In the U.S. you try to stay politically correct and calm and balanced. Even with family and friends. But when you go back to India you realize that people say exactly what they think. They do tend to get more visibly upset. And the bad part is if you stay there long enough it can start rubbing off on you.

AM: Was everyone emotional in the book? Probably.

Well, it’s a matter of time and place. Priya has come home after seven years and she has something to say that no one is going to like to hear. Her parents want her to get married and they’d prefer to somehow do it without her permission. At Priya’s grandparents’ house there is a lot of tension because of what the sex of Lata’s baby will be, and they’re trying to get their youngest daughter, Sowmya, married. After years of trying and not succeeding, that is a matter of constant concern. And then there is the continuing battle over Anand and the fact that he married a woman out of his caste. They are all emotional because of the conflict-laden atmosphere they are in.

I don’t think it’s a matter of being politically correct or not, it’s just a matter of what the situation is. People are not extra polite with family because of the societal need to be PC. I think families are families and every family has a different dynamic. I know several American and Danish families where the conversations get loud and direct; feelings are bruised and mended, same as any other family.

But you’re absolutely right about Indians being direct and emotional. I feel that most Indians don’t have filters. They say what they mean and what they feel, without paying much heed to who will be hurt and how much. And yes, Indians are very emotional as well and I have seen it very clearly depicted when I interact with Americans and Europeans. We feel too much and we react so strongly. My Danish family probably thinks I am a little cuckoo because I go off the deep end very easily and often.

PR: Another thought I had was that things seemed to tie up a bit too nicely at the end. Do you feel like books are better when there is sorting out at the end? Do you foresee writing a book where you stop at “Well. So that’s how things are. They didn’t get any better or change and there you have it. Such is life.” Not necessarily a sad ending but rather a non ending.

AM: I don’t know if things did get tied up too nicely. Her grandparents and parents are still fighting over Priya’s choice of a husband. She’s still not able to tell them that Nick is black and when they find out, it’s obviously going to be considered yet another betrayal. I actually wanted to leave things to show that this is how it’s going to continue. She’ll never have her parents’ full support and they will always find something to complain about, and she will probably give them enough reason.

From personal experience, I know that my marrying a Dane was not well received by my parents and even though, finally, it came down to, “You have to do what you have to do and you don’t listen to us anyway,” we’re not all living like one big happy family. Sure, there are other reasons why my parents and I don’t get along, but I think one of the reasons is that I’m married to a man they didn’t approve of. And I think Priya will probably have the same experience.

Regarding if books should have a nicely wrapped-up ending or not, it depends upon the book. Sometimes I read a book and the ending is left hanging and I feel it’s done for effect and not because the story demanded it. Sometimes it’s nice that the author didn’t tie it all up. But again that is a personal choice based on how a reader reacts to a story.

Take Gone with the Wind. I’m sure there were readers who wished that at the end Rhett and Scarlet would hold hands and walk into the sunset, while I was pretty happy with the ending and thought that was the only way the book could end.

PR: Strange isn’t it? After all those years, so many things have changed-our lives, our careers, and yet here we are…

AM: We’ve known each other… oh, since we were in diapers. I think it’s rather nice that you and I can still have a conversation about this or anything else. I have found that I have lost touch with many of my friends from the old college days, yet you and I have managed to hold on and have some semblance of a friendship. Thank you so much for doing this with me. When my editor said that I could do the Q &A with you, I was quite thrilled that we could work on a joint project like this and it has been absolutely wonderful!

PR: I agree. This has been fun. I’m really happy for you, and as always, my love and best wishes are with you.

AM: Well, that’s a wrap!

What is the significance of the title The Mango Season? How about the title of the prologue, “Happiness Is a Mango”? Why does Amulya Malladi constantly refer to mangoes, and how does this symbol resonate within the novel as a whole?

How is the constant reference to food significant to the unfolding of the story? What does the inclusion of recipes add to the “flavor” of the book?

In which ways does Priya embrace America upon her arrival there? Which cultural traditions does she eschew?

Contrast Priya’s relationship to her mother with those she has with her father and brother. Why do you think she finds it easier to relate to the males in her family? What sets Priya and her mother at odds?

Do you think that Priya should have told her family about her engagement right away, perhaps even before her arrival in India? Why doesn’t she? What larger problems does her reluctance to discuss her romance indicate about Priya’s relationship with her family?

What is your impression of Nick through Priya’s rendering of him via her memories and their e-mail correspondence? What characteristics are appealing about him?

What are Nick’s fears about Priya returning to India? Why does he want to go with her? How are his worries borne out?

Why does Malladi disclose Nick’s race only at the end of The Mango Season? What hints does she sprinkle throughout the book that he is black? Does this disclosure make a difference in your understanding and perception of the novel?

How are Priya’s female relatives constrained by their places in society? How do they chafe under these restrictions? Do any rebel, and if so, how? What effect does Priya have on them, and in turn, how do they influence her?