Subtitle from cover. "A hardcover edition of this book was published in 1997 by Random House"--Title page verso.

Paradise pickles & preserves -- Pappachi's moth -- Big man the Laltrain, small man the Mombatti -- Abhilash talkies -- God's own country -- Cochin kangaroos -- Wisdom exercise notebooks -- Welcome home, our Sophie Mol -- Mrs. Pillai, Mrs. Eapen, Mrs. Rajagopalan -- River in the boat -- God of small things -- Kochu Thomban -- Pessimist and the optimist -- Work is struggle -- Crossing -- Few hours later -- Cochin harbor terminus -- History house -- Saving Ammu -- Madras mail -- Cost of living. The story of an Indian family during the 1969 Communist disturbances in Kerala province. It is told through the eyes of a boy and his sister who are the children of a rich rubber planter. Politics, family drama, illicit love. A debut in fiction.