Trying To Grow

Brit Kotwal breaks his legs eleven times before he is five years old. His teeth crumble and chip if he tries to bite into anything. It was his sister Dolly’s idea to call him Brit, short for brittle, because of his bones. Besides, Parsees don’t really like long first-names, and it pleased his mother Sera because it sounded so English. It was fun sometimes, being different. None of the other children drank powdered pearls in their milk, or had almond oil rubbed into their legs until it gleamed like Bangalore silk. And Brit knew he could always get his own way with Dolly—even if it took a little blackmail. But when you reach eighteen and are still the size of an eight year old, it is not much fun, and Brit has to begin to try and grow in his own way, trying to Grow is a many-splendored work built around the experiences of a physically handicapped boy turning into manhood, a deeply moving story told with a remarkable blend of directness, humor and irreverence.