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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I thought this book would be a 5 star, until the ending. The story came to a screeching end, but felt unfinished. So disappointed by the ending, but overall a very good book.
This book was an interesting window into the world of class and poverty in Bombay. Seras prejudices against Bhimas lower caste and Bhimas endless gratitude towards her make for an extremely flawed friendship.
As much as I enjoyed the insights it gave me into Indian culture and society I didn’t really enjoy the characters. They were all so flawed I found them difficult to connect with.
As much as I enjoyed the insights it gave me into Indian culture and society I didn’t really enjoy the characters. They were all so flawed I found them difficult to connect with.
I'm very glad I read Katherine Boo's fictiony, non-fiction book about a slum in Mumbai before I read Thrity Umrigar's book, "The Space Between Us."
I think the total, jarring, uncomfortable disconnect I experienced as a middle class American reading this would have been too much, the reading experience would have dissolved into disbelief and affronted wrath, the characters would have seemed to caricatured, too cut-out in their overwhelming passions and the mens' tragic flaws too glaringly obvious.
But in Boo's description of the daily fight for life in Annawadi, there is the backstory behind Umrigar's character, Bhima.
Bhima lives in a slum, but for decades has been the loyal servant of Sera, a rich Parsi lady who has been a kind of patron to Bhima's daughter and grand-daughter even while hiding the physical and mental abuse dished out by her rich husband.
Only now the husband is dead, Bhima's husband is gone, and the two ladies only really have each other in which to put their faith, memories, and tears.
You think you know where this is going, but then Umrigar constantly reminds us throughout the story that this is no wide-eyed naive American "we're all in this together" kind of story. This ain't Stockett's The Help and even there will be no younger generation that will redeem the sins of the older.
Sera drinks tea in a chair at a table, but she expects Bhima to crouch on the floor to drink her own tea. Sera is disgusted by Bhima's physicality and can't bear for her to touch things Sera uses. So despite the similarities between the two women, they couldn't be farther apart because of class.
And the years of familiarity and caring are slowly peeled back to reveal iron-clad prejudice when Bhima's grand daughter finds herself pregnant and won't tell who the father is. Bhima's dreams of her granddaughter's leaving the slums are dashed, and little by little her life unravels.
Would I have enjoyed this book as much if I didn't have the slum-backstory of The Beautiful Forever uppermost in my mind? Maybe not. But even on the purely cultural and prose level, the way Umrigar interlaces the dialogue with words from (pardon the ignorance) different East Indian languages, as well as the playful changing of English words like "drama-fama" flavors the text with a unique sense of place I haven't encountered in other books of this ilk. It juxtaposes philosophical musings with almost immature-sounding heckling of eachother by the characters.
But as I said, if you're middle class american, be prepared to be challenged. Umrigar's characters are flawed, tragically flawed, and each one bears the seed of their own destruction. And the men. Yikes. It's pretty clear that the male characters are the albatross around the necks of the women fighting to break free of the flotsam and jetsam of the crowded, frantic life in Bombay.
Definitely worth reading, but I highly recommend reading Boo's book first.
I think the total, jarring, uncomfortable disconnect I experienced as a middle class American reading this would have been too much, the reading experience would have dissolved into disbelief and affronted wrath, the characters would have seemed to caricatured, too cut-out in their overwhelming passions and the mens' tragic flaws too glaringly obvious.
But in Boo's description of the daily fight for life in Annawadi, there is the backstory behind Umrigar's character, Bhima.
Bhima lives in a slum, but for decades has been the loyal servant of Sera, a rich Parsi lady who has been a kind of patron to Bhima's daughter and grand-daughter even while hiding the physical and mental abuse dished out by her rich husband.
Only now the husband is dead, Bhima's husband is gone, and the two ladies only really have each other in which to put their faith, memories, and tears.
You think you know where this is going, but then Umrigar constantly reminds us throughout the story that this is no wide-eyed naive American "we're all in this together" kind of story. This ain't Stockett's The Help and even there will be no younger generation that will redeem the sins of the older.
Sera drinks tea in a chair at a table, but she expects Bhima to crouch on the floor to drink her own tea. Sera is disgusted by Bhima's physicality and can't bear for her to touch things Sera uses. So despite the similarities between the two women, they couldn't be farther apart because of class.
And the years of familiarity and caring are slowly peeled back to reveal iron-clad prejudice when Bhima's grand daughter finds herself pregnant and won't tell who the father is. Bhima's dreams of her granddaughter's leaving the slums are dashed, and little by little her life unravels.
Would I have enjoyed this book as much if I didn't have the slum-backstory of The Beautiful Forever uppermost in my mind? Maybe not. But even on the purely cultural and prose level, the way Umrigar interlaces the dialogue with words from (pardon the ignorance) different East Indian languages, as well as the playful changing of English words like "drama-fama" flavors the text with a unique sense of place I haven't encountered in other books of this ilk. It juxtaposes philosophical musings with almost immature-sounding heckling of eachother by the characters.
But as I said, if you're middle class american, be prepared to be challenged. Umrigar's characters are flawed, tragically flawed, and each one bears the seed of their own destruction. And the men. Yikes. It's pretty clear that the male characters are the albatross around the necks of the women fighting to break free of the flotsam and jetsam of the crowded, frantic life in Bombay.
Definitely worth reading, but I highly recommend reading Boo's book first.
Though it felt like the author simplified and stuck to certain cliches about her characters, I ended up being very invested in the heroine, Bhima, an elderly servant in a Parsi household in Mumbai.
A tragic and beautiful page-turner.
A tragic and beautiful page-turner.
Well-written but so hard for me to enjoy because of the rage I felt at the injustice happening to several characters.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful book...the relationships are developed intensely within a torn society and amongst old customs. The atmosphere of India is profoundly present in the book and you really get a taste of the culture. Love the realization and ability to look within at the end...
This book had so much promise but failed so badly in the journey and prose. The story is good, had a good plot, premise, contrasting characters and even intrigue done very well. There were just too many words. Too many descriptive paras upon paras of repetitive scenery descriptions, and it was a classic example of what most writers are told not to do.
Show don't tell.
The book was constantly in your face telling u about the characters.
The timeline was also a little messy, like the 3 generations seemed to be living concurrently despite their stories and experiences which bothered me a lot. Ex: A young Bhima/Serabai were spoken to like they were living in modern day India.
I speed read. I didnt know I was capable of it but I raced thru the words purely because the story was compelling. I wish the editor could have slashed 1/3 of the book in its descriptive prose and this would have been a remarkable book.
PS: I truly am disappointed by my own review, as I tend to be a lot more kinder and focus on what worked for the book but this one I feel cheated. The story and characters deserved better narration.
Show don't tell.
The book was constantly in your face telling u about the characters.
The timeline was also a little messy, like the 3 generations seemed to be living concurrently despite their stories and experiences which bothered me a lot. Ex: A young Bhima/Serabai were spoken to like they were living in modern day India.
I speed read. I didnt know I was capable of it but I raced thru the words purely because the story was compelling. I wish the editor could have slashed 1/3 of the book in its descriptive prose and this would have been a remarkable book.
PS: I truly am disappointed by my own review, as I tend to be a lot more kinder and focus on what worked for the book but this one I feel cheated. The story and characters deserved better narration.
I heard all good things about this book yet I could not get into it. I gave it the good ole 50 Page Rule and gave up. Maybe I will try audio or come back to it at anther time.