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novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
"Tehmina Sethna's beloved husband has died this past year and she is visiting her son, Sorab, in his suburban Ohio home. Now Tehmina is being asked to choose between her old, familiar life in India and a new one in Ohio with her son, his American wife, and their child. She must decide whether to leave the comforting landscape of her native India for the strange rituals of life in a new country.
This is a journey Tehmina, a middle-aged Parsi woman, must travel alone.
The Parsis were let into India almost a millennium ago because of their promise to "sweeten" and enrich the lives of the people in their adopted country. This is an ancient promise that Tehmina takes seriously. And so, while faced with the larger choice of whether to stay in America or not, Tehmina is also confronted with another, more urgent choice: whether to live in America as a stranger or as a citizen. Citizenship implies connection, participation, and involvement. Soon destiny beckons in the form of two young, troubled children next door. It is the plight of these two boys that forces Tehmina to choose. She will either straddle two worlds forever and live in a no-man's land or jump into the fullness of her new life in America." (From Amazon)
I like her writing style and characters.
"Tehmina Sethna's beloved husband has died this past year and she is visiting her son, Sorab, in his suburban Ohio home. Now Tehmina is being asked to choose between her old, familiar life in India and a new one in Ohio with her son, his American wife, and their child. She must decide whether to leave the comforting landscape of her native India for the strange rituals of life in a new country.
This is a journey Tehmina, a middle-aged Parsi woman, must travel alone.
The Parsis were let into India almost a millennium ago because of their promise to "sweeten" and enrich the lives of the people in their adopted country. This is an ancient promise that Tehmina takes seriously. And so, while faced with the larger choice of whether to stay in America or not, Tehmina is also confronted with another, more urgent choice: whether to live in America as a stranger or as a citizen. Citizenship implies connection, participation, and involvement. Soon destiny beckons in the form of two young, troubled children next door. It is the plight of these two boys that forces Tehmina to choose. She will either straddle two worlds forever and live in a no-man's land or jump into the fullness of her new life in America." (From Amazon)
I like her writing style and characters.
kellymc03's review against another edition
Certainly not as good as her first book, The Space Between Us"
kkop12's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting book on immigration in regards to a single middle aged Indian woman. It was a quick read and at times seemed a bit easy to predict, but in the end it had a simple message: you need to follow your destiny and not second guess yourself. I could identify since at times I am not the best in regards to decision making and that is exactly what plagued this woman. In the end it was irronic that her actions made the decision for her, with her realization of that decision following.
teacher2library's review against another edition
3.0
This was okay. It just didn't grip me/interest me nearly as much as the author's other stories have.
aileenmaria's review against another edition
3.0
3.5âď¸ this was my first book by Thrity Umrigar. I have a few others on my shelf. I enjoyed her writing. This story was sweet. I have always been into learning about Indian culture. This book didnât blow me away..:it was a good, quiet novel about a 66 year old Indian woman whoâs husband has just passed away and her finding herself after his death and finding and defining herself after that. She is with her son and his family in Ohio in the meantimeâŚwhile she struggles with the decision of staying in America or go back home to Bombay.
(It took me a while to read because of school work I had to do not because I couldnât get into it. )
(It took me a while to read because of school work I had to do not because I couldnât get into it. )
marla0505's review against another edition
4.0
I love this author. Excellent book. Slightly less poignant than "The Space Between Us" but--still excellent. Highly recommend.
pattisaurio's review against another edition
1.0
I really disliked this book and although I did find the general plot about Theminaâs choice of moving to the United States or staying in Bombay to be somehow interesting at the end the characters completely ruined any bit of enjoyment I could have gotten from reading this book.
I think all the characters where quite unpleasant. Susan was angry all the time; Sorab struck me as someone jaded by life; Themina was quite a masochist and I felt that the portrayal of Cookie was very inconsistent.
I also think that the subplot involving the neighbors was kind of forced. I imagine that part of the purpose of the neighborsâ subplot was to make the main family look more likable but from my point of view the only thing that this subplot accomplished was introducing more unlikable characters into a book that was already full of people I disliked.
I think all the characters where quite unpleasant. Susan was angry all the time; Sorab struck me as someone jaded by life; Themina was quite a masochist and I felt that the portrayal of Cookie was very inconsistent.
I also think that the subplot involving the neighbors was kind of forced. I imagine that part of the purpose of the neighborsâ subplot was to make the main family look more likable but from my point of view the only thing that this subplot accomplished was introducing more unlikable characters into a book that was already full of people I disliked.
skyroxy's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. An East Indian woman has to make the huge familial and cultural decision to stay in the US with her son and his family or go back to Bombay where she has ties to a city and a culture that she loves.
showthisbooksomelove's review against another edition
4.0
A motherâs story chronicling her childrenâs lives and the lives of the children next door, Umrigar spins a fabulous tale that removes the importance of chronology and gives a breath of fresh air to those of us whose minds jump from one decade to the next constantly.
Although I initially felt unsure about the presence of her late husband as a ghost in her head, I think he played a valuable role in her story.This story questions privilege and who has privilege because Tehmina is constantly evaluating what is right in the world. Towards the end of the story she thinks to herself, âHow could she blame Krishna for looking to the bottle as an antidote to his misery? How could she not understand why Parvati hit her children when the woman often pummeled her own chest out of remorse and frustration? But Tara. Born white in America. Living in a good, middle-class home, even if it didnât belong to her. Able to afford a car, even if the muffler didnât work. Able to send her children to school for free. Able to go into a grocery store and spend less of her income on food than people in any other country. All this and it wasnât enough? If someone like Tara couldnât be happy, what chance did people in the rest of the world have?â Tehminaâs words struck a chord with me, as I am constantly comparing and contrasting, curious about how privilege works in the world.
Thrity Umrigar worked as a journalist for much of her life before turning to work as a novelist recently. Sheâs now written seven novels, all of them relating to India or Indians in some way, most of the stories involving Indian women, as I believe that is nearest and dearest to her heart and her own experience. She does have a memoir of her childhood in India, First Darling of the Morning. I look forward to reading more from her.
http://showthisbooksomelove.tumblr.com
Although I initially felt unsure about the presence of her late husband as a ghost in her head, I think he played a valuable role in her story.This story questions privilege and who has privilege because Tehmina is constantly evaluating what is right in the world. Towards the end of the story she thinks to herself, âHow could she blame Krishna for looking to the bottle as an antidote to his misery? How could she not understand why Parvati hit her children when the woman often pummeled her own chest out of remorse and frustration? But Tara. Born white in America. Living in a good, middle-class home, even if it didnât belong to her. Able to afford a car, even if the muffler didnât work. Able to send her children to school for free. Able to go into a grocery store and spend less of her income on food than people in any other country. All this and it wasnât enough? If someone like Tara couldnât be happy, what chance did people in the rest of the world have?â Tehminaâs words struck a chord with me, as I am constantly comparing and contrasting, curious about how privilege works in the world.
Thrity Umrigar worked as a journalist for much of her life before turning to work as a novelist recently. Sheâs now written seven novels, all of them relating to India or Indians in some way, most of the stories involving Indian women, as I believe that is nearest and dearest to her heart and her own experience. She does have a memoir of her childhood in India, First Darling of the Morning. I look forward to reading more from her.
http://showthisbooksomelove.tumblr.com
jsl's review
3.0
I thought that this book was really sweet. It was easy to fall in love with the lovable characters. Tammy and her son were great characters and I really liked seeing America from a different perspective.
My trouble with this book was that it was really, really predictable. I knew going in just about exactly what was going to happen. To be honest, it was fine though because it was a shorter book and I enjoyed reading about these characters.
My trouble with this book was that it was really, really predictable. I knew going in just about exactly what was going to happen. To be honest, it was fine though because it was a shorter book and I enjoyed reading about these characters.