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Loading... The Space Between Usby Thrity Umrigar
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Great book about the difference between cultures and how the wealthy treat their help...makes you think. (  )meadowmist | Jul 1, 2009 |   "The Space Between Us" is the story of a middle-class Parsi woman, Sera, and Bhima, her servant. Bhima's home in the slums sharply contrasts Sera's sparkling, large home. The two women have forged a connection through their years together, their families linked inextricably. The story brings into focus the vast chasm between the haves and the have-nots of India, exploring with gorgeous subtlety the meaning of loyalty and of freedom. Umrigar's language is lush and descriptive but not a word is wasted. She is able to create a detailed world and to place the reader in the shoes of several different characters. A fascinating story carries her timeless message about the need to further question class divisions and the other lines we construct that separate us from each other. A gorgeous novel; highly recommended. ( )Litfan | Jun 13, 2009 | In The Space Between Us, Ms. Umrigar takes us to the world of modern-day India, a land with many internal differences and conflicts. What she presents us with is the basic class divisions between two worlds: namely, the upper middle-class and the poor. These divisions are depicted through the everyday interactions of the two main female characters, Sera and Bhima, respectively. Ms. Umrigar has deftly created two wonderfully complex women and has given them life. You will identify with and feel compassion for each woman as she struggles in life and ultimately, decides her own fate. You will come to see that there are some bonds that outweigh class and/or culture divisions – that kindness and mercy know no divisions. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and found it to be beautifully written. I recommend it to those looking for a taste of India, interested in great character development or anyone else who wants a good book. (  )cathyB00 | May 5, 2009 | Two families in Bombay share a history that is inexorably intertwined, yet the individuals family members could not be more different. Bhima is hard from a long life of toilsome work and crushed dreams. Her only softness focuses for her granddaughter Maya whom she supports. Five generations of the women in Bhima’s family have been uneducated domestic servants, but Maya can break that chain, with the help of Sera, Bhima’s employer. Although Sera has never wanted for money, respect, or education, she too has known disappointment, cruelty, and ruined hopes. Bhima has always been by Sera's side, ever faithful and helpful. Even as Sera finds joy in her daughter’s marriage and impending motherhood, Maya’s unexpected and unwanted pregnancy causes Bhima to despair for the future. The pregnancies cause both women to think about their pasts, and the links that have been forged in pain and in the intimacy between them. But in the end, a need to deny the truth will divide them. npl | Apr 9, 2009 | Two families in Bombay share a history that is inexorably intertwined, yet the individuals family members could not be more different. Bhima is hard from a long life of toilsome work and crushed dreams. Her only softness focuses for her granddaughter Maya whom she supports. Five generations of the women in Bhima’s family have been uneducated domestic servants, but Maya can break that chain, with the help of Sera, Bhima’s employer. Although Sera has never wanted for money, respect, or education, she too has known disappointment, cruelty, and ruined hopes. Bhima has always been by Sera's side, ever faithful and helpful. Even as Sera finds joy in her daughter’s marriage and impending motherhood, Maya’s unexpected and unwanted pregnancy causes Bhima to despair for the future. The pregnancies cause both women to think about their pasts, and the links that have been forged in pain and in the intimacy between them. But in the end, a need to deny the truth will divide them. ktoonen | Apr 9, 2009 | 0.060 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 006079156X, Paperback)The Space Between Us, Thrity Umrigar's poignant novel about a wealthy woman and her downtrodden servant, offers a revealing look at class and gender roles in modern day Bombay. Alternatively told through the eyes of Sera, a Parsi widow whose pregnant daughter and son-in-law share her elegant home, and Bhima, the elderly housekeeper who must support her orphaned granddaughter, Umrigar does an admirable job of creating two sympathetic characters whose bond goes far deeper than that of employer and employee.When we first meet Bhima, she is sharing a thin mattress with Maya, the granddaughter upon whom high hopes and dreams were placed, only to be shattered by an unexpected pregnancy and its disastrous consequences. As time goes on, we learn that Sera and her family have used their power and money time and time again to influence the lives of Bhima and Maya, from caring for Bhima's estranged husband after a workplace accident, to providing the funds for Maya's college education. We also learn that Sera's seemingly privileged life is not as it appears; after enduring years of cruelty under her mother-in-law's roof, she faced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband, pain that only Bhima could see and alleviate. Yet through the triumphs and tragedies, Sera and Bhima always shared a bond that transcended class and race; a bond shared by two women whose fate always seemed to rest in the hands of others, just outside their control. Told in a series of flashbacks and present day encounters, The Space Between Us gains strength from both plot and prose. A beautiful tale of tragedy and hope, Umrigar's second novel is sure to linger in readers' minds. --Gisele Toueg (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:03 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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