Set in India, this is a story woven around two compelling, but very different, women. This book stayed with me for a long time. I loved the writing and found many quotable quotes. ( )

I had just finished the White Tiger by Aravind Adiga which I found so so. I loved Thrity Umrigars beautiful writing. It gave me a chilling close look into the lives of two women living in contempory India. ( )

The relationship between a woman and her servant seems close. The woman believes she is open minded and liberal, that she is not class conscious as others in India. But what this book does is show that class differences do sometimes live in our subconscious and it's only when situations arise that threaten the lives of those close to us, that the prejudices surrounding caste consciousness will rise and cloud our judgement. ( )

Nice read. This novel is set in modern Mumbai and describes the world through the eyes of a parsi middle class women and her maid. Both has suffered a great deal in their own way and this gives a picture of exploitation and suffering women experience in modern India, Author has a good command on the language and has sketched the characters to perfection although I felt some where in the middle the story slowly drifted away multiple times. But all credits to author this a nice and insightful read

Amazing book about two women's lives in modern day Bombay, prejudices and similarities. ( )

Very good book--the relationship between a servant and her mistress in Bombay. Once again, I love books about India--the culture and the class differences.

I read this one because I really liked Under The Weight of Heaven. Although this one had an interesting plot (about the relationship between the servent and her boss, set in modern day India), it fell flat for me. The writing seemed clunky and there wasn't a lot of depth to the characters. If the ending had been different, I probably would have given it a higher rating. ( )

Great book about the difference between cultures and how the wealthy treat their help...makes you think.

The main character had no money or self-esteem...typical of the social class she was in. I was upset how the upper class treated the lower class so poorly and didn't even realize how terrible their lives were. ( )

"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. ( )

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. ( )

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.

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.

Amazon.com Review
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 ( )

Thrity Umrigar’s The Space Between Us focuses on the quiet strife suffered by the main character, Bhima, and the disparity between Bhima’s difficult life and that of her long-time employer Sera. The incredible social dichotomy between the two women is interesting, yet sad – Sera considers the slum-dwelling Bhima to be her close friend and confidante, yet she still will not allow Bhima to sit on her furniture or use her utensils. Umrigar succeeds in making the reader feel uncomfortable as the strange (to us) relationship between the two women unfolds. Both women know tragedy in their own lives – Sera, while wealthy, privileged and educated, suffers an abusive marriage and responds to situations with caste-appropriate knee-jerk reactions that are not necessarily in her own best interest; while Bhima has endured blow after blow, landing her and her daughter struggling in a stinking slum. As the story progresses, we learn of the devastating chain of events that led to Bhima’s low station in life - a sad, painful situation that she feels powerless to fight against financially, caste-wise, and as a woman. Her beloved daughter, for whom she toils in order to provide her with a chance at a better life, is quickly on her way to undoing everything Bhima has managed to achieve for her. Bhima bears her pain and the injustice leveled at her with stoic resignation, while feebly clinging to hope. As the story progresses, Sera’s selfish devotion to her caste overrides her loyalty to her friend, delivering a final condemnation to Bhima and her daughter, and forcing Bhima to realize the futility of her situation. The reader feels Bhima’s emptiness – and at times it is infuriating that Bhima does not appear to stand up for herself. Umrigar has succeeded in writing a touching story that explores the sad implications of loyalty, friendship and social standing. The story is thought provoking, vivid and heartbreaking - I think about it often, even though at this point I read it over six months ago. "The Space Between" makes you wonder why certain things happen to some people and not to others. ( )

This is a stark, moving story of a woman's life and the space which exists between herself and the significant people in her life. She lives in the slums of Bombay, works for a family to whom she is loyal and hardworking. She loves her family, tries always to do what is right, and is repaid with sorrow after sorrow, burden after burden. Somehow she continues to put one foot in front of the other.

The themes in this book include: class difference, social norms and pressures for conformity, trust and loyalty, and above all, the space which exists between two people no matter how close they may seem to be: employer/employee, husband/wife, parent/child, and neighbor to neighbor. I did not like the structure of the story as well as the story. I think jumping backward and forward in time was unnecessary and detracted from the effect of the book. However, the character development was done very well.

Just short of being great, but very good! ( )

Thrity Umrigar, author of The Space Between Us, is a native of Bombay (now Mumbai) who came to the US for graduate school, and has worked here as a journalist for many years. She was raised in a middle-class family, painfully aware of the class difference between her family and those of the domestic servants who came daily to help with household chores. Umrigar has stated in interviews that her discomfort with these arrangements strongly influences her writing.

Her first novel, Bombay Time, visits the residents of an apartment building in Bombay, exploring not only their relationships with each other, but also their relationship to the city in which they live. The Space Between Us tells the story of two interconnected families in Bombay; Umrigar continues to examine the connections and contrasts between the middle-class Parsis and the lower-class living in extreme poverty.

The story is set in contemporary Bombay, where Bhima, a domestic servant who lives in the slums, travels daily to the home of Sera (Serabai), a middle-class Parsi for whom Bhima has worked for twenty years. As the novel unfolds, Umrigar volleys between these two main characters, parceling out bits of their separate pasts, as well as the history they share. Bhima is raising her granddaughter, Maya; Sera has taken Maya under her wing and is funding her college education. This education will help Maya break free from the oppressive poverty that her family has lived in for many generations; she will not work as a servant in another woman’s house.

Umrigar is a skilled storyteller, she creates beautiful flowing language and metaphors to illustrate. When Maya wants to hear more about her past, Bhima carefully edits the information she reveals, “She sifts through her memories, as if she is sifting through the rice at Serabai’s house, removing the stones and the hard pieces, leaving behind what’s good and shiny.” Similarly, Sera protects her own daughter when speaking of her father, “Sera went through the purse of her memory, hunting for a few gold coins.” We see the similarities between the two women, and the efforts they make to put family first.

As in our own lives, the characters find that their lives don’t always follow the plans we have made for them. Umrigar’s novel shows us the seemingly impenetrable “space between us” that can be caused by differences of class, gender or religion. Bhima proves that in times of desperation, humans are resilient. We are often able to draw inward and pull out the strength and courage we need to move past barriers set in our path.

The themes explored in The Space Between Us are universal, not unique to the setting of Bombay. It’s a book that we can all identify with, perhaps women more so than men. I highly recommend it for the top-level storyline, the substructure of the motifs, and the skillfully-crafted writing that Thrity Umrigar offers.

more at:
http://sheistoofondofbooks.wordpress.... ( )

Warning: some spoilers, but certainly not giving away the ending:
The Space Between Us is a beautiful yet depressing novel that realistically captures the everyday relationship between the Indian social classes. Having lived in a similar situation growing up, Thrity Umrigar breathes life into a story lived by untold millions.

In The Space Between Us, Thrity Umrigar weaves a story between the lives of Serabai, a Parsi middle class widow; and Bhima, her domestic servant for several decades. Serabai's extremely abusive and controlling husband dies suddenly leaving her to finally experience peace and happiness in her family life. In contrast, Bhima's husband loses three fingers on his hand and is left unemployed and unable to support his family. He turns to alcohol and then leaves her taking her only son with him. Bhima is forced to move to a tin shack in the slums without even running water, electricity, or private bathrooms. Her daughter and son in law die of AIDS in a poorly run underfunded government hospital leaving Bhima to raise her granddaughter.

Serabai lovingly cares for Bhimas granddaughter providing her with an education that is abruptly halted and her life possibly forever changed for the worse.

The Space Between Us goes from bad to worse as tragedy, pain, and hopelessness take over. The really depressing part is that this story is just a snapshot of the real situation taking place in many third world countries as well as India.

I highly recommend this book to book clubs because it is so thought provoking and can lead to some serious conversations and observations. I really look forward to reading additional books by this author. Ms. Umrigar has an unusual ability to breathe her characters to life. Her descriptions are rich, colorful, and full of texture. She does not waste a single word in the entire book. ( )

In this novel, Thrity Umrigar explores issues of social class and the ways in which class impacts life experience and relationships. Sera is a wealthy Indian woman who suffered in an unhappy and violent marriage. Bhima is her servant, living in extreme poverty with her orphaned granddaughter Maya, who she has cared for since early childhood. Bhima has worked for Sera for years; the two women understand and care deeply for each other. Many times Sera has come to Bhima’s aid, using her status to secure better healthcare for a family member, arrange for Maya’s education, and help Bhima navigate government beaurocracy. And Bhima provided Sera with much-needed emotional support throughout her marriage.

On the surface it would appear the two women have overcome class differences and forged a deep and lasting friendship. Yet Sera will not allow Bhima to sit on her furniture. There are many other small indications along the way, until the novel’s climax fully exposes the chasm between the two women. In the final analysis, class differences reinforce one woman’s privilege and the other’s destitution.

While this novel takes place in India, where much has been written about the role of social class, supposedly egalitarian societies fall victim similar traps. Just this week I had a conversation with a colleague who was struggling with the importance of developing a diverse workforce. “I think we should just hire the best people,” he said. I was reminded of an article I read years ago: White Privilege, Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh. The author writes, “Obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly inculturated [sic] in the United States so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all. Keeping most people unaware that freedom of confident action is there for just a small number of people props up those in power and serves to keep power in the hands of the same groups that have most of it already.”

Food for thought. ( )

Novel set in India examining relationship between woman and her woman servant. Uses Indian slang effectively. There is a feeling that all the women in the novel are victims of the men. The men are not portrayed as empathetically as the women. ( )

A story from India about the great themes in literature: love, betrayal, family, and friendship. Too bad it didn't quite fulfill its promise. Parts of the plot were thin and unsatisfying. I wanted Viraf to get his comeuppance, but knew that would not happen, it wouldn't have been authentic. It should be a good book club selection. ( )

The story is based on the lives and relationship of Sera, an upper middle class Parsi widow, and Bhima, an abandoned lower class woman who serves as her housekeeper.
The story is beautifully written, using flash backs to inform the reader of how this present time came to be in both of the women's lives.
Themes of love, betrayal, family, and friendship are explored in the context of rigid class boundaries in modern day Bombay.

I liked this story and the author's style. It does border on "soap opera" style. Male characters native to India are pretty despicable in this book. I'm still contemplating the ending and will probably come to some different conclusions after book group discussion on Friday. ( )

This is an extraordinary book. Beautifully written - The characters Bhima and Sera have very powerful presences even as they demonstrate their varying lack of influence as women in a world ruled by class, gender and beliefs. There is so much humanity in this story of Sera, middle class widow and mother, and Bhima, her maid. I loved every page...until the very, very end. The closing paragraphs left me unsatisfied, but I still categorize this as one of the very best books I have ever read. ( )

Well written, sad novel about two women in India, one a servant of the other, and how their lives are intertwined. ( )

The Space Between Us is the story of the unlikely friendship between Bhima, a poor, lower-caste servant, and Sera, her wealthy and well-educated mistress. Writer Thrity Umrigar creates rich, satisfying scenes between the two main characters that demonstrate how their friendship is complicated by socioeconomic differences and Sera's limited self-awareness. Overall, however, I found the book weak. Umrigar hasn't figured out what "show, don't tell" means so there are lots of cliches like "she would have walked through fire for her daughter" but few scenes that actually demonstrate how the characters feel.

The book is also poorly plotted. It zigzags between past and present with little motivation. While other books build suspense about the main characters' past, this one reveals their secrets right off the bat, so there isn't much motivation to keep reading. The present-day plot line is so thin it's practically non-existant and I'd guessed the surprise ending in the first 50 pages. The book does go by surprisingly fast, but the awkward writing style and hackneyed metaphors don't make it very much fun to read.

Bottom line: some of this book's ideas about class and friendship will stick with me, but over all it's pretty lackluster. ( )

Fiction books that are set in India have been a favorite read of mine for the past couple of years. I'm a big fan of Rohinton Mistry. This story follows Sera, a middle-class Parsi housewife and her maid, Bhima. The book tackles many issues including AIDS, spousal abuse, adultery and teenage pregnancy. It is interesting to read about these issues from a non-Western perspective. Reading about the conditions in which Bhima lives made me grateful for my privileged Western life. I was enthralled by this book and it definitely ranks as one of the best I've read this year. I couldn't recommend it enough. ( )