[a: Sharon Maas|456016|Sharon Maas|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1393691969p2/456016.jpg] is a superb storyteller. This multigenerational novel alternates between the viewpoints of three main characters: the Indian woman Savitri, who possesses near magical healing powers; an orphan boy Nataraj who is adopted by a British physician; and Sarojini, a rebellious girl growing up as part of the Indian diaspora in British Guiana.

Maas moves effortlessly from one character's story to another, shifting time and place from pre-Independence India to British Guiana and swinging London of the 1960s and 70s to war-torn Indonesia in the 1940s. In the 1920s, Savitri's Brahmin family serves the Lindsay family, and as children she and the Lindsay son David play together and fall in love. However, tradition and prejudice divide them. In the 1950s, a British doctor rescues Nataraj, called Nat, from an orphanage and in a little village near Madras and raises him like a son. In the 1960s, the girl Sarojini rebels against her strict Indian father as racial and political unrest threaten their comfortable life in Georgetown, British Guiana. Sarojini discovers a dark secret about her birth that sends her to London and back to India, where she will learn the truth about her mother.

Maas weaves a compelling and complex tale as the connections between these three are revealed. World War II, the fight for independence in India and racial conflict in Guiana, and swiftly changing social customs propel the characters forward. Lyrical descriptions make the locations come alive. There's also a lovely touch of magical realism in the healing powers that Savitri and Nat possess .

I enjoyed the book thoroughly. My one quibble would be that the plot sometimes moves so fast that it's difficult to truly get to know the characters. Their inner reactions to important and sometimes tragic events are not fully developed as the action races forward.

All in all, though it is a compulsively readable book that tells a lot about India and its far-flung children in the 20th century. Fascinating and vivid. ( )

This is a wonderfully crafted tale that explores Indian culture and tradition through the life of multiple generations of a family living in India and Guyana, and their strict adherence to or rebellion against the deep-rooted customs of the Indian people with respect to love and marriage and their interactions with other cultures. The story and its characters are richly developed, and the author is quite clever in her delivery, revealing just enough delicious details to keep the reader satisfied, but leaving just enough mystery and intrigue to keep them wanting more. I was completely immersed in this book right from the start, and would highly recommend it to everyone. ( )

A wonderful story set in India & Guyana (South America). A story of three people across three decades, of forbidden love and intertwined dramas. I was totally lost in It from the moment I picked it up, it painted vivid pictures in my mind that have stayed with me always. This is a wonderful book, one of my all time favourite reads _ I have recommended it to everyone. ( )

"If you like sweet, sappy love stories, or rich Indian culture and tradition, or even if you just liked the movie "Monsoon Wedding", this book is highly recommended for you."
more @ http://toogood2read.blogspot.com/2006/05/of-marriageable-age-by-sharon-maas.html ( )

This was a wonderful, beautiful book. The descriptions were so rich, and the characters fully developed, flaws and all. It is a love story fueled by tragedy and spanning generations.

I highly recommend this book. ( )