Madhuri Vijay

Following her eccentric mother's death, Shalini can't stop thinking about a salesman who visited their Bangalore home frequently in her youth, entertaining her and her mother with stories, though they purchased goods from him but once. Figuring since she's just spinning her wheels out of college anyway, Shalini impulsively hops aboard a train to Kashmir in search of Bashir Ahmed, the salesman from long ago. Kashmir, with its religious conflicts and tensions, proves to be a very different show more place from Bangalore, especially for a privileged and naïve young woman.

This was an eye-opening story and a reminder that India is huuuuuuge, and almost like completely different countries from region to region with respect to language, culture and human rights. The book is beautifully written, but it is heartbreaking. Be forewarned: There is neither a happy nor even a hopeful ending. show less

This was my first book selection as a Book of the Month member, and it did not disappoint. While I don't typically reach for character-driven 400 page novels, the BOTM description sounded appealing.

Set in Bangalore and then Kashmir, we follow Shalini as she seeks a man from her mother's past. Early in the book, we learn that her mother (an erratic, troubled, difficult woman) has died.

Shalini wants to find Bashir Ahmed, a Kashmiri clothing merchant who had visited her mother and developed a show more friendship with her, during Shalini's childhood. She receives considerable help (a level unbelievable to me as a midwesterner American) from strangers during her journey, and we learn more of the political trouble in Kashmir.

The novel, told by Shalini in past tense, switches between timelines: her childhood and present time. It's the perfect way to tell this story. It was fascinating to read about Shalini and her parents, and also her time in Kashmir. Despite the slow build, I kept with the book wanting to find out what would happen next.

I found Bashir Ahmed's story to be very sad, but his son's was particularly heartbreaking. I suspect Shalini feels tremendous guilt over his disappearance, and you could see some parallels with Bashir, his son, and interactions with Shalini and her mother. The Ahmeds would have been much better off to never encounter Shalini or her mother.

Shalini's sexuality is a recurring topic in the book. There is a childhood instance of an inappropriate sexual encounter with a teenager, and perhaps that is a factor contributing to her unhealthy, potentially manipulative instances of sex in the novel.

I'd suggest adding The Far Field to your TBR stack if you're seeking a well-written debut in an international setting, which will explore a troubled parent-child relationship and a woman trying to make sense of her life. The ending ...isn't wrapped up in a tidy bow; there are some unresolved aspects and unknowns, and I'm mentioning that with a spoiler tag because I know some readers will want to know ahead of time to avoid frustration.

I personally felt satisfied with the conclusion, though very sad and wanting to read the first two chapters again. show less

Shalini is a well-meaning but self-absorbed young woman whose mother committed suicide while she was in college. Unable to work out what she wants to do with her life, she finds herself unemployed and restless and heads off to Kashmir in search of one of her mother's friends who Shalini admired as a child. She stumbles into a simmering but temporarily calm mess in which Hindus and Muslims are seemingly living at peace with each other, while government soldiers seem intent on starting trouble show more and having fun beating up 'militants' when they get bored. Having grown up sheltered from such things, Shalini cannot imagine that the stories she heard about violence in Kashmir might have real world counterparts or that her actions might influence the safety of the people around her. She does finally start to grow up, but maybe not fast enough to avoid causing irreparable harm. show less

"I am aware that I am taking no risks by recounting any of this, that, for people like me, safe and protected, even the greatest risk is, ultimately, an indulgence. I am aware of the likely futility of all that I have told here, and, I am aware, too, of the thousand ways I have tried to excuse myself in the telling of it. All the same, whatever the flaws of this story or confession or whatever it has turned out to be, let it stand."

After the death of her mother, Shalini, a privileged young show more woman from Bangalore, sets out on a journey to Kashmir in northern India to find Bashir Ahmed, a Kashmiri salesman who was a frequent visitor to her home when she was young and who she thinks might have something to do with the loss of her mother. Once there, she finds that the region of Kashmir is on edge, with turmoil and violence threatening to erupt at any moment. She stays with a family in a remote village and quickly becomes entangled in their lives; but, she soon finds the closer she grows to them, the more she threatens both their safety and their way of life.

There were so many layers to this book – the politics of Kashmir, the relationship Shalini had with her mother, her journey to find Bashir Ahmed, etc. – but more than anything, I felt that this book was about privilege and its costs. Shalini makes clear from the beginning that, on this journey of self-discovery, she made a lot of mistakes. Although she had often had good intentions, her naivety was destructive, often in unforeseen ways. Others had to pay the cost for her privilege, and while she acknowledges this, she also says that, no matter what she does, “It will make no difference in the end.”

Overall, this book floored me. It was so unexpectedly beautiful and devastating and memorable – and to think, I only picked this up on a whim. The writing was gorgeous and evocative that even the slow parts moved along. The author wrote well-developed multi-faceted characters that utterly invested me in their stories. Not to mention the fact that the cover is striking (if unassuming). Even the narrator of the audiobook was phenomenal: her narration was a completely immersive experience that added an additional layer to the story. Everything combined made this into an unforgettable book that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.

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