The Kashmir Shawl

I wasn't sure what to expect with The Kashmir Shawl. The reviews make it seem like a love it or hate it kind of book. I definitely fall on the love it side. I was a little worried about its billing as a romance but the story drew me in. The parallel narratives were easy to follow and the history of Kashmir was woven into the two stories. I finished it just as the news stories about Pakistan and India fighting over Kashmir came out. I felt like I understood the situation a bit better.

As other reviewers have pointed out, there were coincidences and, one in particular, seemed a little extreme. But it made for a nice ending.

Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-kashmir-shawl.html

The Kashmir Shawl is a book that moves between two intertwined stories - the story of Nerys, a missionary's wife in India in the 1940s and the story of Mair, her granddaughter. It is truly a story of relationships - marriages, friendships, and the relationships that are in between.

Upon her father's death, Mair finds a Kashmir shawl and a lock of hair in her mother's things. She knows they belonged to her grandmother. Her grandfather was a missionary in India during the 1940s, and his wife Nerys with him.

Feeling at a crossroads in her life, Mair embarks on a quest to try and find the history of this shawl. It is an exquisite piece of show more hand woven fabrics that took months to make - something special bought to commemorate a special occasion perhaps. That is what Mair knows, and with that she travels to India.

The book then weaves back and forth through Mair's journey and through Nerys' story. Yet, somehow, the story envelops you in its entirety. The movement between the two time periods and the characters does not jar and pull the reader from one to other. It seems to blend into one whole.

In addition, Nerys's story does not take the path I expected, and the history of the shawl does not end up being what I anticipated. That turn in a different direction adds depth to the story, and keeps it from being another story about old forgotten loves.

I don't know that I can say exactly why I enjoyed this book so much, but I know at the end, I sighed and was sad that it was over. show less

Really enjoyed this story that intertwines two generations of Welsh women in India. After the death of her father Mair goes to India with her grandmother Nerys' Kashmir shawl to see if she can find out about the shawl and her grandmother's life in Kashmir. Then the story also tells the story of Nerys' time in India as the wife of a missionary. For a little while I thought the stories were going to echo each other too closely but that didn't turn out to be right and I was glad the stories had their own twists and turns. I also had the expectation of a cheesy ending, which I was also happy to find was incorrect and the book had a very decent ending. I'll trust the author next time!

British people in India before independence have provided lots of fodder for literature but this book proves that the well has not run dry. It was truly interesting to see this time and place through the eyes of mostly women.

Mair discovers a beautifully woven shawl among the items in her father's house as she and her siblings clean out the house after the father's death. Mair knew that her grandmother and grandfather had been missionaries in India but not much else. The shawl, along with the lock of hair enfolded in it, intrigued Mair and she decided to go to India to see what she could find out about her grandparents. Most of the story centres around Nerys Watkins, Mair's grandmother. Nerys met two other Englishwomen in Srinigar and show more the three women developed a strong friendship. One of those women had an affair with an Indian prince and bore a child. Mair must determine which woman and what happened to the child in order to complete the story of the shawl.

I thought the author did a magnificent job of describing the countryside and evoking the smells and sounds of India. I truly felt like I was there. The storyline was a little too pat for my complete enjoyment but it was still compelling. A very good read. show less

Set amid the harsh beauty of the Himalayas and the lush Kashmir Valley, The Kashmir Shawl by Rose Thomas spans decades in a dual story-line of two Welsh woman. Nerys Watkins has accompanied her missionary husband to India during the 1940’s and, in modern times, her granddaughter Mair is trying to learn more about her grandmother by tracing the source of a family heirloom, a beautiful Kashmir shawl.

It took me a little time to get into the rhythm of this book due to the jumping back and forth between the two story-lines but eventually the exotic setting and the interesting plot as well as the characters themselves drew me into the book. The two women were strong and independent and both story-lines were interesting. I found the show more descriptions of the lifestyles, particularly that of the British in 1940’s India as the British Raj was entering it’s final days quite fascinating.

The Kashmir Shawl is a romantic epic that mostly works in it’s effort to tell of love won and lost. I felt required to stretch my imagination over a couple of things, but the strength of the writing and the research, not to mention the romance, infidelities and scandals, ultimately won me over. show less

I've read a couple of Thomas' earlier books recently and found them to be somewhat lacking (`Celebration' being the prime example), so I approached this with a bit of trepidation. Happily, Rosie Thomas is definitely back on form with this excellent read which is a charming story of love, loss, war and family secrets.

In this well researched book, we meet Mair, one of three children who has recently lost her father (and her mother some years earlier). Whilst clearing out his house ready to sell it, the siblings stumble across a beautiful shawl belonging to her late grandmother and Mair, full of wanderlust, decides to track down its origins- a quest that takes her from her native Wales to northern India. As the story unfolds, we learn show more about Mair's grandmothers past in 1940's India and her close friendships with two other woman and the secrets they share- as well as the real origins of the Kashmir shawl.

Though some bits of this book seemed a little bit predictable, particularly some of the romantic entanglements- that did not detract from my enjoyment of it one little bit. The characters became real as this story was unravelled, particularly Mair and the spunky Myrtle, who I really admired and was a real highlight of the book for me. At a time when some women were perceived as shrinking violets, she really stood out for her bravery and headstrong attitude. Initially I wasn't too fond of Nerys, thinking she was a bit of a wet blanket, but she soon managed to change my mind. All in all, I did find the 1940's timeline to be a bit more intriguing than the present day, given the romantic aspects as well as what was occurring in history during that time, some of the bits with Mair were a little bit slow going at first.

It is clear Thomas has really researched into the past which makes this novel wholly believable and compelling. India both past and present is brought vividly to life through its sights, sounds and smells. I have never been to the country but this book has piqued my interest in the region of Srinagar most definitely, in a way Thomas also managed to bring Cairo to life in `Iris and Ruby,' one of her earlier novels which I also loved.

Do yourself a favour: if you haven't tried a Rosie Thomas book before, give this one a go.

*This review also appears on Amazon.co.uk* show less

I’ve read a few of Rosie Thomas’ books and always enjoyed them. When I heard that her new book had some Welsh involvement I was pretty confidant that I’d enjoy this one too and I was right.

There are two key plot lines within the book, there is the story of Mair who is trying to trace her grandparents’ story and discover where this beautiful shawl came from, and there is the story of her grandparents, Nerys and Evan Watkins, and their time in India as missionaries. The narrative moves back and forward between these two plotlines fairly seamlessly, I quite often find that when there are two plotlines in this way there is one that I’m more interested in – I couldn’t pick a favourite out of these two.

I really liked the show more character of Mair, she developed so much throughout the book. I found her struggle with her identity interesting to read, and the slow realisation of who she was and where she belonged worked well for me. I loved that she was quite unconventional, the fact she did actually run off and join the circus as a teenager made me take to her instantly.

The group of ladies, from the historical sections of the book were all wonderful, particularly Nerys. I loved the way they balanced each other out, and gave a real insight into life for British women in Kashmir at the time. For me the way that they were all developed was one of the real strengths of the book.

Wales doesn’t appear that much in the book, but when it did it felt very genuine and made me feel all warm and comfy. The descriptions of Kashmir were really well done, I felt like I was transported both geographically and historically. This is one of the reasons I love fiction set in other times and / or places – I love the opportunity to travel via a book.

I really enjoyed this book, I’ve seen other reviews suggesting it was a little long but I loved the fact I could fall head first into it and get completely lost in it. This book definitely gets the thumbs up from me. show less