The Private Life of Mrs Sharma

Well this was brilliantly written and one of the reasons I read. It was so cool to be immersed in Indian culture for a short while. Even the speech patterns I found fascinating. What I liked about the writing was the way she would describe the ideal of who she was and absolutely would and wouldn't do but then in the next step she would tell you what actually happened. It illustrates the human tendency to rationalize away the things we do that are below our own standards. How we all worry about our children and possibly try to manipulate them into something they're not. To see that in the backdrop of Indian culture, which is completely different than mine, and to be able to relate to those feelings so well in spite of the show more differences...that's why I read. show less

The Private Life of Mrs Sharma is a unique story that I think was made more pleasurable by listening to as an audiobook. It was like I was driving Mrs Sharma around for a week or two, listening to her thoughts on everything and anything. Initially it starts off as quite pedestrian in content (I don’t mean that in a bad way, just that Mrs Sharma is talking about day to day things) but the ending is like a crack of thunder on a day you thought was going to be sunny. It comes out of nowhere and I wasn’t too sure what to make of it.

Mrs Sharma introduces herself to the reader just after she meets a man on the Metro. Mrs Sharma is a good woman, she has an important job in a medical clinic and one day hopes to run a school for potential show more office managers. She lives with her son, and father and mother in law in a small apartment. Her husband is away in Dubai, working as a physiotherapist to save money for his parents’ care in old age and good education for their son, Bobby. Mrs Sharma has Plans with a capital P for Bobby. He needs to do an MBA and work for a multinational company. She even buys him a smart suit to try and direct him towards that pathway.

Unfortunately nothing is quite as straightforward for Mrs Sharma. Let’s start with Bobby. He doesn’t want to be a businessman, he wants to be a chef. Initially Mrs Sharma will have none of that. But after Bobby gets alcohol poisoning (which she refuses to tell anyone about, not even her husband), she might be persuaded to bend a little. Just a tad.

But things get more complicated with the man she met on the Metro. Mrs Sharma hasn’t seen her husband for over a year. Plus, it is just talking, just a meal. She’s in control of the entire situation and she’ll do it her way, okay?

Mrs Sharma’s voice is brilliantly portrayed by Ratika Kapur and Tania Rodrigues brings it to life even more. It’s a book where she chit chats about anything and Mrs Sharma has quite a few liberal views and wise sayings for the reader. I would have said that it’s quite light, mainly about the domestic but as the final chapter began everything turned on its head. I could tell that something had changed in a big way as she started speaking – the rhythm and language was completely different to the Mrs Sharma I knew. The ending is shocking, yet not without warning signs. I would have loved to know what Mrs Sharma did next, but from what I know of her character she will be strong and calculate things to protect her family. It’s a solid story, and I’d be happy to read what Ratika Kapur writes next because I know there will be something unexpected.

I listened to the audiobook, but thank you to Bloomsbury for an eARC copy.

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The conflicted thoughts of a Delhi woman who seems to almost have it all - fine son, great in-laws, good job, decent income - are so perfectly recognizable in any culture. The only flies in the ointment are the absence of Renu's husband, off in Dubai to earn enough money to send son Bobby to college, and her own frustrated ambitions to go to college, lost when her father died suddenly. Her discontent manifests itself in a friendship with a man she meets while commuting to work. Their involvement is peeled like an onion and stings as the layers get peeled off. Ranu also swings between enjoying caring for her family and desiring her own life, and this is all so poignantly told in her even keeled voice. Until, of course, fate intervenes show more and a tell tale heart moves into her flat. This novel is brief but strong and memorable. show less

I liked this book very much. As I read the last half I kept vacillating between a 4 and 5 star rating. Then the ending. It didn't work for me at all. It felt to me that the author had painted herself into a corner and was left only two reasonable endings, neither of which would be satisfactory to her not the reader. And we are left therefore, with an end that comes out of nowhere. An end that is totally inconsistent with our narrator's thinking and actions throughout.

The story is about a middle class Delhi housewife. Her husband works in Dubai, she has been raising their spoiled, demanding 15 year old son with the interference, not support, of her live-in in-laws in their one bedroom flat. She happens to meet a younger man at the show more neighborhood metro stop one day and they begin a friendly relationship. Extremely unusual for a married Indian woman - yes, even today, even in Delhi. Anyone the least bit familiar with modern Indian culture and mores would fear for a drippy romance or fantasy to ensue. But not so, at least not exactly. The writing is excellent. Mrs. Sharma has created an interesting, typical (an overused, Indian descriptor) all-India woman who is both likeable and frustrating throughout.

I wish I could recommend this book because I feel that there is so much that is very good about it. I have traveled to India many times and as I read I felt "I have been in this conversation", or this situation, many times. But that ending, in my mind, is ridiculous. Too bad. show less

One morning Mrs. Sharma, who lives and works in Delhi is on her way to work when she meets a charming young man named Vineet.
The story is about the relationship that grows between the two people until it reaches a shocking climax.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

A great read by a strong, fresh voice although the ending was a bit disappointing.

For a complete review please click on the link below:

http://onerightword.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/the-private-life-of-mrs-sharma-ratika...