Saturday, July 10, 2010

Readalong of "The Space Between Us" by Thrity Urmigar

Lisa from Lit and Life is hosting "Thrity Thursdays" aka a readalong of The Space Between Us by Thrity Urmigar.  This is week two of the readalong (check out my post for week 1 here) and we are covering Chapters 7-12

The stories of Bhima and Sera's lives unfold in these chapters.  We are taken back to each woman's younger self when each were first married.  As we learn more about each woman's life, we are also given insight into each woman's mostly private suffering.  Sera's husband, Feroz, was physically and emotionally abusive - there is one scene that was hard to read because Feroz's rage was so intense and I could almost feel Sera's fear of him and anguish that she had married a man that would treat her that way.  We are also given glimpses into Bhima's younger life - interestingly she and her husband seem to be enjoying their young married life, despite their meager means, but betrayal is foreshadowed - I am anxious to read on and see what happens with Bhima's husband. 

In addition to the stories of these two women, the novel also provides glimspes of life in contemporary Mumbai.  Scenes of the slums and the markets are vivid.  I visited India in January - my friends and I took a 2 week tour through North India and finished our trip in Mumbai.  On the way into the city, we stopped at a slum in which most of the residents provide laundry service to households and businesses throughout the city.  I included two photos below because when I read descriptions of the slum in which Bhima and Maya live I  think of this scene. 



If you are interested in reading the book stop by Lit and Life and sign-up for the readalong.  For more thoughts on the book, stop by the blogs of the other participants:

Ti at Book Chatter
Dar at Peeking Between The Pages
Staci at Life In The Thumb
Kathy at Mommy's Reading
Bailey at The Window Seat Reader
Mari at Bookworm With A View

In addition, Swapna at S. Krishna's Books is hosting a giveaway for 4 of Thrity Urmigar's books and The Space Between Us is one of them! 
Posted by Booksnyc at 9:52 AM
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4 comments:

  1. bermudaonionJuly 10, 2010 at 5:53 PM

    I bought this book last weekend because I loved The Weight of Heaven so much.

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  2. UnknownJuly 15, 2010 at 1:52 PM

    Great post about these chapters. I am joining your readalong a little late. I didn't get the book until last week but it's so good I have trouble putting it down! The sections about Feroz when he is angry and attacking Sera are very hard to read and like you, I felt like I could feel her fear. It surprised me a little bit that she didn't even tell her mom but her reason for not doing so is so sweet and thoughtful. These characters are so complex, it's wonderful. Bhima semmed to have such a great marriage and family life early on, how painful to have it change...

    Happy Reading!
    ~ Amy

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  3. LisaJuly 16, 2010 at 11:21 AM

    Oh, those pictures are so sad! Imagine living within sight of all of that money and having to live like that. Umrigar's description of the hospital just made me seethe--can you even imagine having to put up with medical "care" like that?

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  4. JaneGSJuly 20, 2010 at 6:49 PM

    I've been reading a bit about this book and have to say that it's intriguing in that it's so different from most of the books I read. I also found your photos incredible--such a world away from the one I live in.

    BTW, I have awarded you the Versatile Blogger Award. Visit my blog for details: http://janegs.blogspot.com/2010/07/versatile-blogger-award.html

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