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The Space Between Us: A Novel (Paperback)

by Thrity Umrigar (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product Details

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1 edition (Jan 25 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 006079156X
ISBN-13: 978-0060791568
Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13 x 2.8 cm
Shipping Weight: 273 g

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #11,394 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#1 in Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > Asian American Studies
#5 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Asian American

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Umrigar's schematic novel (after Bombay Time) illustrates the intimacy, and the irreconcilable class divide, between two women in contemporary Bombay. Bhima, a 65-year-old slum dweller, has worked for Sera Dubash, a younger upper-middle-class Parsi woman, for years: cooking, cleaning and tending Sera after the beatings she endures from her abusive husband, Feroz. Sera, in turn, nurses Bhima back to health from typhoid fever and sends her granddaughter Maya to college. Sera recognizes their affinity: "They were alike in many ways, Bhima and she. Despite the different trajectories of their lives—circumstances... dictated by the accidents of their births—they had both known the pain of watching the bloom fade from their marriages." But Sera's affection for her servant wars with ingrained prejudice against lower castes. The younger generation—Maya; Sera's daughter, Dinaz, and son-in-law, Viraf—are also caged by the same strictures despite efforts to throw them off. In a final plot twist, class allegiance combined with gender inequality challenges personal connection, and Bhima may pay a bitter price for her loyalty to her employers. At times, Umrigar's writing achieves clarity, but a narrative that unfolds in retrospect saps the book's momentum. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Sera Dubash is an upper-middle-class Parsi housewife in modern-day Bombay. Bhima is her domestic servant. Though they inhabit dramatically different worlds, the two women have much in common. Both married men they alternately love and loathe: Sera's moody husband frequently beats her, and Bhima's betrothed falls into an alcohol-drenched depression after losing his job. Sera's civil treatment of her servant--she overlooks Bhima's frequent tardiness and treats her like an equal--dismays her neighbors and friends. She also offers to fund the college education of Bhima's granddaughter, Maya, whom Bhima adopted when the girl's mother died of AIDS. The bond between the two women deepens when Sera (whose own daughter is happily wed and expecting her first child) arranges an abortion for unmarried Maya. Veteran journalist and Case Western Reserve professor Umrigar (Bombay Time, 2001) renders a collection of compelling and complex characters, from kind, conflicted Sera to fiercely devoted Bhima (the latter is based on the novelist's own childhood housekeeper). Sadness suffuses this eloquent tale, whose heart-stopping plot twists reveal the ferocity of fate. As Bhima sits at her dying daughter's side, a fellow hospital visitor speaks the simple, brutal truth: "Here, we have all hit the jackpot for grief." Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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5.0 out of 5 stars THE SPACE BETWEEN US (Thrity Umrigar), Feb 21 2006

By	Louise Jolly "Bookaholic" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Space Between Us (Hardcover)

Thrity Umrigar's "SPACE BETWEEN US" is a novel of moral integrity, social/class division, emotional isolation, profound passion and intimacy.

Bhima is a 65-year-old widow raising her nineteen year old grand-daughter Maya. Living in a hut in the slums where filth and hunger are a daily occurence, Bhima's dream is to create a better life for Maya.

Bhima has cooked, cleaned and cared for the Dubash family for many years. Sera Dubash, the lady of the house, is an upper-class Parsi woman who is now widowed. Sera endured years of physical abuse from her husband Feroz while trying to shelter and protect her only child, Dinaz, from witnessing the cruel behaviour of her father.

Sera and Bhima form an intimate bond and an understanding despite their extreme difference in social class after Sera nurse's Bhima back to health from a bout with typhoid fever. Bhima repays Sera through her continued loyalty and Sera in turn, pays for Bhima's grand-daughter Maya, to attend college.

Sera's only child Dinaz and her husband Viraf move home with Sera so she won't be alone. Sera spends much of her time doting on Dinaz who is pregnant with her first child and talking with Bhima while she cleans.

Maya becomes pregnant by a man she refuses to name, crushing Bhima's hope of a better life for her. Bhima's immense disappointment and anger toward Maya causes her to physically lash out at Maya. With no money or education in such matters, Bhima turns to her friend Sera who arranges and pays for an abortion which deepens the intimacy and bond these two older women share. The relationship between two families of two different social orders is a testament to the intimate relationships women can create with each other regardless of environmental, social, spiritual or educational background.

An unexpected twist presents itself in this long-standing relationship between Sera and Bhima which proves that, blood is thicker than water. Without ruining the story, I will say I was deeply saddened by this sudden turn of events.

Ms. Umrigar has given us an achingly beautiful, mesmerizing and engrossing story of culture, intimacy and bonding between social class. Both Sera and Bhima are women shaped by suffering who find a common thread in each other. How is it possible for two women from such starkly different backgrounds to capture and cultivate a bond such as that shared by Sera and Bhima? In 'THE SPACE BETWEEN US' Umrigar weaves a compelling story of two unforgettable women and their struggles, their crises, their triumphs and the captivating tale of their lives intertwined by need, circumstance and intimacy.

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