Thrifty Thursday Final Post

Synopsis of The Space Between Us from inside flap:
The Space Between Us is an intimate portrait of a distant yet familiar world. Set in modern-day India, it is the story of two compelling and achingly real women: Sera Dubash, an upper-middle-class parsi housewife whose opulent surroundings hid the shame and disappointment of her abusive marriage, and Bhima, a stoic illiterate hardened by a life of despair and loss, who has worked in the Dubash household for more than twenty years. This extraordinary novel demonstrates how the lives of the rich and poor are intrinsically connected yet vastly removed from each other, and how the strong bonds of womanhood are eternally opposed by the divisions of class and culture.





I want to thank Lisa for hosting this read-a-long and to let her know that she picked an awesome book. I'm missing these characters already and I know that I will read Umrigar's other works for sure.

Final Chapters

• Bhima is betrayed
• social class is EVERYTHING. Those in power may do to you what they will with no repercussions. The poor truly rely on other people's mercies and whims.
• felt that I needed a chart to figure out the class systems...too many to wrap my mind around. Parsi, Sikhs, Hindu jaat, Muslim, Brahmin...etc.
• Universal truth: "We women, we live for so much more than just ourselves." p. 296

Final Thoughts:
This book is about the human connection and love. But it also shows how fragile that connection is when class divisions become a part of the picture. This is a moving story and gives the reader much to contemplate. Would most certainly make for a great book club discussion read!!

My rating:
4.5/5 

Thrifty Thursday Update

Synopsis of The Space Between Us from inside flap:
The Space Between Us is an intimate portrait of a distant yet familiar world. Set in modern-day India, it is the story of two compelling and achingly real women: Sera Dubash, an upper-middle-class parsi housewife whose opulent surroundings hid the shame and disappointment of her abusive marriage, and Bhima, a stoic illiterate hardened by a life of despair and loss, who has worked in the Dubash household for more than twenty years. This extraordinary novel demonstrates how the lives of the rich and poor are intrinsically connected yet vastly removed from each other, and how the strong bonds of womanhood are eternally opposed by the divisions of class and culture.



 Well, we're quickly coming to the end of this breathtaking story and I will be sad to see it come to a close. Here are some bullet points from my reading of Chapters 16-20.

• workers are a dime a dozen, and illiterate is the way the boss man likes them.
• women and girls have little value. Only boys need to be educated.
• Bhima faces humiliation daily by her lack of education.
• Bhima's world changes quickly after her husband is hurt on the job. He quickly spirals into alcoholism and takes his anger out on Bhima.
• Living in a Bhaleshwar slum is better than living in the streets.
• Bhima's shame for not being able to read is what drives her fierce desire that Maya continue with college. This is her only goal!

Food and lots of it:

Bhelpuri

Chappatis

Milk Kulfi

Panipuri

Thrifty Thursday Update

Synopsis of The Space Between Us from inside flap:
The Space Between Us is an intimate portrait of a distant yet familiar world. Set in modern-day India, it is the story of two compelling and achingly real women: Sera Dubash, an upper-middle-class parsi housewife whose opulent surroundings hid the shame and disappointment of her abusive marriage, and Bhima, a stoic illiterate hardened by a life of despair and loss, who has worked in the Dubash household for more than twenty years. This extraordinary novel demonstrates how the lives of the rich and poor are intrinsically connected yet vastly removed from each other, and how the strong bonds of womanhood are eternally opposed by the divisions of class and culture.



Sorry that this update is so late!!! Too many things going on today and not enough time to sit down and write this up!! I'm still enjoying this book...totally immersed into the Indian culture and trying to learn about the different ethnic groups within the country. This week we find out how Maya came to be an orphan. The author takes us deeper into Sera's life and how the physical abuse of her husband came to be. Domestic violence knows no age, sex, race....it affects women all around the world.

Here's what I've been contemplating this week:

• HIV- huge problem in India. With such a large group of people that are illiterate and uneducated about the ways you can become infected with HIV, this disease has ravaged a lot of people. I've also decided that just by reading about their hospitals and lack of medical care, that we as Americans, really need to think twice before we complain about our own health care system. Try living in a third world country and see what kind of medical care you receive. If it's better than anything here in the U.S. then you may have a legitimate rant.



Parsi Women

• Ethnic groups and prejudices- I believe that prejudice is everywhere, not just in America. Sometimes I think we all believe that it is better somewhere else. Sort of like that old adage, the grass is always greener on the other side, right?? Anyway, trying to understand the ethnic groups is difficult to say the least.

Parsi-The question of Parsi identity is a contentious one. There are those who say that the term Parsi (or Parsee) may only refer to the descendants of the original immigrants from Iran 1000 years ago. Others refer to just about anyone hailing from Iran as a Parsi regardless of when they came. Others still see anyone accepted as a Zoroastrian as being a Parsi by default. 

Genealogical tests of Parsis in Pakistan confirmed that their DNA was significantly more similar to Iranians than any other immediate geographic neighbours but other tests of the Parsis in India suggest that they have more in common with the Gujuratis, suggesting a greater degree of ethnic assimilation than might be comfortable for many proud Parsis. Parsis have always tried to be strict on not inter-marrying with other faiths and races in order to preserve their lineage but it's unlikely that such a strategy will prevent them from dying out in the near future.

Gujarati people (Gujarati: ગુજરાતી લોકો Gujǎrātī loko?), or Gujaratis are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in northwestern India. Famous Gujaratis include Mohandas Gandhi, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The Marathi people or Maharashtrians (Marathi: मराठी माणसं or महाराष्ट्रीय) are an Indo-Aryan linguistic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages. Although their history goes back more than a millennium, the community came to prominence when Maratha warriors under Shivaji Maharaj established the Maratha Empire in 1674. Mee Marathi (मी मराठी, I am Marathi) are two words that have always inculcated Marathi pride.

Marathi Dancers

 

 

 Please visit the other readers and see what their thoughts are so far:
Ti at Book Chatter
Kathy at Mommy's Reading
Booksync at Book In The City
Bailey at The Window Seat Reader
Mari at Bookworm With A View

The Space Between Us Read-a-Long at Lit and Life

 I chose to participate in this read-a-long, hosted by Lisa of Lit and Life, because I'm truly fascinated by all things India. I've watched several movies about India and have read quite a few books that take place in India, my favorite being, 'A Fine Balance.' That book still resonates with me to this day and it was ages ago that I read it. I've decided to use visuals as to what I'm learning and reading about this week.


Synopsis of The Space Between Us from inside flap:
The Space Between Us is an intimate portrait of a distant yet familiar world. Set in modern-day India, it is the story of two compelling and achingly real women: Sera Dubash, an upper-middle-class parsi housewife whose opulent surroundings hid the shame and disappointment of her abusive marriage, and Bhima, a stoic illiterate hardened by a life of despair and loss, who has worked in the Dubash household for more than twenty years. This extraordinary novel demonstrates how the lives of the rich and poor are intrinsically connected yet vastly removed from each other, and how the strong bonds of womanhood are eternally opposed by the divisions of class and culture.

Chapters 1- 12 in pictures:

 Slum in Bombay

Inside of home

 Parsi Wedding

 Market place

 Food

 Family

This passage sums up my reading perfectly:

The generosity of the poor, Sera marveled to herself. It puts us middle class people to shame. They should hate our guts, really. Instead, they treat us like royalty. The thought of how she herself treated Bhima- not allowing her to sit on the furniture, having her eat with separate untensils--filled her with guilt.
p.115