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Product Description: Poignant, evocative, and unforgettable, 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 hide 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. A powerful and perceptive literary masterwork, author Thrity Umrigar's 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. Amazon.com: The Space Between Us, Thrity Umrigar's poignant novel about a wealthy woman and her downtrodden servant, offers a revealing look at class and gender roles in modern day Bombay. Alternatively told through the eyes of Sera, a Parsi widow whose pregnant daughter and son-in-law share her elegant home, and Bhima, the elderly housekeeper who must support her orphaned granddaughter, Umrigar does an admirable job of creating two sympathetic characters whose bond goes far deeper than that of employer and employee. When we first meet Bhima, she is sharing a thin mattress with Maya, the granddaughter upon whom high hopes and dreams were placed, only to be shattered by an unexpected pregnancy and its disastrous consequences. As time goes on, we learn that Sera and her family have used their power and money time and time again to influence the lives of Bhima and Maya, from caring for Bhima's estranged husband after a workplace accident, to providing the funds for Maya's college education. We also learn that Sera's seemingly privileged life is not as it appears; after enduring years of cruelty under her mother-in-law's roof, she faced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband, pain that only Bhima could see and alleviate. Yet through the triumphs and tragedies, Sera and Bhima always shared a bond that transcended class and race; a bond shared by two women whose fate always seemed to rest in the hands of others, just outside their control. Told in a series of flashbacks and present day encounters, The Space Between Us gains strength from both plot and prose. A beautiful tale of tragedy and hope, Umrigar's second novel is sure to linger in readers' minds. --Gisele Toueg Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-02
Loved it right up until the last 10 pages
This is the first book by Thrity Umrigar and it took me a few tries to really get into it. I once I did, I could not put it down. I really loved the characters and the way that the author writes. I was excited to see how the book turned out, I was some what disappointed at the ending, asking myself "that's it?" I still recommend it, as it was an enjoyable read regardless Rating:
Date: 2008-06-09
A story of universal themes
Author Thrity Umrigar deals with many universal themes in her novel THE SPACE BETWEN. Although the story is set in contemporary India, it could realistically be set in many venues where the have's and the have not's exist in the employer/employee relationship. These characters and events could easily be transferrred to the American South for all of the 18th and 19th century and much of the 20th century with the mistress being a white woman and the servant being black.
As other reviewers have wisely done, I will withhold details of the story. To expose major elements of the plot would ruin the novel for prospective readers. (I wish that there was a "spoiler's corner" where people who have read the novel could discuss aspects of the story) However, Umrigar has magnificently dealt with numerous women's issues; the degradation and abuse of women, both rich and poor while also writing an engaging tale of fate and loss; tragedy; poverty; and the fate of those who lack an education. There is also a lot of the inhumanity of one person to another.
There are few redeeming male characters in the book and the "have's" live in a whole totally separate and apart from the "have not's". The book demonstsrates the strong influence of religion and tradition and how it takes generations for some aspects of society to change and finally forget engrained prejudices.
But through it all there is the ever forgiving Bhima. Her tragic characters is the central theme of the story. One wonders if she had been born in the same situation as her mistress Sera, would things have been different. Rating: 
Date: 2008-05-27
Mumbai
This was the first book I read by Thrity Umrigar. Although I have been there on multiple occasions, it gave me insight into the life in Mumbai. It is a very easy and quick read. There are two more books by this author that I have read and enjoyed each one. Rating:
Date: 2008-05-19
Wonderful Storytelling......
I wasn't sure if I'd like this book when I ordered it, but since I know very little about India and the caste system, etc. I decided to give it a try.
I'm SO happy I did.
Beautifully written prose that just flows along and takes the reader to a culture so different from our own.
But beyond the excellent writing of the slums and Bombay, there is a poignant story of the relationship between two women. One from the upper middle class and the other, her servant.
I felt the story went to the depths of the soul of these two characters. Both strong women, very different in many ways and yet so very much alike.
I highly recommend this book. I enjoyed this authors writing so much that I've ordered her other two books.....Bombay Time and If Today Be Sweet. Rating:
Date: 2008-05-16
Authentic... takes you there
I have read many novels set in India, many great, but not many that feel so authentic. This novel brings so much to life--the slums of India, the class system, juxtaposition/intermingling of wealth and poverty, and the complexity of life in a world where class is deeply rooted in religion, tradition, acceptance, etc. And it does it without resorting to what I consider "Bollywood" tactics--no weird coincidences, no savior appearing from nowhere, spontaneous dancing ;), etc.
There are many wonderful reviews here with summaries, so I will not offer one. One review contended that the ending did not feel "true to the characters," and I can understand that assessment. It might have made Sera's story more full circle had she defended Bhima and saved Dinaz from a potentially philandering husband. But I am Indian and I know Indian women Sera's age... no matter how much she wanted to, there's no way she could have chosen Bhima over her family. It rang true to me. And even if it had gone the other way, with Sera being the "freed and enlightened" one, it would have been a sad story bc of the loss/deterioration of her family.
The characters will stay with you, the prose is wonderful--never full of itself and intrusive, and this title (so apt) will cause you to consider the spaces between you and those in your world, something we often purposely ignore. |
