The Space Between Us

All I can say is "WOW!" this novel was so carefully and beautifully written it is far beyond explaining. The story of two women from very different walks of life that are similar in more ways than they want to admit. I have been in love with this novel since the day I finished reading it and it will FOREVER be one of my favorites.

Yet another wonderful and moving novel by Thrity Umrigar. The story vividly unfolds on each page, and I found myself unable to put the book down. It tells the story of Bhima and Sera, two people who's lives are very much different, but in many ways the same. Yes, there is much sadness in this book. However, that sadness is there for a reason and is meant to be thought-provoking. It forces you evaluate your life and your relationships. It also helps you to better understand not only the person you are, but the kind of person you want to be. The character of Bhima moved me the most, and will live on in my heart.

It is so beautifully and masterfully written I would forget I was reading, and instead felt I was walking alongside either Bhima or Sera as they lived their intertwined lives of love, deceit and such spirit, I won't soon forget them. This is a book you'll keep picking up at every chance and never want it to end. I envy Ms Umrigar's students. What an inspiration she must be. I will always be on the lookout for more of her work.

"Or perhaps it is that time doesn't heal all wounds at all, perhaps that is the biggest lie of them all, and instead what happens is that each wound penetrates the body deeper and deeper until one day you find that the sheer geography of your bones-has collapsed under the weight of your grief." Sprinkling it with heartbreakingly beautiful passages like this one, with The Space Between Us, Thrity Umrigar earns her rightful place amongst India's great storytellers. Within these pages you won't find easy lives or happy endings. What you will find is the authenticity of life, replete with all its trials, tribulations, heartache and betrayal. Friendship between the most unlikely of women, divided by class and caste, frames this novel, proving that neither one's familial nor financial inheritance can shelter her from the sorrow of this world. Yet for all its antiquated underpinnings, The Space Between Us is chockfull of modern-day issues like abortion, adultery and domestic violence, making it intensely current and relatable. Readers from all walks of life will quickly forget the "space between" Bhima and Sera and soon see them as regular women who are "living for more than just themselves." With its characters still haunting me, The Space Between Us earns my high recommendation.

Umrigar has done it again! Her second novel, The Space Between Us, has kept me up two nights until I finished it. I left my work, my family, and even my I-Pod! Don't wait another minute to delve into the life of Bhima and her employer, Sera Dubash. You won't come out the same. Umrigar's a magician at character development and dialogue. This, her first time "real" plot was riveting. You will have a new friend after reading The Space Between Us, her name will be Bhima, and you will know what it's like to walk in her shoes. You will feel the struggle, the despair, the unending battles of gender and class. You will hear the screech of wealth and the sobs of poverty and how they exist together in a city ugly with filth and poverty and beautiful with oceans and balloons. Don't walk, run to your nearest bookseller and pick up Thrity Umrigar's The Space Between Us. Buy two, buy three because everyone you know will want one. I am waiting for Umrigar's next treasure chest, maybe a sequel, or maybe a movie about The Space Between Us. If movie producers have ears, they should definitely hear the ring of this unforgettable book. Enjoy!