The Weight of Heaven

Like the Space Between us, The Weight of Heaven deals with cultural and class divisions, but the novel is primarily about entitlement. Frank and Ellie are reeling over the death of their son, Benny. Ironically, Benny died in America, where an advanced team of medical specialists could do nothing to save him from the fast onset of typhoid. Frank and Ellie flee to India (one of the few remaining countries that still suffers from bouts of the plague) to try and work out their grief. The entire novel is overshadowed by this unfair, precarious nature of life and death; death pays no attention to cultural, social, political, or class divides. Frank accepts a job transfer to India, placing him in charge of a plant that harvests local tree leaves for medicinal purposes. The company, HerbalSolutions, has bought the land with the trees from the government. However, the local villages feel entitled to the trees, having harvested and used the leaves for centuries. Conflict ensues. In the meantime, Frank forms an unhealthy attachment with their servant's young boy, Ramesh, using him as a substitute for his own dead son. Because Ramesh's father is an alcoholic, Frank begins to feel entitled to the boy, believing he can give him a better life. Prakash, the boy's father, is bound by his loyalty as a servant, but struggles with his hatred toward his "master" who is stealing his child from under his nose. (Conflict ensues.) Umrigar is such an elegant writer. I adore her prose. I have gained such insight into the culture of India thanks to her novels. She delves into the subject of grief like no other author I've ever read. At one point, I had to put the book down, I couldn't stand the gut-wrenching emotion invoked by the character's overwhelming sense of loss and grief. This book is NOT for those who have lost a small child. Umrigar captures the horrific anguish of the parents. For example, Ellie finds herself haunted by thoughts of worms eating at her son's beautiful body. This is difficult stuff to read. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to write. The politics are ham-fisted at times. Ellie's liberal ideology is over the top. For instance, at a fourth-of-July party in India, she refuses to sing the Star Spangled Banner, insisting America is a terrorist nation. Meanwhile, she employs two servants who do her laundry and fix her meals while she volunteers occasionally in the small, impoverished village they live near. Umrigar certainly makes a political point, but also demonstrates that there is no black and white when it comes to politics, class relations, etc. It's all a messy business. Her villain's (Frank's chief of security) are not even types; Gulab shows startling sensitivity and has the admirable Indian trait of unabashed loyalty. This book is so well written but I'm glad I'm finished with it. It was emotionally draining. Strongly recommended, but be forewarned! This is heavy material.

This is a huge book - the story is very intricate and very engrossing. I could not imagine how the death of this little boy would play out but I didn't expect the ending at all. I really grew to loathe Frank. His self-absorbed and self-serving behavior betrayed the bright and shiny man Ellie married and I thought Umrigar really let this evolve so well. The book - for me - was about Frank and his obsession not only with Benny but with Ramesh and the ways in which he was willing to fulfill and satisfy this obsession. There are so many people who will tell you that the death of a child changes forever any relationship - and I think this is true to a great degree - but it is interesting for me to imagine how smothered Benny would have been had he lived. Frank was clearly driven by being an abused and abandoned child and that is what defined him. His courtship with Ellie was a glimpse of that personality and how he was unwilling to yield in his pursuit of his goal. At the same time - when he had her, he apparently moved onto the child as the center of his universe. Which makes me wonder how Ellie really felt. At the same time, it doesn't really matter because the story was never about her. She never mattered to Frank except as a prize for sitting alone on the porch. When he had her he looked for another diversion emotionally. And we never got to see Benny as he was - but only as the beatified infant Frank created. That is the thing about loss - you can make the disappeared into anything you want and for any reason. Frank created a father who would come back in shining armor and a son who would have never let him down or disappointed him. Ellie was real and quotidian and one can see he had to work to maintain that in his life. It was subtle - but it was there for me. And it was powerful. I wound up feeling most saddened by how Frank effected Ramesh. Because without intending to - Frank repeated what his father did to him and the dynamic he caused within Ramesh's fragile family was unforgivable. He cavalierly took what was not his to take and again his own self-involvement governed everything that flowed from it. I was not exactly prepared for the ending. But as an indicator of insanity it was a perfect progression and to use Singh made it even more sinister and cruel. To some degree I think Ellie was well out of it but Edna deserved better. I found myself wanting more of Ramesh and wanting to see how the ending impacted him. I was left imagining Frank would ironically wind up as a drunken stumblebum in his dark future - the brother "we don't talk about"; "took the India thing so hard, doncha' know" - when all the time he lives with knowing exactly what he set in motion. It left me also to wonder if he would ultimately go completely catatonic from the guilt or end up revealing the truth that no one believed when he confessed. In that scenario there is an even deeper cruelty. Umrigar's ear for dialect and dialogue is so rig

I have been a huge fan of Thrity Umrigar's since her first novel, Bombay Time. I won't review the plot of The Weight of Heaven, since other reviewers have done a great job of summarizing. I recently read First Darling of the Morning, Umrigar's haunting memoir of growing up (and longing to escape from) Bombay. Her own experiences and the deep passion she has for the plight of the less fortunate in India deeply informs her work, which for me makes her writing deeper, more profoundly beautiful, tragic, and true. In this novel the clash of cultures meets the pain of individual tragedy and its fallout. The serious political, social and ethical issues which Umrigar explores are enhanced by the purity and beauty of her writing. Both have grown and deepened with each novel she has written. Very highly recommended.

This book grabs you from start to finish. Ms. Umrigar captures the essence of the human spirit and beautifully characterizes a variety of emotions that exist in all of us, good and bad. She defines the cultural differences in such a way that you really begin to question your own ability to grasp, understand, and accept the fragility of human nature, no matter where you come from or where you find yourself. This is a wonderful book for any book club as there are so many elements of discussion brought to the crossfire. READ THIS BOOK. You will be captivated. If you haven't read Ms. Umrigar's other books you must begin now as you will not be disappointed. You'll find yourself discovering a new favorite author like I, and many others, have!!!!!

I discovered Thrity Umrigar in 2008, and she has since become a favorite author of mine. I felt honored to have received an advance copy of her new book: The Weight of Heaven, published by Harper Collins. In her new novel we meet Frank and Ellie Benton, a grief stricken couple from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who have just lost their seven year old son Benny, after a short illness. Unable to cope with this horrific loss, Frank accepts a new assignment running a factory, Herbal Solutions, in Girbaug, India, a coastal village near Bombay. Unfortunately, the factory and its Third World workers are in the midst of a labor dispute over low wages. Frank calls the workers "lazy", and his wife sees the workers as justified. Ellie sides with the workers, suggesting that Frank give them a few "rupees" to make them feel like they "won". Even in India, Frank and Ellie are conflicted. Frank has difficulties understanding why his workers don't act like his workers did in America. This additional conflict only adds to the pain he is still experiencing in India over the loss of his son. Ellie on the other hand sees her new surroundings as an opportunity to help the less fortunate women in the village (she is a psychologist/therapist), and believes there is so much to teach these poor women that she sees at a local health clinic. She is determined to not let grief define her life, because she believes her son would not have wanted that. Frank before long begins to find some comfort tutoring Ramesh, the young son of the couple's housekeeper. The boy is very bright and eager to learn. Before long, his interest in helping the boy becomes an obsession and new conflicts arise between Frank and Prakash, the boy's resentful, bitter, father. Frank will do anything to keep that bright and personable boy close by, no matter what it takes. The Weight of Heaven is a hauntingly beautiful story about cultural divides and misunderstandings. It is a story about loss and working through grief, and one of those rare books that forces you as the reader to take stock of your life, and to think about the things that really matter most. The ending is shocking, but in some strange way--- wonderful. I am happy to say that this is one of those rare books, that left an imprint with me long after the final page was turned. There are so many beautiful passages that I found myself reading over and over again; a true gem. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!