The Space Between Us: A Novel (P.S.)

The Space Between Us: A Novel (P.S.)
by Thrity Umrigar

The Space Between Us: A Novel (P.S.)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Thrity Umrigar
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-02-06
ISBN: 006079156X
Number of pages: 321
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780060791568
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of The Space Between Us: A Novel (P.S.)

Book Review: Poignant and Provocative
Summary: 5 Stars

In The Space Between Us, Thrity Umrigar, novelist and professor of Creative Writing at Case Western University, pushes the boundaries of traditional narrative and establishes an independent style, just as her characters push class boundaries and enter into each other's worlds. Revealing the story of Bhima and her granddaughter, Maya, as they endure the brutality of poverty, Umrigar presents scenes in a seemingly random order, each scene revealing some aspect of life for Bhima and her employer, Sera Dubash, a Parsi housewife, both in the past and the present. Moving back and forth, around, and inside out through Bhima's and Sera's recollections, Umrigar gradually unfolds Bhima's story to the reader, it's raw pain increasing as the reader makes the connections which turn disconnected scenes into a powerful and heartbreaking chronology.

As the novel opens, Bhima and Maya live in a small hut in a Bombay slum colony. Bhima struggles with feelings of rage directed at her granddaughter because Maya is pregnant. Most painful to Bhima are the deaths of Pooja and Raju, her daughter and son-in-law, though the reader doesn't know for many pages the tragic manner in which they die. As Bhima gradually discovers the truth behind Maya's rebellious behavior, the sorrow which has burdened Bhima seems close to breaking her.

The imperious, ignorant attitude of the upper class, the selfishness of men, and the desperate measures of the poor to protect themselves and provide for their loved ones come fully alive here, the sadness growing as the reader gradually discovers the real source of Maya's torment. By forcing the reader to make connections instead of spelling out the details in a traditional narrative, Umrigar strengthens the impact of the novel and its brutal revelations. Symbols of water and the city of Bombay connect the disparate scenes and keep the reader turning pages until the action is eventually resolved. A powerful, poignant and ultimately elegant tale, The Space Between Us is also a searing indictment of poverty and the damage it has done to the fabric of life, damage that cannot be repaired until it is fully acknowledged by all of us.

Summary of The Space Between Us: A Novel (P.S.)

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.


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

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