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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780060791568
ISBN number: 006079156X
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: February 01, 2007
Publishing house: Harper Perennial
Release Date: February 06, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 2096
Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
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 Review:
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 very 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
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I enjoyed reading this book although I was confused at times with the switching of stories of Bhima and Sera. Poignant, believable characters living tragic, intertwined lives. It has motivated me to learn more about India and its culture.
Rated by buyers -
This was a book club choice and I didn't know what to expect. Beautifully written, evocative, the writing made me see and experience Bombay -- in its richness and depressing poverty. You come to know and appreciate the women in this story -- even as you grieve for their character flaws. We have not discussed this book yet but I expect it will be a rich discusion as the book is both deep and wide.
I am not sure I enjoyed the book but I certainly appreciated it and it made me really think -- and that, I believe, is what good literature should do.
Rated by buyers 
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This is a great book. Enjoyed the culture and content. Could hardly put it down.
Rated by buyers 
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I appreciate this book for its culture and voice...I can even enjoy a story that has this kind of melancholy and the frustrating reality of chauvinism. I feel that it provides an experience that I'm thankful not to have in my real life, but to know that people live this way-with abusive husbands, in unfathomable slums, where equal opportunities aren't even mentioned-is fascinating to me. HOWEVER...if you are like me and you read a book to escape the harsh realities of life or to at least feel the suffering then the hope for a happy ending, this is NOT the book for you. I'm writing this review to give those people the warning I didn't have. I understand that the life these women had most often does not end well-that's reality-not what I want in a book. I felt like I wasted my time reading this only to be left disappointed and angry. I gave it 2 stars instead of one because I did learn something from the book about another life style, another country, another place and it is engaging and well-written. But if I'd known what I'm telling you I would not have read this book.
Rated by buyers -
One of the best books I have read this year! It brilliantly captures the two different worlds of Bhima and Serabai.
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