Marriage | Book Chatter

Honor
By Thrity Umrigar
Algonquin Books,9781643753300, 2022, 352 pp.

The Short of It:

Weighty.

The Rest of It:

In Honor, Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena–a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man–Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past. ~Indiebound

I was immediately pulled into this story. Meena’s story of abuse at the hands of her own brothers, was intense in the telling. Permanently disfigured by fire and ridiculed by the entire village for falling in love and marrying a Muslim man, proved to be too much for her to overcome. As unwelcome as she is, her young daughter, Abra is what keeps her there. Forced to live with a MIL who hates her for what happened to her son, the only thing that grounds her are the ethereal visits of her husband Abdul as he makes his presence known through dreams.

Smita, a journalist, returns to India to assist a colleague who is having hip surgery. Her entire motivation for going is to just help her colleague during recovery. India is not a place she ever wanted to return to. Too many memories of when her family was forced to leave when she was a child. But when she arrives, she finds out that Shannon wants her to pick up Meena’s story. That her time in India will not be spent navigating recovery, but interviewing Meena, the MIL, the brothers that caused her so much pain. This was not in the cards, but how can such a story go untold?

Smita’s time in India is wrought with unpleasant memories, difficult people, and reluctant witnesses. Her only saving grace is the man who Shannon brought in to help navigate the language barrier. Mohan’s kindness, common sense and loyalty to Smita and Shannon prove to be invaluable.

This was an easy story to fall into given the weighty subject matter but the ending! No spoilers but I was not prepared for the ending. It was like a slap to the face! Overall, to say that I “enjoyed” this story would be a real stretch but I found myself taken by the characters and the difficulty presenting itself as Meena’s story is told. It was chosen for my book club and I think there will be plenty to discuss.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

French Braid
By Anne Tyler
Knopf, 9780593321096, March 2022, 256pp.

The Short of It:

Families. They expand, and evolve but not always in good ways.

The Rest of It:

The Garretts take a family vacation. Their first and last one in the summer of ’59. Mercy and Robin’s marriage is strained by Mercy’s desire to paint again. Paint again, in another house, away from her husband, for days on end. Their adult kids are all living their own lives but in a detached, “from afar” way. All of them linked by blood but communication is not their strong suit. They find out about each other’s big life events from others.

This was a strange little read. The family dynamic was interesting but I didn’t find myself pulling for anyone in this story, really. It seemed to span too many years, decades actually and as the story unfolds it meanders along until it wraps up, in what I felt, was a very abrupt way. I think I would have liked it better if the story centered around Mercy and Robin’s marriage alone.

Anne Tyler is a great storyteller. I’ve enjoyed many of her novels but this one left something to be desired.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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