I had heard about Thrity Umrigar in a discussion about Indian writers during one of my hikes. Naturally, when I saw a book by this author at the book sale, I picked it up.
Bombay Time is a story based on the lives of a group of middle class Parsis in Wadia Baug, Bombay. During the wedding reception of one of the members' son, everyone gathers and the story unfolds in the form of memories and reflections about the past, their youth and the various incidents that lead to their present circumstances in life. It has several interesting characters like the once ambitious Rusi Bilimoria, Dosamai-the gossip, 'Killer Breath' Tehmi, unhappy Coomi, successful Jimmy Kanga and many others.
I was floored by the strong and powerful writing. Every emotion is portrayed with ease and effectively so. I was impressed particularly by the unique quirks of each character and their interesting back stories. My favorite of all the different stories was Soli Contractor's simultaneous falling in love with Mariam and classical music.
The only gripe I have with this novel is that it has way too much sadness for one book to handle. There is death and frustration in every character's life. A little bit of happiness and fun would have helped to ease out the negativity. That being said, I'm very keen to read other books by Thrity.
Bombay Time is a story based on the lives of a group of middle class Parsis in Wadia Baug, Bombay. During the wedding reception of one of the members' son, everyone gathers and the story unfolds in the form of memories and reflections about the past, their youth and the various incidents that lead to their present circumstances in life. It has several interesting characters like the once ambitious Rusi Bilimoria, Dosamai-the gossip, 'Killer Breath' Tehmi, unhappy Coomi, successful Jimmy Kanga and many others.
I was floored by the strong and powerful writing. Every emotion is portrayed with ease and effectively so. I was impressed particularly by the unique quirks of each character and their interesting back stories. My favorite of all the different stories was Soli Contractor's simultaneous falling in love with Mariam and classical music.
The only gripe I have with this novel is that it has way too much sadness for one book to handle. There is death and frustration in every character's life. A little bit of happiness and fun would have helped to ease out the negativity. That being said, I'm very keen to read other books by Thrity.
