The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

What I really liked about this novel is the way one thing led to another.. One woman, imprisoned by her health, by her declining body leads to the release of a woman imprisoned by her marriage.. 

This novel follows six people, four women, two men. The four women were once the best of friends, but time and distance has split them up. However, they still think of each other and more so when it's discovered that one of them, Armaiti, the one in America, is dying of a brain tumor. 

This story was another great part of the novel. Food for thought: You have a tumor/cancer and only 6 months or so to live.. Do you die on your terms? Or do you go through countless surgeries/chemo and die on other's terms? Really loved this aspect. 

Laleh blames herself for Armaiti's tumor, thinking it is the result of a blow to the head long ago in their girls' rioting days.. Her husband tries to make her see reason. Kavita is a lesbian who even in middle age, feels she must hide the fact from her family because it's not just done openly in India. And then there's Nishta... 

Nishta married a Muslim man.. and when the riots occurred, he was changed forever. He says at one point in the book that she's the only beautiful thing left in his life.. and he keeps her close in check, using religion to do so. He imprisons her. The other women only become aware of this when Armaiti calls from America asking them all to come visit her and see her one last time before she dies.. and this how one woman's misfortune becomes one woman's blessing. 


Quibbles: Seemed over wordy and too long for what it actually contained. The girls' past rebellion was brought up a lot, but except for that one riot that was mentioned, I wasn't sure what all they had fighting for or how.. That wasn't too clear to me. The ending.. left me wanting. It felt incomplete. I needed that happy reunion.. not the promise of it.


I got this on Amazon Vine and I give it a three. good, but could be better.