The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar –Audio
Book Blurb:
Poor and illiterate, Bhima had faithfully worked for the Dubash family, an upper-middle-class Parsi household, for more than twenty years. Yet after courageously speaking the truth about a heinous crime perpetrated against her own family, the devoted servant was cruelly fired. The sting of that dismissal was made more painful coming from Sera Dubash, the temperamental employer who had long been Bhima’s only confidante. A woman who has endured despair and loss with stoicism, Bhima must now find some other way to support herself and her granddaughter, Maya. Bhima’s fortunes take an unexpected turn when her path intersects with Parvati, a bitter, taciturn older woman. The two acquaintances soon form a tentative business partnership, selling fruits and vegetables at the local market. As they work together, these two women seemingly bound by fate grow closer, each confessing the truth about their lives and the wounds that haunt them. Discovering her first true friend, Bhima pieces together a new life, and together, the two women learn to stand on their own.
My Review: 4 stars
The Space Between Us digs into how relationships, secrets and circumstance can alter your life forever. Umrigar’s books go inside worlds that are new to me, draw on emotion and are beautifully written. In 2009, I read the prequel to this book, The Secrets Between Us, an engrossing story that delves into the bond between employer and servant as they become as close as sisters. The new book can be read as a stand-alone but I enjoyed knowing so much about these women from the first book.
These pages will take you into the heart of India and make the markets and streets come alive. The conditions of the slums where the protagonist, Bhima, resides are as dangerous as they are horrific. Her attitude though, is what makes Umrigar’s characters’ shine. She is full of hope, hard work, sacrifice and selflessness to make ends meet. Her story is proof that determination and wits can alter your life for the better.
Although a few key characters from her first book are in this story, it’s the new relationships that matter. Parvati is a sick, impoverished woman who lives in rock bottom’s basement; yet she still judges others as sadly, many do. I had a hard time liking this woman until later in the book when her story became fleshed out. Both of the books in this series have commentary about class differences. It’s about the grass always being greener, the haves versus the have-nots and learning to accept people for who they are. A fine example is the scene with Bhima and Parvati in the mall.
This book covered a lot of important themes that would make for good discussion. Friendships come and gone, guilt, forgiveness, secrets, education, accepting your past, aids, true love, moving forward, life in India, poverty and homosexuality. I’m glad it took the author twelve years to unleash the sequel rather than rushing one out. You can tell a lot of dedication and time was spent in weaving this book together.
Quotes I liked:
It isn’t the words we speak that make us who we are. Or even the deeds we do. It is the secrets buried in our hearts.”
– “Is it the special curse of women, to keep other people’s secrets and carry their shame? What would happen, she wonders, if all of them…simply put down their loads one day and refused to pick them up again?”
– “There is only one unforgivable sin in this city, and that is the sin of poverty.”
– “At her age, time has stopped flowing in a linear fashion; rather, it ebbs and swirls, creating a whirlpool at its center that on most days swallows her whole. Her yesterdays have lost their bite; it is her todays that come bearing down with fangs and claws that she has to watch out for.”
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