Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The Folded Earth; Anuradha Roy


Author:  Anuradha Roy
Publication Year: 2012
Publisher: Free Press
Edition: trade softcover
Setting: Himalayan mountains
Source: publisher
Date Completed: August/2012
Rating: 3.5/5
Recommend: yes


When Maya, a young Hindu woman, marries Michael, a Christian who her father disapproves of, her relationship with her family is severed. Michael was a professional photographer who claimed the mountains were in his blood, and his love for the mountains were as deep as the love he had for his wife.  However just six years into their marriage, Michael dies in a mountaineering accident, and Maya finds herself all alone.

She decides to move to Ranikhet a village high in the mountains, the place her husband so loved.  There she finds a job teaching at a Christian school and tries to get on with her life.  Bonding with her landlord and neighbors, she also forms a special relationship with Charu, a shy young peasant girl who had become a student at her school.  Despite this, all is not peaceful around her new village.  Both religious and political tensions upset the calm and peacefulness of the mountains, and pose a threat to the Christian school as well.

I loved the cover of this book -- so beautiful, and the setting, the Himalayas, was a locale I haven't been transported in a long long while, that seemed especially magical at times.  I was surprised that the book took me longer to finish than I expected. Although the writing is beautiful, the story itself never fully engaged me. In fact, except for the eccentric scholar, which provided for some brief humor, the characters weren't all that memorable for me. Despite this, I would still like the read the author's earlier book, The Atlas of Impossible Longing.

6 comments:

  1. I read this a while ago and also found it good. The story of survival is always very interesting.

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  2. With a story that never engaged you and characters that weren't memorable, I think it really does say something about the writing that you were still able to give this one a 3.5.

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  3. Sounds like a lovely story. I had no idea she had written another book.

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  4. I haven't heard much about this book, but I did get it in for review, and your review on it makes me curious. I do think the setting sounds impressive, but I am sad that it was ultimately forgettable. I will have to see what I think.

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  5. I have this book to read -- I love the cover and premise -- but I'm warier now having read you didn't connect with it -- disappointing!

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  6. I have Atlas but haven't read it. Like Audra I like the premise of the story so it's a shame it didn't quite click for you.

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