The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar
Ellie and Frank have always had something like a fairy tale marriage. They are deeply in love with each other, and with their little boy, Benny. Then, one night when Frank is away on business in Thailand, Benny gets sick. At first it seems like it isn’t too much of anything, just a low fever that actually abates, so Ellie grabs a couple hours of sleep. Suddenly she wakes up to a terrible rash blooming over Benny’s lovely face. When Frank and Ellie lose Benny, the pretty much lose themselves too, they are no longer sure how to be a family without him, especially in their old town and their old house. Thus, when Frank is offered the opportunity to run his company’s factory in India, Ellie jumps at the chance for them to start over in a new place, but life in India is not the Bollywood movie she thinks it will be.
Oh my gosh, I just want to climb into this book and be carried along by the way that Umrigar makes language flow! Here’s a completely randomly chosen passage, just to show you how lovely her writing is:
The lightning flashed, and he saw her white, slender body for an instant before the darkness carried her away again. She was sitting erect and still, her back pressed against the wooden boards of the swing. But what made Frank’s heart lurch was the look on her face. She sat with her eyes closed, a beatific expression on her face, looking for all the world like one of the Buddha statues they had seen on a recent trip to the Ajanta caves. She seemed to feel none of the agitation, the exciting turmoil, that was coursing through his body. Ellie seemed far away, as distant as the moon he could not see. Slipping away from his hands.
Ah, gorgeous! Umrigar is an incredibly skilled writer, she can take the narration from one character’s head to another from chapter to chapter, maintaining a separate voice for each of them. She even takes one chapter into second person and does it well, which is not easy.
Sometimes those who write well neglect their plot. Not so with Umrigar! Frank and Ellie’s story of loss and coping with the pain in their own lives and the difficulties of moving to a country so unlike their own was captivating. The novel was beautifully structured as well, beginning and ending in their present, with entire flashback sections devoted to their meeting and Benny’s death, both of which added even more to the already well-drawn characters.
Loved it. Want to read her entire backlist.
Thrity Umrigar will be on Blog Talk Radio with Book Club Girl on February 23, 2010 at 7:00 pm Eastern.
Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.
I read this book as part of a TLC Book Tour. Check out some of the other tour hosts for more reviews. Links go to the host’s site, not to their specific review.
Monday, February 1st: Literary Feline
Wednesday, February 3rd: Devourer of Books
Thursday, February 4th: Red Lady’s Reading Room
Tuesday, February 9th: Savvy Verse & Wit
Thursday, February 11th: Peeking Between the Pages
Monday, February 15th: Lit and Life
Wednesday, February 17th: Raging Bibliomania
Thursday, February 18th: Booksie’s Blog
Tuesday, February 23rd: BookNAround
Wednesday, February 24th: Dreadlock Girl Reads
Thursday, February 25th: Book Chatter
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I saw Wendy’s review of this one as well. It seems incredibly heavy, and while that is OK, you definitely have to be prepared for such a read. Still you didn’t even mention it, which tells me the writing was so incredible it didn’t bother you. That says alot!
On a totally different note, I’m getting a little annoyed with the fact that my Monday post is still showing up as my last post here (and also on other blogs). I don’t know why this is happening! Anyway, I did have posts yesterday and today!
.-= Sandy´s last blog ..Monday Movie Meme – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly =-.
Wow. If this wasn’t BLOB month, I’d be buying this book right now. From Ann Arbor to India and sorrow to peace — sounds like one to add to my wish list.
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Let the BLOB Game Begin! =-.
This sounds incredible. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book set in India. The passage that you shared was absolutely exquisite!
I’ve read a ton of great reviews. I’m still considering this one for a future book club! I have read a few of her older ones and they are all beautiful!
I’m so excited to read this is so good! I’ll be reading it for Book Club Girl’s interview with the author. I’m really looking forward to it.
Ooh, so many good things you mention about this book! Between you and Swapna, I am watching this author.
Sounds like a great book! I’m going to add it to my tbr list.
This is my next book to read. I had high expectations for it; looks like I will not be disappointed!
I’m also on the tour for this book and cannot wait to get into it.
You know how much I love, love, love Thrity Umrigar, so I’m so glad you loved this book!
.-= S. Krishna´s last blog ..LOST: LA X, Parts 1 and 2 =-.
That passage is amazing. Adding this to my list as I type.
Quite the glowing review! I’ve been seeing a lot about Umrigar lately, I simply must get my hands on one of her books.
.-= A Bookshelf Monstrosity´s last blog ..Waiting on Wednesday: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand =-.
Between you and Swapna, I can’t help but want to go out and buy all of Umrigar’s books!
Shortly after this book was posted for TLC I found a copy at the Library… sitting waiting for me to read it! I loved this book, everyone should read it. The ending…. WOW.
http://www.bookwormwithaview.com/2010/01/review-weight-of-heaven.html
How did this book fly under my radar? It looks so good to me and you wrote a great review.I hope the teetering TBR pile doesn’t fall as I add this to the top!
This is the second gushing review I’ve read for this book in a few days. It’s going on my wish list. Thanks!
Jen, you make this book sound so fantastic! I can’t wait to read it. Thanks for being on this tour!
I’ve never heard of this author before – I definitely won’t pass her over now that I’ve read your review!
This sounds like a really great book.
This book sounds fantastic. I’m putting it on my wish list for this year… actually, I’ll use it for the South Asian Book Challenge I’ve signed up for.
Just hope the book is available in Australia.
.-= Desert Book Chick´s last blog ..Dead Secret – Beverly Connor =-.
Wasn’t this book wonderful? I’ve read three books by Thrity Umrigar up to this point and loved each one of them. I have another sitting in my TBR pile (If Today be Sweet, I think it’s called) and can’t wait to get to it.
We read this book for my book club. Do not miss this book. It is one of the best I have read. We will be discussing this book next week and I’m sure it will be a great discussion as was The Space Between Us by the same author.