THE WORLD WE FOUND: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE WORLD WE FOUND

BY THRITY UMRIGAR

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The acclaimed author of The Space Between Us and The Weight of Heaven returns with a breathtaking, skillfully wrought story of four women and the unbreakable ties they share.

As university students in late 1970s Bombay, Armaiti, Laleh, Kavita, and Nishta were inseparable. Spirited and unconventional, they challenged authority and fought for a better world. But much has changed over the past thirty years. Following different paths, the quartet drifted apart, the day-to-day demands of work and family tempering the revolutionary fervor they once shared.

Then comes devastating news: Armaiti, who moved to America, is gravely ill and wants to see the old friends she left behind. For Laleh, reunion is a bittersweet reminder of unfulfilled dreams and unspoken guilt. For Kavita, it is an admission of forbidden passion. For Nishta, it is the promise of freedom from a bitter fundamentalist husband. And for Armaiti, it is an act of acceptance, of letting go on her own terms even if her ex-husband and daughter do not understand her choices.

In the course of their journey to reconnect, Armaiti, Laleh, Kavita, and Nishta must confront the truths of their lives—acknowledge long-held regrets, face painful secrets and hidden desires, and reconcile their idealistic past and their compromised present. And they will have to decide what matters most, a choice that may just help them reclaim the extraordinary world they once found.

Exploring the enduring bonds of friendship and the power of love to change lives, and offering an unforgettable portrait of modern India—a nation struggling to bridge economic, religious, gender, and generational divides—The World We Found is a dazzling masterwork from the remarkable Thrity Umrigar. 

PRAISE FOR THE WORLD WE FOUND:

“The World We Found is stunning in its credibility and nuance. . . . This is a novel that rewards reading, and even re-reading. The World We Found is a powerful meditation.”

— Boston Globe

“Luminous. . . . Wise and absorbing, Umrigar’s novel has the rich, chaotic vibrancy of a Mumbai marketplace.”

— People

“Asparkling and sharp slice of life.”

— Nina Sankovitch, Huffington Post

“The World We Found is absorbing and resonant.”

— Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Umrigar renders a vivid portrait of modern-day India as she meditates upon the power of friendship, loyalty, and love. Like her previous works, The World We Found is eloquent and evocative, bitter and sweet.”

— Booklist (starred review)

“There’s ample discussion to be had here on the topics of family, friendship, religion and marriage. Umrigar is a lively storyteller. The women are sympathetic characters, their relationships fully realized and deeply felt. . . . Umrigar’s evocative world is one worth finding, indeed.”

— Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Absorbing. . . . A rewarding novel.”

— Publishers Weekly

“A storyteller through and through, Umrigar ensures that her characters face up to the costs and consequences created by their choices, right or wrong, principled or unprincipled.”

— Washington Post 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Thrity Umrigar is the author of three other novels—The Space Between Us, If Today Be Sweet, and Bombay Time—and the memoir First Darling of the Morning. A journalist for 17 years, she is the winner of the Nieman Fellowship to Harvard University and a 2006 finalist for the PEN/Beyond Margins Award. An associate professor of English at Case Western Reserve University, Umrigar lives in Cleveland. 

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

Thrity Umrigar’s THE WORLD WE FOUND is the story of four women who have been friends since their years together back in college in Bombay in the 1970s. Over the years, each woman has made choices and their lives have gone in different directions. Even with these different paths, their relationship with each other has stood firm. When Armaiti, who now lives in America, finds she is terminally ill, she realizes how even more precious time is and urges her friends to come together. This is not as easy as it sounds as Umrigar describes how each woman’s life is in a much different place from the others. The narrative explores the burden that each woman is facing and where the years have taken them. They also realize the sacrifices they will make in order to fulfill their friend’s request.

Thrity Umrigar has written a beautiful novel where readers are taken into the hearts and minds of the well developed characters.  Their choices and the culture they come from illustrate how it changes who each of these women were at one time.  These are characters that will stay with you long after you finish the book.

 GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO DANIELLE AND THE FINE FOLKS

AT HARPER COLLINS, I HAVE ONE COPY OF 

THIS WONDERFUL BOOK TO GIVE AWAY

TO ONE VERY LUCKY WINNER

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THE WORLD WE FOUND AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: GO TO THRITY UMRIGAR'S WEBSITE HERE AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING THERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY TO RECEIVE EXTRA ENTRIES

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE WITH THE LINK THAT I CAN FOLLOW.

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY FROM MY BLOG THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE CURRENT GIVEAWAY, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY ON EACH TO RECEIVE EXTRA ENTRIES

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, MARCH 10

GOOD LUCK!