Six Days in Bombay- Alka Joshi
This was a book I chose for its exotic setting and promise of mystery and travel. Sona is a nurse in India in the 1930s. Her father was British and deserted her and her Indian mother when Sona was very young. Sona struggles to fit into society never feeling comfortable as anything other than Indian, but Indian society doesn’t completely accept her. One day a very famous Indian artist arrives on her ward and Sona is quickly dazzled by her. Mira Novak is everything Nona isn’t. Outgoing, beautiful, charming, and talented, Mira captivates everyone who crosses her path. She’s also half-Indian but wears it with a confidence Sona can only marvel over. Unexpectedly, Sona becomes a close friend and confidante of the famous artist.
After some tense moments dealing with Mira’s health, the doctors believe she will make a full recovery. And then suddenly, Mira is found dead and as her nurse, Sona is implicated in her death. The hospital believes a terrible mistake was made with her medications, but Sona is certain she had nothing to do with it. Dismissed from her job, Sona finds that Mira has left a note for her to distribute several of her paintings to friends. Sona, who has never been out of Bombay, finds herself hitting the road to deliver Mira’s gifts and try to understand why she’s been entrusted with this role and perhaps solve Mira’s death. Mira travels to Istanbul, Paris, Prague, Florence, and London. She learns how complicated Mira’s life was and gains deep insight into the many sides of Mira she never witnessed. All along, Sona gains confidence and a better understanding of who she wants to be outside of the long shadow cast by this friendship. In London, she searches for her father and resolves her unsettled feelings about him. Upon returning home, she finds the answer to how Mira really died.
This is one of those books that I found enjoyable but not in a category of exceptional. There were some interesting things going on in the background of Sona’s life that may have made it more exciting. There are references made to Gandhi and the Independence movement in India at this time, but it never accounted for a significant role in the book. There are also hints at traditional Indian women’s roles and Sona’s rejection of them but again, it doesn’t form an important part of the book. The travel aspect of the book could have been fun, but the writing lacked the detail that makes good travel writing. Some of the characters presented in the book are really well done and that’s probably the author’s strong suit.
Follow Me to Africa- Penny Haw
In this novel, we travel to the plains of the Serengeti where two women meet and share an unlikely friendship. The author splices together two timelines of the two women throughout the book. In one of the timelines, we follow the life of the famous paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey and in the other we meet a 17-year-old modern teenager, Grace, who in 1983 struggles with many of the same issues Mary once did.
This is a work of historical fiction where Mary Leakey’s life was researched and presented alongside a fictional account of her in her later years meeting a troubled teen who in many ways resembles her former self. Can Mary give this young girl the counsel she requires? The kind of advice she never got. The two women bond over the unexpected arrival of a hand-raised cheetah who has been released into the wild but isn’t doing well. Mary gives Grace responsibility for the animal and allows her to make her own mistakes, all things that allowed Mary to become the woman she would become. Mary recognizes that Grace needs to make her own way and discover her own feelings about being away from home.
I loved the chapters in this book that read like a biography of Mary Leakey’s life. She was a trailblazer for women during a time when women didn’t do science, have a career, or venture out into the wilds. Those chapters are vivid and give us insight into what it took to build the diligent scientist she became. We also get a glimpse of her personal life and how it shaped her career. The chapters with Grace are more stilted and contrived. I enjoyed those less and skimmed parts of those. This author excelled at description and setting while some of the character building might have been stronger. Of the two books, I liked this one better probably because the subject matter was more compelling for me and the adventure scenes were written in a vivid and compelling way. It’s hard to beat Mary stumbling on a full-grown lion or making some of the important finds she makes at Olduvai.
BOOKS MAKE GREAT GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS!
My Books to Hit the Road:
ellisnelson 