When I wrote my review of Thrity Umrigar's The Weight of Heaven, many of you commented that you liked The Space Between Us even better. Then several of you mentioned that you'd be interested in doing a readalong so, without further ado, I present "Thrity Thursdays," a readalong of "The Space Between Us."The synopsis of the book from the Barnes and Noble website:
Each morning, Bhima, a domestic servant in contemporary Bombay, leaves her own small shanty in the slums to tend to another woman's house. In Sera Dubash's home, Bhima scrubs the floors of a house in which she remains an outsider. She cleans furniture she is not permitted to sit on. She washes glasses from which she is not allowed to drink. Yet despite being separated from each other by blood and class, she and Sera find themselves bound by gender and shared life experiences.I didn't want to drag this out for too many weeks, so I broke the book down into five parts of about 60 pages and, coincidentally, there are five Thursdays in July. Here's the breakdown:
Sera is an upper-middle-class Parsi housewife whose opulent surroundings hide the shame and disappointment of her abusive marriage. A widow, she devotes herself to her family, spending much of her time caring for her pregnant daughter, Dinaz, a kindhearted, educated professional, and her charming and successful son-in-law, Viraf.
Bhima, a stoic illiterate hardened by a life of despair and loss, has worked in the Dubash household for more than twenty years. Cursed by fate, she sacrifices all for her beautiful, headstrong granddaughter, Maya, a university student whose education — paid for by Sera — will enable them to escape the slums. But when an unwed Maya becomes pregnant by a man whose identity she refuses to reveal, Bhima's dreams of a better life for her granddaughter, as well as for herself, may be shattered forever.
Post Date ChaptersIf you'd like to join us, just leave a comment and I'll add you to the list.
July 1 Chapters 1-6
July 8 Chapters 7-11
July 15 Chapters 12-15
July 22 Chapters 16-20
July 29 Chapters 21-25
This looks really good! Unfortunately I've made too many commitments already to other readalongs or I'd join. But I really look forward to reading what you all come up with - I love not only doing readalongs, but reading the different posts, because they ARE so different in spite of being on the same material.
ReplyDeleteI read this a few years ago, but just wanted to say how much I LOVED it! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteCount me in Lisa! I've wanted to read this for ages and this is the perfect opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI'm game!! Now I'm off to request a copy from my library!! This should be fun!
ReplyDeleteSign me up too please. I just got a notice yesterday that my copy is ready at the library. Thank you for hosting this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting - I have this book on my shelf and in the plans for this year so the timing is perfect!
ReplyDeleteI'm new to the book blogging world, but I'd like to give it a try!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to see if I can get a copy of this and join. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a little late but I would still like to join you for the readalong. II am reading the book now and should be caught up by Thursday!
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