"Sister of my heart" is a wonderful read. I gave it to my mother when I finished it (in one sitting) and she said that it opened her eyes to the travails and troubles Indian women face every day...for me it was romantic, tragic, uplifting yet utterly sad...essentially a beautiful ride.
I didn't guess the quite large twist at the end of the book but my savvy mum did..I guess I was too engrossed to notice something so obvious.
Novels set in India always fill me with the desire to go there..the food, the colors, fabrics, spices, music, religion and beautiful faces fill me with awe and inspiration. I had a friend who went there and she told me afterwards : "Claudia, don't you ever go to India because you will never forget the horrors, you're too much of an empath."
I certainly hope that when I do get there someday I will see everything for what it is and what it is not and hopefully come away with one thirst satisfied...even if it provokes disturbing thoughts.
This book also spurred my mum to say "aren't you glad you were born in America?" , because of the treatment of women as second class citizens in India and the common practice of aborting female babies. I asked her if she would have preferred being born in the USA (as opposed to Germany where she was born and raised) and she said "In my era if you were a butcher's son you could only aspire to be a butcher, that's the way it was in Europe, so I am glad that I came to America when I was 18, I had every chance to be whatever I wanted to be...freedom of choice..but I am still a European girl in my sensibilities, some things you cannot leave behind."
I think that I DO feel grateful to be in a country where women have opportunities and can drive and vote and go outside with male friends, I cannot imagine not having those rights but then again I suppose those women who do not have those rights would not appreciate sympathy from their western sisters. I'm sure that they would prefer action. There are many ways to voice our opposition to things such as female circumcision, stoning, rape, etc. and we all must do that...one voice at a time.
Posts
