Of Marriageable Age by Sharon Maas : A Review

BOOK TITLE: Of Marriageable Age

AUTHOR: Sharon Maas

ISBN/ASIN: 9788175993129

GENRE: Fiction

NUMBER OF PAGES: 520

FORMAT: Paperback

SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I thank Fingerprint! publishers for this review copy

SUMMARY:

A magical story of forbidden love, spanning three continents and three decades. Set against the Independence struggles of two British colonies, Of Marriageable Age is ultimately a story of personal triumph against a brutal fate, brought to life by a colorful cast of characters . . . 

Savitri, intuitive and charismatic, grows up among the servants of a pre-war English household in the Raj. But the traditional customs of her Brahmin family clash against English upper-class prejudice, threatening her love for the privileged son of the house. 

Nataraj, raised as the son of an idealistic doctor in rural South India, finds life in London heady, with girls and grass easily available… until he is summoned back home to face raw reality. 

Saroj, her fire hidden by outward reserve, comes of age in Guyana, South America. When her too-strict, orthodox Hindu father proves to have feet of clay she finally rebels against him... and even against her gentle, apparently docile Ma. But Ma harbours a deep secret… one that binds these three so disparate lives and hurtles them towards a truth that could destroy their world.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

The first reaction I had when I first held the book in my hands was a skeptical look at its length. The summary sounded promising, and a casual turning of the pages gave me more hope. The printing and the fonts were clear. I took a lot of time to actually begin reading this story. But once I began, thankfully, the story drew me in so I could finish it quicker than I imagined.

REVIEW:

Whenever a book spans more than a few decades in its timeline, it should give constant reminders about the current timeline. When a book is written about more than a few central characters (no matter what form of narrative it is in) each character should be given the proper highlighting, and maintain a uniqueness so readers can understand and identify the differences. If a book spans across more than one city / country / continent, the descriptions should be unique and pertaining to that particular country, not missing the nativity of that particular geographical area. If a book combines all three, the work and research that must go into this is astounding. The author has done a commendable job in this area.

Savithri - a Brahmin cook's daughter who falls in love with the employer's son, Nat, an aspiring doctor, and Saroj are the three main characters this book follows. Set in India, Europe and South America, the book alternates between these three places and three decades. There is a relationship, a common link that connects these three people and that is revealed only after the better part of the book is over. The stories are taken forward almost independently until they merge together. There is an underlying current of suspense and a suspicion that each character is not what it seems to be.

The book tackles issues of arranged marriage and the freedom given to children to choose their life partners, casteism, classist differences, racism and has strong women characters. Most often, I had to keep reminding myself I was reading a book set five to seven decades ago. The narrative is gripping enough. The descriptions are life like, the scenes evenly spaced and the current of suspense making sure the reader keeps turning the pages. But the length is a huge turn off, even for three stories fused into one. The detailing justifies it only to a little bit.

Strong dialogues are an added plus. The characters are deep, complex and make the reader want to root for them. Savitri's forbidden love, Saroj trying to have a say in finding her own life partner and each central character having their own stories and thoughts that seamlessly merge towards a common focal point. The narrative, though shifting between various timelines and geographically diverse areas, still manages to make sense if the character is remembered. The writing is very descriptive and takes the reader to the described scene.

Overall a good book once you get past the apparently huge length. Thoughtful and clean writing.

WHAT I LIKED:

• The descriptions add pages to the story but are effective in drawing the reader into the story.
• The climax neatly wraps everything up - even though it seems too tidy, it gives an odd sense of satisfaction. The fact that no loose ends remained after such a long narrative is applaudable.
• I loved the strong dialogues - some of which were very memorable, and of course thought provoking

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

• The timelines could have been added with the character names at the beginning of chapters so reader is less confused by constantly shifting between the three different decades
• The length (with rich, detailed descriptions though) would deter some casual readers
• Some twists gave a more dramatic, 'oh, come on!' feel than the thud in the stomach that was the expected reaction.

VERDICT:

A detailed, geographically diverse love saga. If you have the patience with long books, don't miss this!

RATING: 3.5/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sharon Maas was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1951, and spent many childhood hours either curled up behind a novel or writing her own adventure stories. Sometimes she had adventures of her own, and found fifteen minutes of Guyanese fame for salvaging an old horse-drawn coach from a funeral parlor, fixing it up, painting it bright blue, and tearing around Georgetown with all her teenage friends. The coach ended up in a ditch, but thankfully neither teens nor horse were injured. Boarding school in England tamed her somewhat; but after a few years as a reporter with the Guyana Graphic in Georgetown she plunged off to discover South America by the seat of her pants. She ended up in a Colombian jail, but that's a story for another day.

In 1973 she travelled overland to India via England, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. After almost two years in an Indian Ashram she moved to Germany, got an education, got a job, got married, had children, and settled down. She still lives in Germany after three and a half decades, but maintains close ties and great love for both India and Guyana; and, somewhat reluctantly, for England.

Her first novel, Of Marriageable Age, was published in 1999 by HarperCollins, and is set in India, Guyana and England. Two further novels, Peacocks Dancing and The Speech of Angels, followed.

Sharon will soon be entering the digital world with the e-publication of Of Marriageable Age through the Women's Fiction publisher Bookouture -- revised, and with a brand new cover.

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback, Digital, Audio

PRICE Rs. 245 for Paperback

BOOK LINKS: Amazon