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Rating: 
Summary: Of love and time
Review: I hesitate to write about this extremely rich and powerful collection of stories, because my review cannot do justice to the book, but the other review on this page must not remain the only one. Let's get it right from the start: THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! The author of these stories obviously knows what love is and can convey it in all its horror and its glory. However, these are plain tales not only in that they are told in a completely unpretentious way; Ruth Prawer Jhabvala likes to tell stories which are not outwardly spectacular; she hardly ever mentions the word "love" - maybe the love she describes feels too contorted to call itself love, and yet it is a lot closer to true love than what we know from usual love stories. These narratives manage to tell complete life stories, they show that time always brings pain to people who love: There is the successful Indian businessman who sees his beloved youngest brother turn into a killer; there is the New York real estate agent who never admits that she is in love with her strange flatmate who almost ruins her life; one of my favourites is the young woman in "A Summer by the Sea" whose highly ambiguous -unfulfilled?- marriage nobody understands. Most of the characters in these stories would be regarded as failures by most people, and most of them would themselves agree that they are. They are not even happy. Yet they cannot help being what they are. This is a beautiful book and a wise one. Read it!!
Rating: 
Summary: Letdown
Review: I honestly don't know what all the fuss is about this book. I was bored from the moment I opened it, but of course, I had to finish what I started. The characters had no depth and the storylines went nowhere. It was just like walking in on someone's life for a day or two and realizing that there was nothing special about it. Maybe that was the point, but I was pretty disappointed with the stories.
Rating:
Summary: Unusually Complex and Contrasting Cultures
Review: The dichotomy between two cultures and countries couldn't be revealed more subtlety than as written by this author ... Her stories have unusual themes and are written matter-of-factly .. yet they possess great depth and understanding which is camouflaged in plain words, simple rhetoric. Do *not* let the "apparent" simplicity ...fool you. As the saying goes, 'still waters run deep' ... These stories are immensely rich and deep. The book is divided into two sections, the first, called "East" has six stories from India. The other, called, "Upper East" is devoted to stories from New York and the East coast of the USA. The following are two summaries of stories from India. In the "Expiation", the reader is introduced to a family who were poor but who lived in a developing region of India. Their standard of living improved tremendously as they prospered after starting a business. The odler brother tells us his story, how he loved and cared for his younger sibling ... whose pet name is "Bablu". the "baby" of the family, Bablu ,becomes spoiled and eventually -- reckless. We find out to what depths brotherly love prevails *despite* the irresponsble behavior of the younger sibling. "Farid and Farid", is my favorite story in this section. This happily married, sucessful young Indian couple move to the UK to fulful their dreams. However, life in London does not meet their high expectations. After 15 years, they live in a shabby apartent and are still 'just making it'. They rely on 'loans" from a friend who was from their hometown in India. Although, this male friend was unpopular when growing up at 'home', in the UK he becomes a very wealthy man. Farida can no longer tolerate their squalid living conditions, so, she returns to India, without her husuband. After 20 years of separation, her hsuband, Farid searches for his wife. To his astonishment he discovers her at an ashram, a mountain retreat, where she is receiving visitors from all over India and the world, providing them wisdom and peace. She accepts her hsuband's visit serenely ... as if they were never apart. Next, the Indian business friend from the UK discovers Farida's sucesful venture and tempts her with an offer -- find out what it is. The conclusion to the story is worth reading. Section two, "Upper East" is filled with eight highly diverse human interest stories. The author tells a story simply and elegantly. After completing each story in this section, this reader felt ... as if struck by lightening. The messages in each story leave a huge unexpected impact. They are filled with layers and layers of undiscovered meaning. There are no "warning danger ahead" signs to reveal the unexpcted paths taken by the people in these stories. Just as well, the warnings would not be followed anyway ... In this section, my favorite story "The Temptress". Briefly, two former college room-mates meet an Indian lady who sees to be an ordinairy person. These two friends are seeking meaning and enlightenment in their lives. "Ma", the Indian lady, seems to possess extraordinairy powers to reveal illness, past lives, and predict the future ... One of the young ladies provides Ma a room in her apartment. Ma develops a strong following as she lectures to people about "life". The neighbors flock to this 'spiritual' lady. One needs to read the story to find out how ithis one ends. In summary, Ms Ruth Prawer Jhabvala possesses an unusual ability to tell highly complex stories with elegant simplicity. Her talents are dazzling. People's lives are revealed so gradually, that only after the reader is finished, does the full impact of the unique perspective reealed, fully strike the reader. Even then, it takes several hours to penetrate and realize, just how much complexity was revealed. This book receives my highest praise. Erika Borsos (erikab93)
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