Ahoy. Did you watch the Queen’s funeral today? Wow we had it on, which is saying something since my husband and I have been away this past week with the dogs at Kootenay Lake outside of Nelson, BC. It’s a beautiful area (just about four hours north of Spokane, Washington) and has been a perfect getaway from our house being on the market and the current destruction of our street going on back home. The City is putting in new pipes apparently, but the timing couldn’t be worse. So it’s been a great time to flee.
We had planned this trip back in the spring and it’s worked out well. Is there anything better than a fall (or almost fall) getaway? Probably not. The air feels clear and cool. And a heavy rainstorm seems to have squelched the smoke from the wildfires for the time being. We are enjoying some walks and bike rides around the area and have watched the Kokanee salmon do their spawning in the creeks. The bears are out and about, but we have mostly steered clear of them, though one left paw prints on the deck overnight and the dogs didn’t even wake up. I guess they are too tired from all their swimming. And now I’ll leave you with reviews of what I finished lately.
On Java Road by Lawrence Osborne / Hogarth Press / 256 pages / 2022
This novel is set in Hong Kong around 2019 during the time of the civil unrest, protestors, and the Chinese crackdowns, which adds a large intrigue factor. The story follows Adrian Gyle, a British reporter in his 50s living on Java Road, who’s been in Hong Kong 20 years, as he finds his career on the way down and crosses paths with his old Cambridge friend Jimmy Tang, the son of one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest families. They are socioeconomically very different — Adrian was a scholarship boy in college from a place no one had heard of and Jimmy rich and foreign, but they bonded over their studies of Chinese poetry and language.
These many years later their friendship still includes a complex, enticing exchange of banter, privilege, and class, and at first you don’t know where the story’s headed. There’s a tense atmosphere on the streets of Hong Kong as those, like Adrian, side with the young pro-democracy protestors and others, like Jimmy’s billionaire family, with the Chinese authorities wanting to put them down. Either way, many like Jimmy, see these protestors on a suicide mission and that revolution will never happen there in a hundred years.
Then Jimmy, who’s married, gets secretly involved with a 23-year-old-whip-smart protestor Rebecca To, whose wealthy family the Tangs have long known. Adrian also seems drawn to Rebecca, and you wonder if he will get involved with her, but then Jimmy’s affair with Rebecca suddenly gets exposed and she goes missing. Soon Adrian begins trying to find her and to investigate if Jimmy had anything to do with her disappearance.
It’s an intricate, slow-burn story that poses questions about their friendship, trust, and life in Hong Kong. This was my first novel by this author and I was impressed by how much the Hong Kong setting and the main character’s struggle to keep a moral compass become apart of the story. You have to be a bit patient letting it meander and unwind where it wants – but those who like foreign-based novels with some intrigue I think will be well-rewarded in the end. I was caught up in it and hope to read more of Osborne’s books set in other far-flung places. Currently he’s based in Bangkok and seems like one of smartest novelists we have writing today.
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar / Morrow / 336 pages / 2006
Whoa. Author Thrity Umrigar is always a wonderful storyteller but man her novels can have a lot of very hard and sad things happen in them that will slice you open and leave you to bleed. I have read two prior to this that include: The Story Hour and Everybody’s Son. This one, which came out back in 2006, was no exception. I listened to the audio for a book club discussion, and sometime I will go on to read her 2018 sequel The Secrets Between Us, which I’m sure will leave me another incomprehensible mess.
Umrigar’s stories have a way of accentuating the cruel inequalities between people and comparing their worlds. In this novel, Bhima is a 65-year-old illiterate servant to an upper-class Parsi woman named Sera Dubash in Bombay, India. They both have girls that are pregnant — but Bhima’s granddaughter Maya (who she has raised) is unwed and has brought shame upon her house. She was the first to be attending college in her family (thanks to Sera paying for her) and now this catastrophe has happened and she has had to drop out.
Sera’s daughter Dinoz, on the other hand, is newly married to Viraf and they are expecting soon. During the crisis over Maya’s dilemma, both Bhima, who has always been poor, and Sera reflect back on their family misfortunes and tough marriages, which turn out to be not good. In fact their husbands and other males in the novel are humans that will make you want to twist their necks in two … they are terrible and the source of much misery. But Bhima and Sera persevere and rely on one another over the years, and Bhima and Maya become like family to Sera’s even though they are not in the same class. Their trust seems firm.
Then towards the end Bhima learns something that rocks her world and will have repercussions far and wide. It’s a twist that I didn’t exactly see coming but then wasn’t too surprised by it either. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire so to speak. So the novel ends soon after with a rift that hopefully will be resolved in the sequel.
The storytelling and writing in this one are excellent and the author really gets into both of the women’s shoes, alternating chapters and scenes from their viewpoints. I felt for both of them and liked both. The book made me see that India is well behind in women’s rights, but sadly it’s a story that can still happen anywhere.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read these books or authors and if so, what did you think?
I’ve had Umrigar’s books on my TBRs for a long time now. But I keep hearing how gut-wrenching they are and I haven’t been wanting to feel those feelings…But I really need to read this one. It’s been on the list for so long. Love that you loved it.
I’m so happy you were able to get away from it all for a bit. The pics are gorgeous. How scary about a bear paw print…yikes!
Hope you have a lovely week.
Thanks Heather for stopping by. Yeah this area is nice! Wish we could stay longer. I need a break after an Umrigar novel, a bit bleak but to the heart. Perhaps a happy story now. I will stop by your site to see if you did the hike you were planning. Enjoy!
Your getaway looks amazing. Pipe work and a house for sale is a lot to deal with. Glad you could escape for a bit. I feel very out of touch with everyone these days. I just can’t get into a routine again. Maybe the issue is that I just don’t want to.
Yeah Ti, my blogging has taken a dip this year. Just busy & mind is a bit elsewhere. It’s really good we got away for the week. So nice here and I don’t want to return to construction & a terrible sales market. Hope your work & kids are doing well. I’ll stop by soon. Enjoy the week.
Your holiday sounds absolutely wonderful and now you have me wanting a Fall trip away for some crisp air.
Both books sounds good. Have a great week.
Thanks Helen. It was nice being away. Love the start of fall! Happy reading to you and week.
I’m so jealous! Your getaway looks and sounds wonderful. And the books you reviewed sound like very worthwhile reading. Good luck with the house. I know how disruptive to one’s life selling a house can be, even if one very much wants to do it.
Thanks Dorothy. We need luck with the house. The getaway has been wonderful. Perhaps could’ve used two weeks and not one, but alas we are headed back. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Happy gardening & reading!
Fall getaways are the best! I wish I was on one right now. ;D
The Umrigar novel sounds good; I’ve only read The Story Hour by her, but I loved it. It’s such a beautiful (and sad) story of friendship and forgiveness.
Yeah Lark: The Story Hour was another of her tales that was compelling. She makes her characters feel very real. This fall getaway has been lovely. We are headed back alas. Happy week to you.
Those lake photos take my breath away… what a gorgeous spot! I’ve read a couple of Umrigar’s books and she never disappoints. The Space Between Us is on my shelf in FL, as is her most recent novel, Honor. I’d planned on reading Honor before the end of the year. Fingers crossed!
Thanks JoAnn: this getaway area is truly a scenic special place. I think we will continue to come here in the years ahead. It’s about a 7.5 hr drive away but worth it! And I heard many liked the new Umrigar novel (Honor) but it sounds quite hard/intense in parts. I will take an Umrigar break for now but the three I’ve read of hers have all been very good. She really gets in peoples shoes. Hope you enjoy the fall in CT. Have a great week.
I wanted to watch the Queen’s funeral, but it was early, wasn’t it? I remember getting up in the middle of the night to watch Princess Di’s funeral, crying through the entire thing. I watched a lot of video clips and Instagram stuff about the Queen’s funeral, which looked very moving.
Interesting that you were at Kootenay Lake. While traveling to Glacier National Park, we stopped at the Kootenai Falls in Troy, Montana. The falls were spectacular and I enjoyed my little hike to see them. Yes, a fall getaway is our favorite time to travel. Glacier was busy, but probably no where as busy as the summer months. We’ve had some chilly overnight temps in MT & ID, but today it was 83 in Boise and it’s supposed to be even hotter tomorrow. We had one day of rain (the day we left Missoula) and we are so thankful for the clear skies. When we first arrived in Glacier, it was very hazy. It eventually cleared up a bit, but we could still smell smoke in the air. Did you see the bears in your area or just their tracks? I saw one black bear and one grizzly while in GNP. They were pretty far away and I had hoped to see one a little bit closer, but I’m glad I didn’t encounter any on my hikes! I did see a mountain goat very close to the trail, though. Oh, and lots of marmots!
I’ve only read two books by Umrigar and LOVED The Space Between Us (reviewed here). Like you, I did not see that twist! It’s one that I’d love to read again. I also read The World We Found, but didn’t enjoy it nearly as well as TSBU.
Hope you get an offer on your house in the coming days/weeks!
Thanks Lesley, are you still on the road? When do you get back? Sounds like a great time in Glacier. We almost ran into a bear on one of our last days in BC. We were at a dog park in Castlegar, BC, and there was a big black bear ahead of us but then he saw us & ran away. He was pretty close and surprised me as I wasn’t expecting him there. It’s good you didn’t see a Grizzly too close up. Glad the air cleared for you there. It did for us as well after a big rain storm.
We are back now trying to organize about the new house which we get on Friday. So we are pleased about that. More later. Happy travels.
Yes, we’re still on the road! We start heading home this week and will be back to the Cove next weekend. I’d love to keep traveling, but we have various appointments and commitments, time to get back. This trip sure went fast!
Thrilling and scary to see a black bear unexpectedly, I would think! Good thing he was afraid of you, too.
You must be seeing some great sights on the road. It’s a beautiful time of year. Safe travels back home. It’ll be nice to return to the Cove after time away. Are the fires all out? It looks like Washington state has some. Ugh. take care.
Haven’t seen any sign of fires since the first few days we were in Glacier, thank goodness.
That looks like a beautiful place to stay for a getaway. I’d love to see more of Canada. We’ve only ever visited Toronto.
I’m sorry that things are difficult with your house sale. We thought it was taking forever when we sold our house, but one day just the right person showed up and bought it the same day he saw it.
I like the look and sound of both of the books you read. I just finished Lucy By the Sea, and I’m still floating in a haze that follows the reading of a really good book.
Oh great Deb. So glad you liked the new Strout novel. I have liked the Lucy series too. I guess we have to be patient with the house — thanks for your story about your experience. I’m hoping that happens with us. When we least expect it, maybe it will happen. Keep crossing fingers.
Our getaway was a nice break. And it has stayed with us.
Happy fall to you. & Have a great week.
On Java Road sounds interesting to me. I just reviewed a rom com set in Indonesia, with YA protagonists but a good book for armchair travel to Jakarta and other parts of that country.
Hi Harvee: thanks for stopping by. Some of the Asian settings for books are really luring me these days, whether Hong Kong or Jakarta. I will check out your review. thx for letting me know. Have a nice weekend.
The lake looks beautiful! I am glad you were able to get away for a little while. The Space Between Us was my first introduction to Umrigar’s books and is still my favorite. I haven’t read the sequel yet. On Java Road sounds good as well. I do not do well with meandering books these days, sadly. My head is just not in the right space for them.