31. There's Something About Mira by Sonali Dev

listened on Audible

314 pgs.

2025
Adult CRF, cultural
Finished 7/6/25
Goodreads rating: 4.17
My rating: 5
Setting: contemporary NYC and India

My comments: If I rated this book on how I felt about some of the characters and the situations they created, my rating would be much lower. Oh how I gritted my teeth in places!  Thinking this book would be a light romantic comedy, I discovered I was quite mistaken. There were so many layers in this well-written novel that I loved it more and more as the author divulged new information.  I particularly enjoyed the glimpses of both New York City and of India.  I could see it all through Mira's eyes. Characterization, plot, setting - superbly created.  Highly recommend.

Goodreads synopsis:  From USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev comes the heartfelt story of a woman determined to reunite a lost ring with its owner, who ends up finding herself along the way.

Mira Salvi has the perfect life—a job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she’s always imagined for herself. Really, she hasn’t a thing to complain about, not even when she has to go on her engagement trip to New York alone.

While playing tourist in the city, Mira chances upon a lost ring, and her social media post to locate its owner goes viral. With everyone trying to claim the ring, only one person seems to want to find its owner as badly as Mira journalist Krish Hale. Brooding and arrogant, he will do anything to get to write this story.

As Krish and Mira reluctantly join forces and jump into the adventure of tracing the ring back to where it belongs, Mira begins to wonder if she is in the right place in her own life. She had to have found this ring for a reason…right? Maybe, like the owner of the lost ring, her happy ending hasn’t been written yet either.

Picture Book - The Forest Man: The True Story of Jadav Payeng by Anne Matheson

Illustrated by Kay Widdowson 

found at Amelia Givin Library

2020 FlowerPot Press

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.80 - 60 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers:  Simple.  White with one-inch yellow grid lines.

1^st line/s:  "Jadev Payeng loves trees."

My comments:  Someone called this "a treat for the eyes" and I agree.  How one person took two hours traveling back and forth for forty years to replant and recreate a decimated forest island in India.  The last six pages told of animals, easy-to-follow further facts, and a great glossary.  Perfect for younger classes learning about biomes, or for any age that cares about making the world a better place, and growing trees.

Jadav Payeng

Goodreads:  After years of harsh monsoon seasons, a forest on the river island of Majuli is in danger of being slowly washed away. Jadav, a boy living on the island, is determined to save the forest he loves.

          This is the true story of how one young boy dedicated his life to creating and cultivating an expansive forest that continues to grow to this day. In a world impacted by climate change, Jadav Payeng's inspirational story shows how one person's contributions can make a difference in helping to save our environment.
          Featuring a beautiful arlin paper cover with foil text enhancements and educational back matter including a glossary, fun facts, and resources for further reading, this book introduces a new understanding of our planet and encourages mindfulness and action when it comes to caring for the environment.
          In partnership with Trees for the Future (TREES), each book sold plants a tree.

62. The Color of Our Sky by Amita Trasi

read on my iPhone
2017 William Morrow
419 pgs.
CRF (Flips from 1983 to clost-to-current
Finished 7/6/18
Goodreads rating:  4.16 - 3104 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Bombay, India 1983 to current

First line/s:  "The memory of that moment hit me like a surging ocean wave -- drawing me into it -- the sour smell of darkness, the sobs erupting like an echo from a bottomless pit."

My comments:  Shifting back-and-forth between the past and the present, and told from the points of view of two young women whose lives and destinies are entwined, The Color of our Sky paints a picture of contemporary Bombay that is fascinating, illuminating, and incredibly sad.

Goodreads synopsis:  A sweeping, emotional journey of two childhood friends—one struggling to survive the human slave trade and the other on a mission to save her—two girls whose lives converge only to change one fateful night in 1993.
          India, 1986: Mukta, a ten-year-old girl from the lower caste Yellamma cult of temple prostitutes has come of age to fulfill her destiny of becoming a temple prostitute. In an attempt to escape this legacy that binds her, Mukta is transported to a foster family in Bombay. There she discovers a friend in the high spirited eight-year-old Tara, the tomboyish daughter of the family, who helps her recover from the wounds of her past. Tara introduces Mukta to a different world—ice cream and sweets, poems and stories, and a friendship the likes of which she has never experienced before. As time goes by, their bond grows to be as strong as that between sisters. In 1993, Mukta is kidnapped from Tara’s room. 
          Eleven years later, Tara who blames herself for what happened, embarks on an emotional journey to search for the kidnapped Mukta only to uncover long buried secrets in her own family.
          Moving from a remote village in India to the bustling metropolis of Bombay, to Los Angeles and back again, amidst the brutal world of human trafficking, this is a heartbreaking and beautiful portrait of an unlikely friendship—a story of love, betrayal, and redemption—which ultimately withstands the true test of time.

MOVIE - Victoria & Abdul

PG-13 (1:51)

Wide release 10/6/17

Viewed Sunday, 10/15/17 at Gettysburg Majestic with Claudia

IMBd: 6.9/10

RT Critic:  68  Audience:  72
Critic's Consensus:  Critics Consensus: Victoria & Abdul reunites Dame Judi Dench with the role of Queen Victoria -- which is all this period drama needs to overcome its imbalanced narrative.

Cag:  6/Awesome  5/Loved it  4/Liked it a lot  3/Liked it  2/It was okay  1/Didn’t like it

Directed by Stephen Frears

Focus Features

Based at least partly on a true story, which the Brits hid for many years!

Actors:  Judi Dench, Ali Fazal (and Dumbledore plays the Prime Minister of England!)

My comments:  While watching, although I'd heard that this story is based on fact, I wondered how much.  After getting home I did a little research, and was delighted to find that at least some of the story is based on fact.  The humor included, whether real or not, was excellent.  I discovered that Abdul spends over 10 years with Queen Victoria.  I wish the movie had showed this much passage of time more effectively.  Judi Dench ROCKS!  Ali Fazal, who plays Abdul, is apparently a Bollywood star.  He did a really good job with the role, I enjoyed very much watching his expressive face.  One reviewer summed it up pretty well....it's how joy and humanity are combined that makes it.  How much you think is real and how much is fake is up to the beholder.  It's a good movie no matter which it is!  Recommended.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  The extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's (Academy Award winner Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.

PICTURE BOOK - Sona and the Wedding Game by Kashmira Sheth

Illustrated by Yoshiko Jaeggi

2015, Peachtree, Atlanta

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.62

My rating:4

Endpapers: Pink with intertwined streamers from edge to edge

1^st line/s:  "My grandparents and my ousing have come from India for my sister Nisha-ben's wedding."

My comments:  What a delightful way to explore the customs of another culture and religion!  In this charmingly illustrated story of an older sister's wedding, Sona figures out how to steal the groom's shoes to follow tradition, while the reader learns all sorts of interesting information about an Indian wedding.  It's followed by two very readable Author's Notes pages with more explanation.  Recommended.

Goodreads:  Sona's big sister is getting married and she's been given an important job to do. She has to steal the groom's shoes. She's never attended a wedding before, so she's unfamiliar with this Indian tradition as well as many of the other magical experiences that will occur before and during the special event. But with the assistance of her annoying cousin Vshal, Sona finds a way to steal the shoes and get a very special reward.

11. The Leaving of Things by Jay Antani

read on my Kindle
2013 Bandwagon PRESS
368 pgs.
I would consider it YA, but think it is actually considered Adult - CRF
Finished 2.23.17
Goodreads rating:  3.78 (1871 ratings)
My rating: 4
Contemporary India

First line/s:

My comments:  I actually decided to read this because I love the cover!  For the last dozen years or so, I've had quite a fascination with India, so this novel at this time suited me quite well.  Set in the late 1980s, it reads like a memoir.  Vikram is a young man just graduated from high school who, after living for the last twelve years in Wisconsin, is forced to move back to India with his family.  He doesn't want to.  He has friends, a girlfriend, and college to look forward to.  Back in his native land it is hard to reconcile the American teenager he has become with the oh-so-strange country of his birth.  The story tells of his first year back in India, the homesickness he feels for America, as well as the enlightenment and thrill of new and incredibly different sights, sounds, smells, foods, language, customs, and lifestyle.  This glimpse into modern day (well, almost modern day) India is both fascinating and interesting.

Goodreads synopsis:  Vikram is not your model Indian-American teenager. Rebellious and adrift in late 1980s Wisconsin, he is resentful of his Indian roots and has no clue what he wants from his future—other than to escape his family’s life of endless moving and financial woes. But after a drunken weekend turns disastrous, Vikram’s outraged parents decide to pack up the family and return to India—permanently.
          So begins a profound journey of self-discovery as Vikram, struggling with loneliness, culture shock, and the chaos of daily Indian life, finds his creativity awakened by a new romance and an old camera. His artistic gifts bring him closer to a place and family he barely knew. But a devastating family crisis challenges Vikram’s sense of his destiny, hurtling him toward a crossroads where he must make the fateful choice between India, the land of his soul, and America, the land of his heart

MOVIE - Lion

PG-13 (2:00)

Limited release 11/25/16

Viewed Thursday, 1/12/16 at Midtown Cinema, Harrisburg
IMBd: 7/8/10

RT Critic: 87   Audience:  93
Critic's Consensus:  Lion's undeniably uplifting story and talented cast make it a moving journey that transcends the typical cliches of its genre.

Cag:  5 Loved it

Directed by Garth Davis

Adapted from the book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierly (the protagonist of the movie)

Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman

My comments: This was a wonderful, moving movie.  The first half, about the life of 5-year old Saroo, his mum, brother, and sister, eventually shows how he came to get lost over a thousand miles away from home, in Calcutta, India.  The second half shows Saroo as a 25 year-old adult, his life after adoption in Australia, and the journey he takes to find his family.  Afraid that the parents who adopted him would be hurt, he does not share his intense feelings with them as they get stronger and stronger.  Inner turmoil messes up his relationship with a lovely girl until he decides to face everything and discover where he came from.  Both actors who portrayed Saroo were magnificent, the young Sunny Pawar is TERRIFIC, as is the super Dev Patel.  The settings of India and Tasmania were also gorgeous and brilliant. A tear jerker for sure.
     NOTE:  I recently watched an interview of Dev Patel explaining how he prepared for this role.  What an eloquent, intelligent, gentle young man!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Five-year-old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of Kilometers across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.

PICTURE BOOK - In Andal's House by Gloria Whelan

Illustrated by Amanda Hall

Copyright, publisher

2013 Sleeping Bear Press

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.64 - 28 ratings

My rating: 3.5

1^st line/s:   "Kumar's mother gave him another helping of mango pickle to go with his dal."

My comments:  This lovely picture book includes , along withing the story, lots of information about contemporary India, including the cast system, Diwali (The Festival of Lights) and bits and pieces about food and family and famous people.

Goodreads:  As a young boy in Gujarat, India, Kumar sometimes feels like he lives in two worlds. First there is the old world where people and their choices are determined by prejudice and bigotry. But then there is the second, modern world: in this world Kumar can be friends with whomever he chooses and his future looks bright. As part of the annual Diwali celebration, Kumar is invited to the house of his classmate Andal to watch fireworks. Andal is from a high-caste Brahmin family so Kumar is especially pleased to be included. But there in Andal's house, Kumar's two worlds collide in a very unpleasant way. Instead of being welcomed as a guest, Kumar is sent away, forbidden to join the festivities. Angry and hurt, Kumar is left questioning his place in Indian society. Where does he fit in? To which world does he really belong?

MOVIE - Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

PG (2:02)

Wide release 3/6/15

Viewed 3/17/15 at ElCon

RT Critic: 63 Audience: 67

Cag: 3/Liked it, with reservation

Directed by John Madden

20th Century Fox

Based on the book by

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Richard Gere, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Richard Gere

My comments:  Well.  I was so looking forward to this, I loved the first one so much. But this one was ... different.  It was more depressing, and more stupid.  The addition of Richard Gere was dumb, I was embarrassed for him.  Poor Sonny, the writers made him a dolt for over 50% of the movie The filming in India was great.  There were a few good chuckles, and an Indian wedding has always seemed really cool to me.  Entertaining, but certainly not great.

RT Summary  Now that The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is full up with its long-term residents, co-managers Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) and Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel) have a dream of expansion, and they've found just the place: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. With plans underway, Evelyn and Douglas (Judi Dench and Bill Nighy) venture into the Jaipur workforce, wondering where their regular breakfast dates will lead. Meanwhile, Norman and Carol (Ronald Pickup and Diana Hardcastle) navigate the swirling waters of an exclusive relationship, as Madge (Celia Imrie) juggles two very eligible suitors, and recent arrival Guy Chambers (Richard Gere) finds a muse in Sonny's mother, Mrs. Kapoor (Lillete Dubey) for his next novel. As his marriage to Sunaina (Tina Desai), the love of his life, quickly approaches, Sonny finds his plans for the new hotel making more claims on his time than he has available. Perhaps the only one who may know the answers is Muriel, the keeper of everyone's secrets. As the big day nears, family and guests alike find themselves swept up in the irresistible intoxication of an Indian wedding.​ 

PICTURE BOOK - Vanilla Ice Cream - Bob Graham

Illustrated by the author

2014 Candlewick Press

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.54

My rating: 4

Endpapers: peach with subtle leaf repetitions

Setting:  Contemporary India; over the ocean; then a city of white people

1^st line/s:  "The young sparrow rises from the dust.  He looks down at Annisha and Suhami."

My comments:  This is one clever, adorable book.  Limited words, super illustrations.  Some pages have several boxes to closely examine - sort of a beginning graphic novel.  The whole time you're reading you're thinking ... vanilla ice cream?  This is about a sparrow's journey -- but the cute twist at the end is fun.

Goodreads:  A wild sparrow’s journey sets in motion a toddler’s new experience in Bob Graham’s tale of life’s surprising little turns — and unlikely connections.
          Following some food, a curious young sparrow stows away in the back of a truck and takes an unusual voyage south — through the lush rice paddies of India, across the rough sea, and all the way into a bright new day. As the sun rises high over the city, he finds little Edie at a café with her grandma and granddad, and for a fleeting instant, his world meets up with hers and changes her life in the most delightful way. From the masterful Bob Graham comes an invitation to notice the smallest of moments as they unfold around us, full of unexpected promise.

MOVIE - Hundred-Foot Journey

PG (2:02)

Wide release 8/8/14

Viewed 8/31/2014 at the Ahwatukee 24 in Phoenix (comfiest seats ever!)

RT Critic: 65  Audience: 85

Cag: 4 Liked it a lot

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom

Walt Disney Pictures

Helen Mirren

My comments:  Cute, fun, a taste of India, and a happy ending.  What's not to like?

RT Review:  In "The Hundred-Foot Journey," Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant - the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai. That is, until the chilly chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Academy Award (R)-winner Helen Mirren), gets wind of it. Her icy protests against the new Indian restaurant a hundred feet from her own, escalate to all out war between the two establishments - until Hassan's passion for French haute cuisine and for Mme. Mallory's enchanting sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), combine with his mysteriously delicious talent to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue Saint-Antonin with the flavors of life that even Mme. Mallory cannot ignore. At first Mme. Mallory's culinary rival, she eventually recognizes Hassan's gift as a chef and takes him under her wing. 

MOVIE - Million Dollar Arm

PG (2:04)

Wide Release 5/16/2014

Viewed 7/30/2014 at Kolb cheap theater

RT Critic:  61  Audience:  75

Cag:  5/Loved it! !

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Walt Disney Pictures
Based on a True Story

Jon Hamm, Lake Bell, Alan Arkin, and 3 superb Indian actors

My comments: Okay, I loved this movie for many reasons.  Half of it takes place in India, which I love watching in any way, just to get a glimpse into the culture.  I sure wasn't disappointed. It was about baseball, one of the only sports I can stand watching a movie about.  It was definitely a feel-good movie with a happy ending; always enjoyed by me.  I was totally outside myself for the full two hours and four minutes. There were plenty of guffaws and a few tears in my eye near the end.  Yup, loved it.

Reviews  Based on a true story, Disney's "Million Dollar Arm" follows JB Bernstein, a once-successful sports agent who now finds himself edged out by bigger, slicker competitors. He and his partner Aash (Aasif Mandvi) will have to close their business down for good if JB doesn't come up with something fast. Late one night, while watching cricket being played in India on TV, JB comes up with an idea so radical it just might work. Why not go to there and find the next baseball pitching sensation? Setting off for Mumbai with nothing but a gifted but cantankerous scout (Alan Arkin) in tow, JB stages a televised, nationwide competition called "Million Dollar Arm" where 40,000 hopefuls compete before two 18-year-old finalists, Rinku and Dinesh (Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal), emerge as winners. JB brings them back to the United States to train with legendary pitching coach Tom House (Bill Paxton). The goal: get the boys signed to a major league team. Not only is the game itself difficult to master, but life in the U.S. with a committed bachelor makes things even more complicated-for all of them. While Rinku and Dinesh learn the finer points of baseball and American culture, they in turn teach JB the true meaning of teamwork and commitment. Ultimately, what began as a purely commercial venture becomes something more and leads JB to find the one thing he was never looking for at all-a family.

PICTURE BOOK - Hope is a Girl Selling Fruit - Amrita Das

English text from the Hindi Original by Gita Wolf and Susheel Varadarajan.

Illustrated by the author

2013 Tara Books, India

HC $16.95

32 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.40

My rating: 4/Lovely

Endpapers: Dark Olive

1^st line:  "It all started with my journey to Chennai, to attend a bookmaking workshop.  I had never traveled so far, and I wasn't sure what to expect."

She has written this as a preface of the book:

"I started out not knowing much

certainly not about the outside world.

I could paint, but apart from that

there was not much I could do.

And then it came my way,

that sliver of chance which has

made it possible

for me to do this book.

Life is strange ---

You never know what awaits you."

My comments:  The story is gentle, giving tiny peeks into the lives of three women in contemporary India. The pictures are gorgeous. "Amrita Das paints in the Mithila tradition of fold art which originated from women living in rural communities in the state of Bihar (India)."  She paints in lines of red and black, coloring with two shades of green and I think that's all.  I'm not entirely thrilled with the way that the faces are drawn - a profile view that seems perhaps Grecian- but I guess it works. Beautiful.

Goodreads summary:  "Remarkable. The sparse, simple story feels timeless and universal, and the illustrations are as important to telling the tale as is the text. This is a book to be lingered over and savored." — Debbie Stoller, BUST

          On a train journey to a large city, a young woman notices a very poor girl. Who is she? Where is she going? What does her future hold? Hope Is a Girl Selling Fruit is a gentle, reflective account of a young woman’s thoughts and feelings as she comes into contact with the larger world. The rich imagery takes the story into another realm, inviting the reader to interpret it at many levels. Young Indian artist Amrita Das pushes the boundaries of her traditional art to radical new ends as she muses on women’s mobility, class, and choices.

Books for Kids about India

Picture Books

Shank, Ned - The Sanyasan's First Day (1999)


Chapter Books

Ellis, Deborah - No Ordinary Day (2011)
House, Silas & Neela Vaswani - Same Sun Here (2012)


YA
.

Adult
.

Movies

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Eat, Pray, Love
Slumdog Millionaire

TO FIND/READ:

Picture Books
Out of the Way!  Out of the Way! (Uma Krishnaswami) 2012
The Rumor (Anushka Ravishankar) 2012

Chapter Books/ Emigrating from India to the US (or being Indian and living in the US)

Blue Jasmine (Kashmira Sheth)
The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen (Perkins)
Monsoon Summer (Perkins)
Climbing the Stairs (Padma Venkatraman)

AdultNonfiction/Memoir

A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan (Pazira)
A Good Indian Wife (Cherian)

33. Same Sun Here - Silas House & Neela Vaswani

Candlewick Press, 2011
298 pgs.
for:  Middle Grades
Rating:  Very Good/4

1st Line/s:  "Dear River,  I cannot tell from your name if you are a boy or a girl so I will just write to you like you are a human being."
Setting:  Late 2008 through 2009 NYC and the mountains of Kentucky
OSS:  Meena, an Indian immigrant girl and River, a Kentucky coal miner's son, become penpals and best friends as they share their lives, their problems, and the love of their families with each other.

MOVIE - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Most Excellent Movie!
Limited release 5-4-2012
Viewed Tuesday 5/4/12fvgrge
PG-13 (2:04)
RT: Critics 76 Au/dience 84
cag:  Loved it/5 at El Con alone (I'd gone the week before, 1/2 hour before showtime, and it was completely sold out!)
Director:  John Madden
20th Century Fox

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy

A group of British retirees meet for the first time at the airport in London, departing for what they think will be a snazzy hotel in India that will allow them to live more cheaply than in expensive London.... comfortably.   Dev Patel is the youngest son who is trying to get his father's rundown Marigold Hotel open and back on its feet.  Needless to say, the joint isn't exactly what anyone expected.  But they all bond...in their own ways...and, for the most part, take their new lot in life and go for it.  All the characters are wonderfully portrayed.  It's a rich story in a great setting and I loved every moment of it!

6. No Ordinary Day - Deborah Ellis

2011, Groundwork Books, House of Anansi Press
160 pages
Written for middle grades (however a small caution:  although nothing is ever said outright, at one point Valli is almost sold to a house of prostitution, and she also sees boys disappearing with older men, never to return.  It is subtle, but present.  However, it must be a huge part of life on the streets in a city in India...or anywhere in the world.  But would I share it with my fourth graders?  Hmmmm.)
Rating:  Liked it a lot/4

Setting:  Contemporary Kolkata (Calcutta), India
OSS:  A homeless, orphan Indian girl adapts to life in the streets until she meets...and ultimately trusts....a female doctor.
1st sentence:  The best day in my life was the day I found out I was alone in the world.

Deborah Ellis is amazing.  Valli is homeless and all alone in the world.  She lives on the streets of Kolkata (Calcutta) begging, stealing (she calls it borrowing), practical joking, and finding safe places to sleep.  She is afraid of "the monsters" that she occasionally sees, people who have leprosy, little knowing that she has it, too.  Granted, it's in the beginning stages, but.....  She meets a doctor, a female doctor, in a very believable way, a doctor who recognizes this kid as the smart young lady that she is, and teaches her to trust in a way that she's never understood before.  Short, powerful book.  Valli is so believable...smart and funny and full of amazing questions about everything.

Oh....every bit of royalty from this book goes to a leprosy foundation in Canada (Ellis is a Canadian writer).

44. Small Acts of Amazing Courage - Gloria Whelan

A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster, 2011
HC $15.99
for:  Mid Grades
218 pgs.
Rating:  3.5

In 1919 India, being the daughter of a high-ranking British official gives you wealth, prestige, and power.  In Small Acts of Amazing Courage, Gloria Whelan tells of such a daughter,15-year-old Rosalind James.  Rosy's father has been away a lot, leaving her care to Rosy's mother and a huge household of various Indian servants.  Rosy has grown up with her maid's daughter, loves the bazaar and all things related to India.  Her father greatly forbids her to have anything with the native population.  She's strong headed and disobeys him.  And this leads him to send her to England - for the first time in her life - for a "proper" education, under the care of her two aunts.

The setting goes from privileged life in India to a steamship from Bombay to England, to life in England and back to India again.  Along the way we meet Gandhi and many of his followers and sympathizers, learning about nonviolent protesting and the plight of the Indian people.  We learn a bit about Hinduism, the caste system, and the colonials.  It's an interesting taste, but it's just a taste.  I would have liked a little deeper look into life of this girl.  Where some books are just too long and involved, this one needed a little more.  I love Gloria Whelan's work, and I was a bit disappointed with this one.

MOVIE - Eat, Pray, Love

Gorgeous settings - Rome, India, Bali
Released 8-13-10
PG-13 (2:13)
Wed. 8-25-10 at El Con with great friends I haven't seen in awhile
RT: 38% cag: 70%
Director: Ryan Murphy
from the book by Elizabeth Gilbert (which I kept putting off reading)
Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem

This is the story of a woman searching for herself. She's unhappy in her marriage, leaves her husband, has a fling with a younger man, decides there's something missing there, so takes off for a year in search of herself. Imagine being able to do that! She goes to Italy to eat, India to pray, and in Bali she finds love - and supposedly learns to love herself. She cries her way through the story - lots of glistening tears, a few falling down her cheeks - and I found all I wanted to do was take her by the shoulders, shake her a bit, and say, "Enough, already!"

I loved, loved, loved the setting and the filming. It was the character of Liz that I just didn't like. I couldn't relate to her no matter how hard I tried. She lives her life feeling sorry for herself, always searching for more, more, more. And the casting of Julia Roberts in the main role didn't work for me. It was Julia Roberts playing a part, not Liz Gilbert searching for self.

My three friends all loved it. All had read the book. One liked the movie better. My daughter loved it. I was expecting to, too. I didn't hate it, but I'm sitting here, 12 hours later, disappointed. I wonder what I expected? Ah, life.....

The Sanyasin's First Day - Ned Shank

Illustrated by Catherine Stock
Marshall Cavendish, 1999
32 pages
Rating: 4
Ednpapers: Pumpkin

In my search for books about Africa I came across this book, and had no idea what a SANYASIN was. So I checked it out. Didn't take place in Africa, but it was a good story.

A sanyasin is a holy man in India. He gives away all he owns, counts on people to give him rice, and spends his day praying...and begging for rice, it appears.

The busy Indian marketplace is captured beautifully by Catherine Stock as we meet three others on their "first days" -- a female plumber, male policeman, and female farmer. Their stories cleverly intersect in a satisfying story. however, it's the story the pictures tell that most catch my attention.

Note: As of the book flap, in 1999 Ned Shank was married to author Crescent Dragonwagon. Interesting.