Bombay Time: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Rusi Bilimoria glanced at his watch for the fifth time..." (more)
Key Phrases: Wadia Baug, Jimmy Kanga, Soli Contractor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The middle-class denizens of a Bombay apartment complex come to life in Umrigar's engaging debut, which tells the story of a half-dozen protagonists through the prism of a wedding hosted by respected lawyer Jimmy Kanga. Kanga's rise to glory is just one of several intriguing subplots. The novel begins with the story of Rusi and Coomi Bilimoria, a couple whose marriage becomes frayed when Rusi's business plans don't match his expectations and Coomi's mother-in-law turns out to be a live-in nightmare. Other interesting yarns include that of Dosamai, a bright young woman who, after her parents force her to marry down to ensure the future of her sisters, eventually turns into the local gossip. The neighborhood drunk, Adi Patel, also has a tale to tell involving a tragic interlude with the daughter of a laborer that effectively ruins his life, and the widow Tehmi Engineer takes an analogous road to ruin when her handsome husband, Cyrus, is killed in an explosion at a chemical plant. Umrigar is an accomplished, natural storyteller who remains an optimistic narrator despite all her grim plot twists, though she never softens the impact of the various tragedies on her characters. She also manages to work in a portrait of the decline of Bombay, delivering an impressive debut offering a glimpse into a cultural world especially that of the Parsis, an ethnic minority that most Westerners know only in its barest outlines. Regional author tour. (July)Forecast: Despite the rather drab cover design, this title should find a modest audience among readers of literary fiction and fans of other Indian writers.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A native of Bombay and a journalist for the Akron-Beacon Journal in Akron, OH, Umrigar presents a startling contemporary portrait of life in a Bombay apartment house whose residents are mostly Parsis. The book focuses on middle-aged Rusi Bilimoria, one of several residents, who made some questionable choices early in life and must live with the fallout. Now, even as the entire building celebrates the marriage of one resident's son, Rusi finds his own marriage falling apart. This debut shows that lives are always a work in progress: one never really arrives but is constantly traveling. In the tradition of Rohinton Mistry and Bapsi Sidhwa, Umrigar poignantly explicates the dwindling Parsi community, which does not feature prominently in current South Asian fiction. A wonderful addition to both public and academic libraries for its contribution to the emerging Third World voice in literature. Michelle Reale, Elkins Park Free Lib., PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 271 pages
• Publisher: Picador (July 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312286236
• ISBN-13: 978-0312286231
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,940 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a charming and sensitive novel, June 24, 2002

By	Simon Cross (RUSTINGTON, West Sussex. United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bombay Time: A Novel (Hardcover)

In Bombay Time, Thrity Umrigar focusses on a small neighbourhood community of Parsi Indians. All share a common bond for the apartment block that they share, and a common bond of heritage and religion.On the face of it, the characters all have a reasonably high standard of living, but Umrigar scratches the surface to guide us to the real hearts of the characters.

The starting point for this exploration is the tail end of a wedding reception for the son of one of the couples, when the only guests left are those that have grown old together. The groom, Mehernosh, has grown up in the company of all the favoured guests, and has surprised most of them by returning to Bombay after studying law in the US. Each successive chapter concentrates on one or two of the reception guests, and reflects upon formative incidents in their lives. These incidents may have left them physically or mentally scarred, but all have grown through their pain into new more fully-fledged people.

For the final two chapters, all the characters are brought together to share joy and fleeting pain, and all again finish the evening wiser than they started. Although very much in the background, the city of Bombay too develops its character as the novel progresses.

Umrigar writes beautifully and sensitively, and I recommend highly this delicate and thoughtful novel.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fairly interesting, but..., October 12, 2004

By	n.rivot (Rockville, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bombay Time: A Novel (Hardcover)

Some of the characters are interesting and come to life. However, there is a tendency to purple prose (one of the characters hears the sound of his heart breaking), too many cute little Indian phrases, and the occasional howler: as an example, "valorized"(!) instead of "valued". There is no real story, just a series of vignettes. This author just is not in the class of Rohinton Mistry, S. Taroor, or Jhumpa Lahiri.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Skillful use of words, November 20, 2004

By	Lemas Mitchell "Libertarian/ Empiricist" (Chengdu, Sichuan (China)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bombay Time: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book was good all around. A very light and easy read.

1. It shows us that people seem to like to be miserable wherever they are and at whatever time we choose to observe them. It doesn't seem to depend on anything.

2. The length was neither too long nor too short. Some books just drag on and on and on. In addition to the strong characterizations, the author gave us an idea of the magnitude of poverty in India and the destructive nature of the caste system that people don't seem to want to emerge from no matter how many centuries pass.

3. The characters were very well developed and believable. Again, just enough detail was used-- but not too much. And many of these characters are something that we might imagine having seen in real life.