13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A ready-made screenplay, December 12, 2004
A rich, colorful explosion of Indian culture spanning from Madras to Demerara, this novel is so vividly told and so skillfully woven that you'll find yourself visualizing the story as you go along, in full color with surround sound, smells and all.
Three children, two countries, three stories, three different decades - separate, yet cohesively bonded into one epic saga.
Nataraj (Nat), plucked from an orphanage in India by a white doctor, is given the chance to receive a good education, and quickly discovers within himself the power of healing.
Sarojini (Saroj) lives a comfortable life in British Guiana, until she encounters racism and hatred, and repeatedly defies her ethnically blinkered father, having recognized inner beauty in other people despite external appearances.
Savitri is a cook's daughter from Madras, the central character of the book, who despite her strict Indian family, manages to tie herself to the white family who employs her father, leading to a heart-rending sequence of unfortunate events.
Flitting like a butterfly between the three stories, the author explores deep, dark issues of humanity, but these are not permitted to consume the story, as they are beautifully counterbalanced by love and respect, by breathtakingly descriptive passages and exotic settings.
It's a period piece, a geography lesson, a mystery, a tragedy, a drama, a soap opera, but most of all a love story, not only for the central characters, but for the author to pay tribute to two countries that have made their mark in her heart.
If you like sweet, sappy love stories, or rich Indian culture and tradition, or even if you just liked the movie "Monsoon Wedding", this book is highly recommended for you.
Amanda Richards December 12, 2004
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Intricate Tapestry, June 30, 2002
When speaking of the book Of Marriageable Age by Sharon Maas it is difficult not to use such words as tapestry, intricate and woven. Each thread of the story seems to be woven in such a way as to create an intricate tapestry which presents a delicate picture of the lives of the characters in this book. It is true that author Sharon Maas believes that there exists a grand scheme to our lives and that if we are sensitive to, in her words "the magnetism" we will indeed benefit. This belief is aptly demonstrated in the book.
The setting for the book is on three continents, India in Asia, Guyana in South America and Britain in Europe and the time span is from the 1920's through the 1960's. The main characters are tied to each other in intricate and mysterious ways. The older generation who grew up in India, are David, an English boy and Savitri, daughter of his servants and the younger generation, Saroj a young girl of Indian descent growing up in Guyana and Nat, an Indian orphan. For those of us who came of age in the 1960's in the United States it is interesting to see that people of other countries and cultures were dealing with similar issues at that time. For Saroj, a young woman from Guyana and Nat, a young man from Indian the issues of rebellion and independence from the older generation were part of their struggle for maturity.
Saroj grows to adulthood nurturing a hatred for her father who she feels is all things evil and who wants to control her and subjugate her. When she is a young teenager he arranges a marriage for her, which she desperately fights against. Her dream is to become educated in England and to achieve that dream she feels she must wage a successful battle against her father.
I would encourage readers to follow Saroj, Savitri, David and Nat in their journey through life to see what composite picture is finally revealed as their lives interweave.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Love story with political overtures, November 22, 2000
By A Customer
Being Asian, a lawyer and in an arranged marriage myself , I could certainly identify with the conflicts the characters faced: arranged marriages, search for a potential partner by ones parents, conflict of whether or not to defy ones parents in their insistence on having an arranged marriage, trying to understand their arbitary prejudices they held against different castes and creeds. All of these issues are dealt with in the amazing book. Towards the end, you try to figure out how things will be resolved, you rack your brain for possible solutions in order for the characters to be together. It was a sad, emotional, funny, enlightening book to read. Sharon Maas has captured so much in this novel, you root the characters on and are gripped right until the last page. Brilliant - read it.
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