Customer Reviews

Only the Eyes are Mine

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A moving family drama with universal themes. The narrative alternates between Sita's present life as an old woman in the US, and her girlhood and youth in India. I found the latter story especially powerful and engaging. Sita grows up into a headstrong young woman not content with the raw deal life has dealt her, but then, blinded by the dreams and impulses we all share, she makes tragic mistakes. At this point, the book is particularly hard to put down as it builds up to a horrifying climax.

As Sita's Indian story unfolds, it starts to illuminate her present life in the US. The confusions of her American niece and nephew feel very real. Unlike so many Indian-American stories, this one does not peddle a cheesy brand of Indian spirituality for western palettes. It has no magical realism, nor is it preoccupied with the migrant's sentimental sense of loss, nostalgia, and pining for a faraway home (and that too from well-fed economic migrants!), but regards home to be, above all, within the self, wherever one is.

Here is a sharp and clear-eyed portrait of life in one Indian family. Characters are vividly drawn, they struggle between duty and desire, the dramatic tension is just right. In the Indian story, the author handles with great deftness difficult subjects like infidelity, homosexuality, and incest (between family members not related by blood). In portraying the ancient hijra commune of India, the author seems to have put her anthropology background to good use. Illuminating the story is a nuanced and morally alert narrative voice. Despite Sita's problematic acts, she remains thoroughly deserving of our sympathy -- a testament to the skill of the author as a storyteller.

I only wish the author had given more prominence to mid-20th century historical events in India. Nor does she engage much in overt social commentary, but then, this has both pros and cons in a novel. The ending is both apt and cathartic. A truly remarkable first novel.

I just finished reading Only the Eyes are Mine and it is an amazing novel. I found it deep, riveting, disturbing, warm, uncomfortable, familiar, strange and beautifully written.
It is one of those novels that crosses the cultural divide between India and the USA by being grounded in "of India in both cultures" fluently.
It also grapples with diversity in a stark and quite "in-your-face" way yet stays an engaging story, terrific stuff.

Since finishing it I have recommended it to friends, some Indian, some ABCDs (of whom there are some at work or some who are married to some) and others including my family.
I have no hesitation in recommending it here to all and sundry!

I just finished reading this wonderful book. Immediately the main character pulled me in. The writing is well done, the transitions smooth from one time period to another. I think this book would make an excellent gift for someone who likes romance and enjoys learning a bit about other cultures.

I hope to see more by this author.

Brenda Roberts, author of A Cold North Wind
[...]

I picked up this book because someone recommended it. I browsed through it soon after it arrived. Afew hours later, I found I'd browsed all the way to the end. It's a fast, compelling read.

The book draws you into the life of Sita, a poor woman with big dreams. It reminded me of an Indian, fictionalized version of "Angela's Ashes" in its poignancy and authenticity.

Married as a child to a man who doesn't love her, Sita ends up in Northern California where her niece is planning her own wedding to a man she doesn't love. In between, there is love, hate, fear, violent death, misery, resignation, and joy, all told with an empathy that resonates, and a plot that pulls one along and made it difficult to put down the book.

I'd recommend this novel to anyone interested in human drama, and to readers of Indian novelists such as Jhumpa Lahiri or Chitra Divakaruni.

It's published by a small Indian house. I found Amazon the easiest way to find this book.

Usha Alexander's novel, "Only The Eyes Are Mine", provided an interesting look at one young woman's experience in the East Indian culture of the 1940's and 1950's and her final days after many years in America.

For me, Indian females are a newcomer population, even here in Silicon Valley. While I've been acquainted on a professional level with Indian men, I've never had the opportunity to meet many Indian women. To me, Indian women have always seemed somehow exotic and mysterious.

"Only..." was like having a revealing conversation with a stranger. Usha Alexander's writing style is very intimate. Even though in some instances, she assumes knowledge not yet developed, it is very easy to keep up with our protagonist, Sita.

I followed Sita, a poor Indian girl, through her arranged marriage to an unsuitable husband. I was compelled to watch with horrified fascination Sita's self-sabotage and shake my head in wonder. All the while my memory was pinging with discomfort as I related to some of my own bad choices.

Although I was anticipating a wider cultural understanding, I found instead another sister. We grew up in different circumstances and I did find the contrasts to my own experiences very compelling. But the true gift of this story was the overwhelming similarity in spirit.

My only real complaint about this book was that it was far too short. I could have easily read an entire series revolving around Sita and her family, especially her next generation family and the challenges they face straddling the two cultures. I hope that Alexander considers her novel only a beginning.

Only the Eys are Mine draws the reader in right away and keeps them engaged till the last page is read.The interlacing of two stories is as beautifully executed as young Sita's exquisite weaving.

Usha has created a heartfelt and vivid portrait of Babu's relationship with his kids and his struggles with reconciling his new life and times with that of his youth.

Those are just some of the adjectives that come to mind. The plot was absorbing and each character was developed very well. Alexander has a talent for story-telling. I love the way she wove the two time periods together. At first I wanted to skip ahead to read more about Sita as a young married woman, but then I decided against it. So it was very suspenseful. And the humanness of each character. They are still alive in me. And it was fun to recognize place names like The Red Rock Cafe in Mt. View, CA.

Thanks for enriching my life with this story.

"Only the Eyes Are Mine" is an enthralling story that holds the reader hostage from start to finish. The book is a page-turner as the story gradually unravels and travels between a sordid past of a distant, foreign land to a modern day Silicon Valley suburb. Alexander captures exquisitely the traits I find most fascinating about traditional eastern women - strength shelled in a stoic exterior and a weathered aura steeped deep in mystic. These women have lived life. They are women of a bygone era whose martyrdom represents family unity and success. As Alexander flips to modern times and introduces us to Meera, her brother and gal pals, the strength derived through family conformity is a blatant vile path to self-destruction. Individuality is revered by this next generation and new culture; pursuit of personal development is the only road to truth and enlightenment. Our multi-cultured author is charming and wise as she puts forth these juxtapositions subtlety without casting judgment, allowing both to co-exist in harmony and as symbols of strength for their respective time and eras. My only grievance with this captivating novella is its length; I wish Alexander had developed the story, complex relationships and our heroines in greater detail. Especially, as the plot thickens to Sita's ultimate demise, the events leading to the tragedy of her long awaited, only offspring. Selfishly, I just didn't want the book to end! Perhaps a second novel awaits us in the wing...

Only the Eyes are Mine is a wonderfully moving story with characters that are both vivid and multi-layered. The story juxtaposes Southern India of the 40's and 50's with modern day 1st generation experiences in Silicon Valley. I enjoyed the movement of the characters opening to self-discovery and how this leads to a deeper understanding of each generation's trials and hardships. The book grabs your attention from the beginning and intricately weaves the past and present in a gripping way that makes it difficult to put the book down.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends ONLY THE EYES ARE MINE as a lyrical, engaging mixture of modern immigrant life & memories of the way it was, as seen through the eyes of a very old woman who found some peace within the family she's grown to love, & the extra-ordinary events that washed her ashore in a strange land.

In America, as her niece, whom she has raised, struggles with her impending marriage to a "good Indian man" her father & her auntie wish for as a son-in-law, Sita looks back on her life in India in the 1940s when she was given as a poor, illiterate child bride to a boy with a secret, & remembers the twists & turns her path has taken, the fame she knew as an expert weaver, the forbidden loves & tragic losses she has survived.

An engrossing & memorable debut novel.