Rich Like Us [Paperback]

Nayantara Sahgal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1999

New Delhi, one month after the declaration of the Emergency, is the setting for this novel, an ironic, tender and exquisitely crafted study of India and its people in the aftermath of Independence. Included is many individual histories, and many voices, in one - a compelling and vivid tapestry of India's past and present. Above all it is the story of Rose the Cockney memsahib, a family that neither wants nor welcomes her. In Nayantara Sahgal's tale, with its humour and tragedy, is mirrored some of the grandeur and folly of the Indian experience itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The focal characters of this novel, set in New Delhi during the turbulences provoked by Indira Gandhi's sterilization campaign and state of emergency, are two womenone Indian, the other Cockney Englishlong-time, deeply devoted friends. Sonali is Oxford-bred, cultured, a scholar and former civil servant infamously betrayed out of a promising career in government; Rose is the second wife of Ram, a Kashmiri businessman laid low by a stroke. Very different in background, they are profoundly related by the fact that they are women in a society that affords little recourse to a native daughter and no legal rights whatever to the second wife in a polygamous household. Rose is in fact murdered because she might constitute a threat to male dominance; but the resourceful Sonali is able to apply her learning to a fresh start. The novel, which teems with the actualities of life in Indiacorruption, injustice, bureaucratic finaglingis wonderfully set apart by a fine, clear, disenchanted eye and an acerbic moral intelligence that is devastating without ever raising its voice.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In 1932, cockney shopgirl Rose becomes captivated by a customer named Ram Surya and the mystery of his India, returning with him to be the second wife in his polygamous household. An innate strength and resourcefulness enable her to deal with a strange culture and years of political turmoil, though her truth-telling eventually results in a fatal attempt to protect her inheritance from a ruthless stepson. Sahgal, ( Plans for Departure) a political journalist as well as a novelist, uses her characters to explore the vast changes that have swept modern India, focusing particularly on the authoritarianism and economic corruption of the Indira Gandhi era. While it does make important political points, this tale comes fully alive only when the memorable Rose is at center stage. Lawrence Rungren, Bedford Free P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 301 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins India; 1 edition (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8172233752
• ISBN-13: 978-8172233754
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,983,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, September 25, 2002

By 

"nithya_k" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rich Like Us (New Directions Paperbook, No. 665) (Paperback)

While I know everyone is entitled to their opinions, I was surprised to see such a harsh criticism of this wondeful piece of literature which not only tells the personal stories of two women but also captures the time when Emergency was declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in India in '75. The impact of the Emergency is viewed through the eyes of Sonali, a civil servant, and Rose, an Englishwoman who has lived in India for more than forty years. I loved it because it covers so much ground and Sahgal is also such a good storyteller. Anyone who knows a little bit about the history of India will know what dark days those were for many people, when democracy collapsed for a while. I think Sahgal does a wonderful job of capturing that darkness and desperation that people felt. I also liked it because it is laced with irony and humor. I highly recommend this book.

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Rich Like Us, April 14, 2002

By 

"wpwrangler" (Memphis TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rich Like Us (New Directions Paperbook, No. 665) (Paperback)

This book is the epitome of all books that should have never been written, or to a greater end, books that should have never been read. I was forced to read this book for class and I cannot believe that works this degrading to the world of literature are actually published. The plot is non-existent, it is impossible to tell whose thoughts are being conveyed (or more importantly, why those thoughts are even relevant in the first place). This book is mildly historical, however it isn't anything one could not find in an encyclopedia. Nayantara Sahgal should have been content with being Nehru's niece, a much better legacy than what she has given herself.

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Do not waste your money in buying this book, May 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Rich Like Us (New Directions Paperbook, No. 665) (Paperback)

This book is not even worth commenting on.