Customer Reviews

Shiva's Fire

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is not the sequel to Shabanu and Haveli, but is, rather, a thought-provoking look at another culture, that of India. The young girl, Parvati, is unusual from her birth on. She has the ability to remember everything, the ability to communicate with animals, and above all she wants to dance. Since her family is devastatingly poor, there is no way she can pursue her dream, until a guru from far away comes to watch her. He offers her training, but that means giving up her family life. The training will also allow her to send money to her family to help them out of their poverty.

The author of this book is extremely good at helping you understand not only a different culture, but also the people who live in that culture. She does this not by didactic descriptions, but rather by thoughtful inclusion of the necessary indicative details.

The ultimate test of Parvati's dedication is her attraction to a boy, and the possibility of a second true friend. It is important that Staples doesn't gloss over the agony of this decision.

Overall, another good book from Staples.

A new novel from the author of Shabanu and Haveli. Parvati is born the same day a cyclone devastates her village in Nandipuram, India, and kills her father. The beginning of the novel tells of her mother's experience as a widow with small children forced to live with a loving uncle and bitter aunt, and of watching her unusual daughter grow up. Parvati is concious of her surroundings from the day of her birth, and remembers everything. Her aunt and the villagers are suspicous and treat her as an outcast, so Parvati grows up without friends. At twelve, a traveling guru seeking students for his traditional Indian dance academy offers Parvati a scholarship. Unsure of leaving her family, she accepts because the "dowry" the academy will pay for her will afford her mother and brothers to move into their own house and land. Once at the school, Parvati does make one friend, but she is again ostracized by the other students for the unusual occurrences that accompany her. Her natural affinity for dancing accelerates her pace through the school, and after only two years of study, she is invited to perform at the birthday party of the Maharaja of Nandipuram. This allows her to visit her family for the first time since she has been away, and to spend a few days in the luxury of the Raja's palace.

The contrast between palace life, her impoverished childhood, and the almost monastic existence at the dance academy are stunning, and this is one of the few books I wish was a movie instead because the descriptions of the countryside, the dancing, and opulence of the palace, complete with trained elephants, would be a sight. Staples writing is superb, as usual. Unlike Shabanu, however, the character development is not as strong. The focus of the story is the setting and culture of India, rather then Parvati, or even her mother. This does not necessarily lessen it's value, but makes it a little bit less accessible. Fans of well written novels will enjoy it greatly, but those looking for a traditional main character to empathize and connect with will be disappointed.

Our family of four (mom, dad (me!) and two daughters - 10, 13 yrs) listened to the audio casette version of this book on a long long car ride - driving from Minneapolis to Mt. Rushmore this summer.
Being from India, it was wonderful to have the sights, smells and flavors of our country observed and transmitted with so much realistic detail in the book. Often, we found ourselves at a rest stop and with none of us wanting to get out of the car as we were at a critical juncture in the development of the story.
The story itself is pretty simple, Parvati is a child born with magical powers that puzzle, intimidate and scare people in her village. The family goes through tough times after her father dies and the wonderful bond between Parvati and her mother as well as her brothers are treated with extreme sensitivity. I must confess that there were occasions when I was driving looking straight ahead to keep my family to see that I was crying. Parvati is discovered by a leading dance guru, leaves her family to live in the gurukulam (school) near Madras and grows up to be an extremely accomplished dancer. The final denouement occurs when she returns to the town as a famous dancer.

However, I do have some quibbles with the author. While she has set the story in contemporary India, as someone who is familiar with the context, I can say that there are details that don't quite add up. For instance, the ex-maharaja of the province is described as distributing his weight in gold to the public on his birthday - a practice that to the best of my knowledge really stopped in the early part of the century - around WWI. Also in present day India, the local government and the civil service play an important role in managing rescue and rehabilitation efforts after major calamities like the devastating storm in the book. The reliance on the resources of the local maharaja, again is more characteristic of earlier times such as the later part of the 19th century or the early 20th century.

However, in my view, the beauty of the narrative and the power of the story are not really diminished by this 'time shift' and it is a masterfully spun tale set in India and generally true to the context. My daughters who are both learning to be dancers from my wife (who is a dancer herself) really identified with Parvati and enjoyed the book enormously.

Shiva's Fire Shiva's Fire, by Suzanne Fisher Staples is an exciting and mysterious book that takes place in the South of India. The book is full of fact and fictional traditions and places. In the story the main character Parvati goes to the gurukulam and school with intensive dance and god/goddess worship study. There she meets her first friend, Nanlini, who gets kidnapped by a band of thieves. After her friend was kidnapped she concentrated only on her dance. After a month the dance instructor told her she was ready for her first performance, which other have to wait at least 5 years to do. In the end Parvati is asked to come and teach at the gurukulam with her own dance instructor, since she has completed the student life of becoming a dancer whom worships the gods. I would recommend this book because it is a thrilling adventure and it shows a different point of view of Indian life style. The author's way of writing the book makes you feel like you are part of the main character going through all of her journeys. One example of a journey is when Parvati is staying at the King's palace and the prince invites her to go wander the palace halls at midnight, but Parvati know she will get into trouble if anyone sees her. In that part of the book the author makes you feel like you are Parvati and wandering the halls at midnight with the handsome prince. You also see a different view of the Indian way of life. Normally when people hear the country India they automatically think of the Taj Mahal. Here you learn that the way of life is much different. A lot of the homes are clay or straw huts and that going to school is a very valuable thing that costs a lot of money. So those are only two of the great reasons of why this book is being recommended. Even though this story was mysterious and exciting some of the words are in Indian which make it confusing. There are at least 10 words in each chapter that are in Indian. This makes it confusing to read sometimes. In the back of the book though, there is a glossary of all the words. So that is why this reason is not a good enough reason to not read this book. If you read it you, you will read the best 270 pages of your life!

It's hard to describe this novelette in a few words; I just admire it too much. First of all, I'm very fond of Lord Shiva, and it was my original driving factor to buy the book. Second, the book is about a twelve year old girl (named after Lord Shiva's cosmic consort, Parvati, of all names!) who is very fond of dancing, and always wants to dance. The third: well, I'm weak towards India-themed books, for the spices, curries, and the jingling of payal (anklets) are usually mixed with spirituality at a certain level.

This book did not disappoint me at all. It took me a while to read it, for I had many things to do, and perhaps because the story did not pick at a quick pace anyway. But after the first chapter, everything flew quickly and amazingly. I was particularly amazed at how Suzanne Fisher Staples brought Shiva and His tandava (dance) to life through many levels: from the sandalwood statue that had captivated little Parvati since her first day in this world, through the veena that suddenly humming in every time Parvati lit a fire, and through Parvati's determination to dance. Having learnt Bharatanatyam myself (though, alas, I am by no means a devoted Devadasi), I am familiar with various dancing terms in the book. The book went further to evoke my longing for dancing, as I read how Parvati suffered through all physical and mental difficulties to perfect her dance. Learning Bharatanatyam is not easy, let alone mastering it!

I was a bit confused with the time frame of this story. First, I thought it was during the 18th century or something. Then, the cars and busses were mentioned, and I thought the story took time during the first days of India's independence. But then, much much later, I found out that the time frame was a few years after India's 50th independence, or about 1997-1999, about the same time the story was written.

As I said, I am very fond of India-based stories. Yet, though I haven't read a lot, I found that most of the books that I read would have an ample dose of irony and suffering in it; most probably because I didn't take the Indian chick-lit. Thank the Goddess that it was not the case with `Shiva's Fire'. It started with suffering, but it ended with happiness and liberation. When a boy named Rama was introduced into the story, I was bracing myself for another typical runaway-bride story: that Parvati would have to choose between dancing and the boy. Suffice to say that it did not happen that way; the authoress managed to avoid the cheesy tendency.

So, 5 stars for Suzanne Fisher Staples and her `Shiva's Fire'. And here's to the wish that Suzanne will write the sequel, for it would be fun to read about a 20 years old Parvati.

Shiva's Fire could have been a compeltely spell-binding and gorgeous story. It could have had me sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting to find out what happened next. Indeed, the plot could have been gorgeously crafted.

But for one thing. Ms. Staples writes like a newspaper reporter! Her writing style was so detatched, like she had no connection at all with the characters SHE created. It was fairly gross. It was like she was writing an essay on a devadsi who died millions of years ago who she never met. You know, like she got an assignment: "write a some-odd word essay on someone you admire."

Never once does the reader get a glimpse into Parvati's mind. I mean sure, occassionaly you get a "Parvati thought..." but, without any substance or feeling to the writing, it's hopeless.

And with a plot like this, this could have been a heart-wrenching, exotic tale. It could have made the reader laugh and cry and love along with Parvati. It could have been so many things, but instead it was just another book. Read it once from the library, put it aside, be glad you didn't buy it.

I am so dissapointed. The cover is so exotic, the summary on the first flap is so intriguing. I thought it would kill me when Parvati had to choose between dance and the love of her life, and instead it was just like, "Oh. Whatever." This is not a book to avoid at all costs. It might even be worth one read, although I'm not convinced. Try it, sure, but don't just go ahead and buy it.

I happen to be in love with Indian dance and culture. This book took me to another world - A world where I could dream of dance and India. The story remains intriguing and is beautifully told! the words suzanne uses to describe certains scenses create an instant picture of indias exotic landscape, cities, villages and people. I recommend this book to anyone between the ages of 12 to adult. it is an easy read, for the younger readers, yet it is beautiful and interesting enough for the older readers as well. If you are at all intersted in the power of Lord Shiva, India and dance this is the PERFECT book for you!! :) By the end you are wishing there were hundreds of pages left! ...i wonder if she'll write a sequal!!...i really hope so!!!

I like the storyline of this book very much, but the thing that astounded me the most was the accuracy. I, like Parvati, am Indian, and I take Bharatanatyam classical dance as well. Everything in the book was completely accurate, and my dance teacher read it as well. If you like learning about other cultures, buy this book TODAY.

I have twin daughters, age 8, to whom I read this story this last fall (Fall, 2010). They LOVED it. Not only did they love it, but they became totally engrossed in the story. The rich detail in the story, plus the descriptions of everyday life in southern India, really brought the story to life for them (and for me, as the reader). I found it a challenge at first to pronounce some of the names, but I consulted with an Hindi friend of mine and was able to resolve my pronunciation problems.

The story is complex, as any good story is, and there are a number of issues that are addressed tangentially that older readers would be more likely to understand (such as the main character's mother's relationship to her brother and sister-in-law) and how those relationships impact the way the 1st part of the story plays out but, those issues aside, there are a number of wonderful insights into Hindu spiritualism and Hindu beliefs that are wonderful to learn.

It is my hope that this story will be made into a movie, as it would be great to see it on the big screen.

Shiva's Fire I found at school, and I loved it. It's about this girl named Parvati who is born in India on this day they have horrible storm, many bad things happen so they blame her. She is also magical, and she can talk to and charm animals. She is also gifted in dance. And one day this guru comes to her house and offers her money to go to a school for gifted dancers she goes and meets a friend. She is so good they invited her to perform back in her home town and she meets this boy. They fall in love, and she doesn't know whether to give up the dancing, and marry him. Or not marry him and keep on dancing. I loved it, but I didn't like that they leave it hanging and you don't know what she does.