Shiva's Fire [Hardcover]

Suzanne Fisher Staples (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2000

By the Newbery Honor-winning author of Shabanu

On a day when fish leap among the stars and birds soar beneath the waters, a remarkable girl named Parvati is born in a village in the South of India. As she grows, she becomes known for the peculiar events that seem to spring from beneath her dancing feet, and is widely thought to have supernatural powers. When a great master of Indian classical dance comes to see for himself, he recognizes in Parvati a rare talent and invites her to study with him at his gurukulam in the city of Madras. There she commits herself to a rigorous and solitary program of study, dance, and devotion. But when she meets a boy with his own extraordinary powers, her life is turned upside down, and she must question the one thing of which she has always been most sure - that she was born to dance. In this powerful novel rich with mysticism, Suzanne Fisher Staples tells the poignant story of a strong girl who refuses to squander her magical gifts in the face of life's ordinary but perplexing mysteries.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Born during the worst storm ever seen by her small village in India, Parvati is both blessed and cursed with mysterious powers that confound her people. Wild animals flock to her; she is able to charm fish, birds, even deadly cobras. But Parvati's truly exceptional talent is her ability to dance like the Hindu god Shiva himself. At age 6, she hurls herself into a cooking fire and dances safely through the flames, emerging without a single burn. Naturally, these powers scare the other villagers. Only her mother Meenakshi loves and believes in her, protecting her from the their curious and hostile stares. The guru Pillai, a famous Indian dance teacher, hears of Parvati's talent and comes to offer her a position in his dance school, or "gurukulam," in the large city of Madras. Once there, she questions her destiny, or "dharma," as she experiences both a devastating loss and a blossoming romance; "...she thought about the mystery of dharma--how some things were very difficult to accept, while others opened as simply and as naturally as a flower." But through it all, the fire of Shiva burns within her, and Parvati knows that, despite all other callings, she was born to dance.

Suzanne Fisher Staples, renowned author of the award-winning Shabanu and Dangerous Skies, has woven together a magical tapestry of a tale that is a mystical hybrid of history and legend. At a time when teenage girls have more options than ever when choosing their own destinies, Parvati's story will inspire readers to set high goals and settle for nothing less than their true heart's desire. An instant classic. (Ages 12 to 14) --Jennifer Hubert

From Publishers Weekly

If not for references to modern technology, this tale set in India might defy chronology; the folkloric narrative, primal settings and universal themes confer a timeless quality. Parvati, the heroine, has a mystical aura; some villagers think she carries doom because her birth coincided with an unprecedented cyclone that devastated the entire region. Parvati does not know if she is to blame for the destruction caused by the storm or the famine that followed, but she retains a memory of everything she has witnessed since infancy. As she grows up, animals flock to her, seemingly communing with her, and when music is played, Parvati cannot keep her feet still, no matter how hard she tries. Eventually, Parvati's talent for dance and spiritual gifts win her a scholarship to a gurukulam (a school run by a great teacher). But devoting herself to her studies requires sacrifices Parvati has not even dreamt of. The Hindu concept of dharma is as intricately woven into this saga as decorative threads are woven into Parvati's elaborate dance costumes. Staples's (Shabanu; Haveli) deceptively plain prose conjures a variety of moods, textures and images. Poetically and suspensefully expressing the sorrows and joys of the spiritual life as well as the life of the artist, this is a spellbinder. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st ed edition (April 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374368244
• ISBN-13: 978-0374368241
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,181,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, April 17, 2000

By 

Laura Lynn Walsh "gt-teacher" (Fairbanks, AK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shiva's Fire (Hardcover)

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.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-written, very descriptive novel. Recommended., June 8, 2000

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shiva's Fire (Hardcover)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story, Great setting, October 17, 2001

By 

Mani Subramani (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shiva's Fire (Hardcover)

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.