An engaging tale

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar. Published in 2009 by HarperCollins Publishers Incorporated, 10 E. 53rd Street, New York 10022, USA. Pp: 384. Price: US $ 25.95

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As an avid reader of books by and about Zarathushtis I was thrilled to come across the latest book by Thrity Umrigar. I have read all her other works and enjoyed them. As I picked this new title I thought it would spoil the suspense if I read the front flap description as I would have learned far too much about the story from the tell-all words. So I started the book with fresh eyes. Like her earlier novels, the plot was not exciting or fast paced. The development of the characters and the depth and detail that Umrigar offers us is often the most engrossing part of her stories. This is true in The Weight of Heaven, until the last part of the book.

The main characters are Ellie and Frank, a US couple whose seven-year-old only son has died of a sudden illness. The couple’s grieving process drives them apart and their marriage is in jeopardy. When Frank receives an offer to work for his company in India, they decide to try out life in a country where nobody knows them and where they would see no reminders of their deceased son.

They arrive in a village near Bombay and Frank is immediately immersed in the difficulties of conducting business in India. He sees corruption, police brutality, dishonesty and more. Ellie, who has a doctorate in psychology and has worked full time in the US, chooses to volunteer as a teacher and therapist with local village children and women. The couple are experiencing two different Indias. Frank develops a dislike for the people and the culture which leads him to judge harshly. Ellie loves India and wishes to spend many more years there. Their marriage is not mending as a result of this change of place and pace.

The one solace that Frank finds in India is Ramesh, the son of the domestic helpers, Prakash and Edna, who live in their compound. Prakash is an orphan, raised in the same village where they now live, Girbaug. When he first left Girbaug he met Edna in Goa and they eloped, knowing that her parents wouldn’t approve of their mixed marriage. The couple lives an isolated life in the village as Prakash has never been accepted by the people. Frank’s interest in their son creates tensions. On the one hand, having no extended family, the parents welcome his help with homework, athletic training and gifts. On the other, they feel threatened that Frank’s world of wealth and power will lure their son away from them. Much of the story revolves around this tension.

Thrity Umrigar: engrossing characters

I found the last part of the story to be almost macabre. It weaves a tale of a person who is mentally, emotionally and spiritually disturbed, whose hair turns white in one tortured night.

Umrigar has strayed from her hitherto theme of writing about Parsis. In fact, not one Parsi appears in this book. Most of her novels revolve around India and the US, as does this book. Written by a Zarathushti, this book weaves an engaging tale.

Farah Shroff