Title: The World We Found
Author: Thrity Umrigar
Genre: 21st Century Indian Literature, 21st Century American Literature, Literary Fiction, Cultural Fiction, Women’s Literature
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Rating: 10/10
Summary: Laleh receives word from her best friend, Amraiti, from college that she has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor–she has been given six months to live. It is her friend’s dying wish to see her three best friends from college again. Laleh, who still lives in India, with this devastating news, takes up the task of contacting and reuniting the group and taking the trek to America to visit Amraiti.
However, twenty-five years have passed since the women, Laleh, Nishta, and Kavita, once cultural revolutionaries, have talked to each other, and they soon find out how much they’ve all changed–yet in their love and devotion to each other, has not changed at all.
The journey they each take to get to Amraiti teaches each woman a valuable lesson about herself, her strength, and the world and people around her. Kavita must learn to accept herself as she is in her homosexuality amid a modern yet still conservative India–as her friends did a long time ago. Nishta must find the strength to fight her way out of an oppressive marriage, from a man who is no longer the man she married from college. Finally, Laleh mist learn to accept and be thankful for the family, husband, and life she has, one of comfort and privilege.
In the middle of this there is Armaiti, struggling to live the remainder of her life on her own terms in the face of hopelessness, all the while coming to understand and reacquaint herself with the beauty and magic that exists in this thing called human life. Rounding out this story is the one last revolution they all participate in: they all become better people; they are true, loyal, and after twenty-five years they love each other.
Review: This was perhaps the fastest read I’ve ever done–I finished the bulk of this book in two days. That’s a record for me. This goes to show how deeply moving, engaging, and well-done this book is. It is what Thrity Umrigar does best and is why she is one of my favorite authors. This book is tragic in its central themes, but the love, togetherness, and the resilience in human strength makes this novel deeply and exquisitely beautiful.
Yes it is well-written, and Umrigar is a master at crafting imagery and narrative that sparks real and tangible emotion. The scenes between Amraiti and her daughter, in the midst of their pain, made me want to pull my own mother close to hug her. The moments between Laleh and her husband made me want to kiss my own significant other. Nishta’s and Kavita’s battles for freedom were my own. In the midst of all of this, I came to recognize the need for change in a society still stuck on tradition starts when we change ourselves, individually. That’s where we find the strength of our character.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough. If I could force you to read it, I would. After finishing it, I felt like I was saying good-bye to a friend. Amazing.
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A Storied Soul 