Welcome to Litsy!

We‘re in dirt poor Kolkata, where we follow the parallel lives of Ma, her father and daughter who are trying to get to America to join her husband. And also Boomba, a thief who is trying to support himself and bring his family to him. This is a very tough read. Will Ma get to America? Will Boomba survive? A heart-wrenching slice of life of people constantly living on the verge. One can only imagine being this poor and hungry all the time.

65/100

I loved this hidden gem I picked up at a library sale. It‘s based on a true story about a racehorse in the 1930s, who was shipped to India from England—and the various lives this horse brings together. There are themes of hurt and healing, prejudice and acceptance, redemption, and found family. The backdrop of 1930s Calcutta—from the poor and the privileged, to the convent and the racetrack—is fascinating. This was my 1981 pick for #192025.

I can't even believe I am posting November #bookspin. October was a blur.

@TheAromaofBooks

#WDNCW @dabbe
I do not care that this Saturday, the clock goes back one hour. I've been doing this for 69 years. I do not care that the media brings news stories of how dangerous it is after this fallback happens. Please, don't talk about it because the government will never change it. Maybe we should just live with it. It's not that bad, and I just don't care.

5 Stars • The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar follows four women who were idealistic friends in 1970s Bombay. Decades later, Armaiti, dying of cancer in the U.S., seeks a reunion. Laleh and Kavita, now a doctor and a lesbian navigating India's norms, search for Nishta, trapped in a fundamentalist marriage. Through flashbacks and a tense reunion, the novel explores friendship, lost dreams, and India's social divides, blending hope and heartbreak.

I enjoyed this historical mystery set in late-Victorian era India, 2nd in a series. March gives us fascinating information about life in the Parsi community. We‘re also given more details about the lives of Captain Jim, Lady Dianna and the family she left behind as they investigate a murder for which her brother is charged.

So remember last #bookhaul post I made when I said I'd slow down on book buying cause I've acquired more than I've read so far this year? Yeah, me neither apparently 🙃

Excited for these, especially A Suitable Boy! I'm planning to start it on new year's (or close to, depending on when I finish whatever else I'm reading). It'll be my chunkster for 2026.

This is a difficult book to "rate" I went in a bit begrudgingly. An American White Woman teaching us about Indian slums? I am cautious of profiting off the poorest of the poor.
Her writing is fantastic. It is a difficult topic and I think she does well telling you the facts while also being sympathetic. It is a tightrope telling such sad stories with care, but I think she did that well.
I don't know if I can rec it, but I am glad I read it.

I devoured this series. I have learned so much about 1920s India from reading about a female barrister. Women issues, which are worldwide, but seems so much worse in these books because of the different traditions. In this book, women healthcare, or the lack of it, is brought to the front. It's cleverly written. The way that Perveen handles herself in a man's world is brilliantly constructed. And, I have to wait till April for the next one.