Random Things Tours: Honor by Thrity Umrigar

 

Honor by Thrity Umrigar is a complex novel of love and hate, journalist perseverance and realistic connection with the country of your dreams. Very often, the country of your dreams may be a nightmare but from a certain point on, there is no other choice than to face the reality as it is. After all, real love is when the both sides of the story do acknowledge their shortcomings as well, beside their attractive and lovable strengths.

It is a complex novel, made of several intertwined layers and it took me some time to think and appreciate all of its hidden meanings and sub-plots.

Prompted by an article Sneeta, an Indian-American journalist, is going to India to research the story of a woman whose brothers were about to kill her and killed already her Muslim husband because she dared to marry outside her religion. We may read and heard about such stories way too often, and while doing her own research about the story, she is facing her own prejudices and freedoms, based on her education and/or passport. 

Inspired by real journalists and the author´s own experiences in the media, Honor has the merit of avoiding the usual takes on such topics: the Romanticized version of the country, or the emotional interpretation of honor killings. The reality Umrigar displays in her book, is neither black or white. It is the reality of a world that needs to be understood. Similarly with the approach of a journalist looking for the truth, the novel´s character is proceeding to a step-by-step search for her own meanings, based on her own experiences. In the end, it is more than a journalistic proceeding, it is a self-discovery which is at a certain extent expected, but the process in itself is considered through its fine and empathic stages. 

Entinced by our affordable freedoms, we may forget that for many individuals and in many cultures, it is not an achievable aim, and often, the price of assuming it, may be your dear life.

Honor will stay with me for a long time, as definitely a reference for books about cultural divisions and the toxicity of traditions, especially when applied to the very personal choices as your love mate.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own