Shiva Dancing

by Bharti Kirchner

A tale follows thirty-five-year-old Indian-American professional Meena Kumari on her return to her homeland and her journey into love with a sexy novelist

Genres: Fiction, India

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Bharti Kirchner is the author of eleven books—seven critically acclaimed novels and four cookbooks and hundreds of short pieces for magazines and newspapers. A recent novel, Goddess of Fire, was shortlisted for the Nancy Pearl Award.

Her earlier novels include Tulip Season, Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries, Darjeeling, Sharmila’s Book, and Shiva Dancing.

Bharti has written for Food & Wine, Vegetarian Times, Writer’s Digest, The Writer, Fitness Plus, Northwest Travel, and The Seattle Times. Her essays have appeared in eleven anthologies.

Bharti has won a VCCA (Virginia Center for Creative Arts) Fellowship, a City Artist’s Project award, two Seattle Arts Commission literature grants, two Artist Trust literature grants, two 4Culture grants and has twice been a Fellow of Jack Straw Productions. She has been honored as a Living Pioneer Asian American Author. She is a popular speaker at writer’s conferences nationwide.

Reviews

[dianne b. · Rating 1 out of 5]

What tedious writing. Chock full of shockingly sudden insights:
“Life is so fragile, so precious.”
Wow, i sigh, woulda’ thunk?

Complete with about 200 pages of excess detailed description. Every time our Meena gets dressed we, of course, hang on the color, feel, smell, and of course, look, of each item as it is donned. We then hear, for the billionth time, how lovely and put together and natural she looks. Yeah, got it.

SO much undulating silk. Every sari Undulates; some also Flow. I’m pretty sure saris undulate whether or not we see them. Wait. I need to run upstairs and peak into a box of old clothing to see if the two dollar sari I bought in (what was then) Madras is secretly undulating without my permission.

If only life decisions were as easy as in this vapid book. After 28 years of Sad Longing, she returns to India. Within about 40 hours she “knows” she couldn’t live there - even though we’ve had to laboriously hear how every meaningful life experience brings back, or elicits, lovely memories of belonging. Having done that trip myself, multiple times (California to India) - i have amassed the special knowledge that it takes about 40 hours to wake up, drink enough tea, and slap myself into consciousness. For our dear Meena though, it was simply:
“A smile, a tear, a chapter closed.”

Darling, no? As is done innumerable times in this book, I gently touch the corner of my moist eye, with the edge of my (likely undulating) sari.

Should i feel guilt for giving these 327 pages away, knowing that they may torture others? Nah. A friend who moved back to the USA from Uruguay and couldn’t send her library home found that all the books she’d left outside were taken immediately. Initially she was thrilled that her Uruguayo neighbors were so interested in her (English language) literary theory texts. Then one told her, “No, thick books make great toilet paper.”

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 but rounding up because it kept my interest in a very distracting time. Overall, I enjoyed this story of a young Indian woman who, after being kidnapped by bandits as a child and then adopted by American parents, had a difficult time fitting in anywhere and had conflicts about her identity. Some of the romantic elements of the story were contrived, however, particularly at the end.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet straightforward story that sometimes seemed too simplified but somehow kept me reading during this distracting time.

[Deepa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really good book about a young woman named Meena, who at seven years old and on the day of her wedding, was kidnapped by bandits and later adopted by a couple who never really learned to love her. Now, at 30 years old, she decides she wants to travel back to her village and track down the man she was once married to. The only thing she doesn't know is that he is tracking her down as well... With many funny, witty, annoying and classic characters, Shiva Dancing is a very good read about how looking back in time might give you a better sense of who you are.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

In general, this is pretty good and kept me moving along throughout. It's a nice depiction of what it might be like to be caught between two cultures (in this case, India and the U.S.). But some of the writing is terribly bad, especially when the author puts guide-book-speak (or worse) into her characters' mouths: "This complex culture, so alien to my Western experience, tests all my beliefs." (p. 321) - who *sounds* like that, seriously? The author needs to show more, not tell. Still, a good read.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grabbed this from the American School library for the plane ride home. The plot held much promise: Meena, kidnapped from her hometown in rural India on the day of her wedding at age seven, winds up in San Francisco with adoptive parents. The story finds her again when she's thirty five and traces her inevitable return to India. Unfortunately, the characters are two-dimensional and wooden. The book served its purpose, which was to keep me engaged enough on the plane, but it left me unsatisfied. It's not one I'll read again.

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost gave it 5 stars because of its promising start and plot, India and its culture and really kept me engaged. However, for any reason, i got disappointed. Meena, the main character is two-dimensional, Antoine so romance novelly and Vishnu, my Vishnu, the author did him bad in my opinion. There were cringey dialogues towards the end also. But still a good read.

[Abijita · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a ok read. None of the characters spoke to me. Very biased view of Indian culture. Child marriage and a whole lot of issues are dealt with immaturity. I don’t know if a 7 years old can remember so much in such details when she is in her 30s. Pretty stupid actually.

[Bill Winett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok story, made better with some educational info about India.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book starts out pretty weak -- I was surprised I kept reading after the kidnapping, which sets up the flat character of Meena and the robotic prose that narrates you through an action-novel plot. These things didn't change over the course of the book, but the action, and perhaps the 8th grade reading level, kept the pages turning.

Endings are foreseeable and terrible.

The author lives up to her Indian first name and Western last name -- Meena ends up with the white guy (foreseeable). However, the author doesn't live up to a vague feminist duty to give female characters depth, choice, and control -- Antoine says "he always thought Meena was more or less there for his taking," and what do you know, he was right. Meena is there waiting the minute Antoine becomes emotionally available. (Terrible.) At least it cost him a trip to India and approximately two days of uncomfortable limbo.

And what about all the loose ends and straggling characters? What happens to Vishnu's job and reputation? What about that comely quasi-Moxan woman who was his muse for his article -- surely she was important somehow. And Carlos? He was left languishing away in Meena's apartment, presumably still loyal. I would accept these things in a more realistic, less staged story, but they are sloppy here.


The title was interesting -- is it dancing in the style of Shiva, or Shiva doing a dance? This was a satisfying little piece of the book.

[OMalleycat · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book sounded so interesting: Meena, a seven-year-old Indian child bride is kidnapped by bandits on her wedding day. She escapes, but has been transported far from her village and no one knows where to return her. She's raised in San Francisco by Americans and wants, as an adult, to return to her home.

So that made for an engrossing first quarter of the book. The last quarter is her return, which is intermittently interesting. Unfortunately the middle half is dull chick-lit. Meena's relationship troubles and job problems, far more than the displacement and identity, are the theme. And the wrap-up is far too facile for such a potentially dramatic and troubling story.

And how about the boyfriend, Antoine, who spent a year in India as a college student and is familiar enough with the culture to intrigue Meena when they first meet. Yet when he returns to India at the end of the book, he's as ignorant as a first time tourist. Inconsistent writing as well as lack of depth of any of the characters. They are but pawns to put through their paces.

I was disappointed.

[Paula Margulies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a an Indian-American novel jag lately, so this one fit the bill. Not the greatest writing, but engaging enough. I found the male love interest, Antoine, to be a bit romance-novelly in description and tone. The author gives him lots of attention in this story, so the book ends up being almost as much about him as it is about the main character (an Indian-American software programmer named Meena). The third character of interest, Meena's childhood love, Vishnu, who lives in Calcutta, does't get quite as much play, and the way the three settle up their decisions about each other is a little too neat at the end. Still, this novel is not bad, especially if you're looking for a light love story involving Indian culture.

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm about halfway into this book and loving it. It's also given me a great new term... "administrivia" - all that vaguely important administrative stuff that gets done in office work - like checking email and returning phone calls. :)

The ending talks about having to go back to where you came from before you can move forward. I've wondered that myself sometimes - whether the past you left behind sometimes keeps you from fully moving forward until you confront (or meet it) in some way.

[Tim Petersik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice story that gives you a glimpse of Indian culture (not Native American, by the way). This might be the Indian equivalent of an Amy Tan novel. In a nutshell: young girl in India is forced into marriage to a boy she barely knows. By accident, she is able to escape to America where, years later, she falls in love. However, she's drawn back to the India of her childhood....Turns out her husband isn't such a bad dude. Now she has a real dilemma.

[Tiziana Stupia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really lovely story that outlines the cultural differences between the West and India very well, as well as the difficulties faced in relationships between the two cultures. It's also an enjoyable read - the characters of Vishnu and Meena are very strong. Sometimes, the plot is a little too 'perfect' but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of reading the story. If you love India or are interested in it, and especially if you've been in an inter-cultural relationship, then this is a must-read.

[Anne Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the places and the people but felt like they were a bit two dimensional. The lead character, Meena, needed to be more fleshed out. We needed to go into her mind and emotions more - taken more risks with her..it was a fun read though.

[Sunni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing, fairly "light"

[Vani Kannan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Strong beginning, but gets REALLY slow, and the dialogue towards the end is really awkward.

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing story about a girl who was kidnapped at age 7, adopted and raised far from her home and who finally tries to reconnect with her roots.

[Mridula · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a great read at all. The story has been dragged across 300pgs unnecessarily.

[Rachelle Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received this book from a coworker who cleaned out her bookshelf. It was great read and very well written. I might even read it again!

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very good. Interesting culture of India

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

a little slow moving.....