Cântecul inimilor rebele

by Thrity Umrigar, Adriana Bădescu (Translator)

În Cântecul inimilor rebele, Smita, jurnalistă americană de origine indiană, se întoarce în India pentru a realiza un reportaj; nu o face cu dragă inimă, deoarece a părăsit țara cu mulți ani în urmă, împreună cu familia, fără nici un gând de a reveni. În timp ce urmărește cazul Meenei, o hindusă atacată de consăteni și de propria-i familie pentru că s-a căsătorit cu un musulman, Smita ia contact cu o societate în care tradițiile cântăresc mai greu decât sentimentele și cu o poveste care amenință să-i dezgroape secretele dureroase ale trecutului. De asemenea, constată că e tot mai atrasă de Mohan, un indian care o însoțește în misiune. Însă cele două povești de dragoste din Cântecul inimilor rebele sunt la fel de diferite precum culturile Meenei și Smitei: jurnalista își dă seama că are libertatea de a intra într-o relație fără obligații, știind că va putea decide mai târziu cât de mult înseamnă pentru ea.

În acest roman tandru și evocator despre dragoste, speranță, devotament familial, trădare și sacrificiu, Thrity Umrigar prezintă două femei curajoase care încearcă să fie loiale țării în care s-au născut și totodată lor însele.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Historical Fiction, India, Audiobook, Contemporary, Literary Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 4, 2022

About the author

A journalist for seventeen years, Thrity Umrigar has written for the Washington Post, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and other national newspapers, and contributes regularly to the Boston Globe's book pages. Thrity is the winner of the Cleveland Arts Prize, a Lambda Literary award and the Seth Rosenberg prize. She teaches creative writing and literature at Case Western Reserve University. The author of The Space Between Us, Bombay Time, and the memoir First Darling of the Morning: Selected Memories of an Indian Childhood, she was a winner of the Nieman Fellowship to Harvard University. She has a Ph.D. in English and lives in Cleveland, Ohio. (from the publisher's website)"

Reviews

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honor is one of those books that’s not always easy to read but unquestionably easy to recommend.

Thrity Umrigar has written a contemporary novel that’s literary fiction at its finest. While set in India rather than Afghanistan, it deserves a place on shelves next to Khaled Hosseini’s modern classics The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can think of no higher praise to get the point across that Honor is worth reading.

It’s 2018, and Indian-American journalist Smita returns to the country of her birth to cover the story of Meena, a Hindu woman whose brothers set fire to her home… killing her Muslim husband and disfiguring her in the process. Their interfaith marriage was a viewed as an abomination to Meena’s family, so murdering the couple was an attempt to avenge such a dishonor. Meena is a strong-willed survivor though, and she’s taking her brothers to court in pursuit of justice for her husband and to inspire other victimized women to do the same against their own perpetrators.

Given the plot’s content, it should come as no surprise that there are very difficult scenes to read. They’re worth wading through though if it means you get to experience this beautiful, fast-moving story about love, prejudice, and sacrifice.

Honor is currently available on the Hoopla library app in both ebook and audiobook formats. My thanks to the author and Algonguin books for providing me with a gifted print copy to review.

Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself." (Lois McMaster Bujold)

It's what resides in the temple of your soul. Honor is pure and never tainted by the ways of the world. Never steal honor's breath to try to validate actions that defile its very virtue. For honor beckons to sit upon the highest of the high.

Thrity Umrigar has gifted us with an exceptional offering in her latest novel of Honor. I sincerely felt like a ten ton truck had been sitting on my chest. I was breathless. I was so anxious. I was appalled. I was horrified. I was completely laid flat with emotions that left me with no words.

And it all began with Umrigar introducing us to a young Indian American woman named Smita. Smita left India when she was fourteen years old as her father took a teaching position at a university in Ohio. Smita is a journalist on vacation in Maldives when she gets a call that her friend and fellow journalist, Shannon, is undergoing surgery. Smita flies to Mumbai for the first time since the flight that took her family to Ohio. What begins as a gesture of kindness for a friend will completely transform Smita forever.

As a favor for Shannon, Smita will fill in for a shocking story that Shannon had been working on. The story involves a Hindu woman who marries a Muslim man. Simple.....but hardly that. The small village where this took place outside of Mumbai is still saturated in ancient traditions of cruelty and heartless punishment. Although the couple has married and Meena is with child, the community, as well as Meena's two brothers, have taken to ostracizing the couple......and far far more.

Smita will be accompanied by Mohan who worked with Shannon as an assistant and translator. Mohan had been born in a village not that far from Meena. Mohan's presence gives pause to Smita as he enlightens her and serves as a bridge between Smita's past and present knowledge of Indian customs. Umrigar holds a single card in her hand that will eventually be written with the shakey letters comprised of Smita's past in India.

Honor takes us to a place so mired in hatred and ignorance that it is almost impossible to even imagine that such evil and hard-rooted superstition still exists in this world. "Smita made a sound, sorrow bubbling up from her lips." Smita carries a deep outrage simmering for years within herself.

Thrity Umrigar was taken by a New York Times article a few years back about the treatment of women living in rural India. It was the impetus for Honor. But in the artful hands of Umrigar we will also stand in the light of potential reform and change. Slow in coming through the gates of ancient tradition, Honor floods the world with its revealment upon these archaic modes of life. The world, at large, just needs to sit down on its hands and listen fully. No one, absolutely no one, should tolerate what women have tolerated since the beginning of time.

You owe yourself to grab this one......and be forever changed yourself.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one blew me away! 5 Glowing stars! The audio was fantastic!

This is a beautifully written story although it is horrific and heartbreaking.

Smita is an Indian American who is a journalist. She's summoned to India, her country of birth because her journalist friend Shannon is having surgery. Once there she finds out the real reason she has been summoned. Shannon was working on a powerful story that Smita must now take over. It's a horrific story about a woman named Meena. She is a Hindu who lives in a small village but has married a Muslim man. Her brothers feel she has dishonoured the family and one day they burn her home alongside her husband. Her husband dies and Meena is badly disfigured from the fire. She has been left alone with her small child and her mother-in-law. Meena seeks justice from the court system. Throughout all this we also learn Smita's heartbreaking story.

While there is a lot of sadness in the story there is also hope and reflection. If you're looking for a powerful and moving story I highly recommend this one!

[Will Byrnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

If her years as a reporter had taught her anything, it was these two things: One, the world was filled with people who were adrift, rudderless, and untethered. And two, the innocent always paid for the sins of the guilty.

--------------------------------------

…their traditions mean more to them than their humanity.

While reading Thrity Umrigar’s latest, novel, Honor, her ninth for adults, my thoughts kept drifting to Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, not the totality of the story so much as the classic opening sentence.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

In the case of Honor there are not exactly two cities. Mumbai certainly counts, but Birwad is a remote, rural village. It was the best of times for the reporter, India-born, but American since age fourteen, an international correspondent for a major New-York-based newspaper. It was the worst of times for the local woman, a young widow, living a terrible life in Birwad. Her brothers had murdered her husband, the light of her life, in plain sight, happily including their own sister in the conflagration. It was the spring of hope for a crusading lawyer, Anjali, desperate to find a woman willing to press charges against abusers like these, very grateful to have finally found one. She is hoping to establish a precedent, maybe even gain some justice. It was the winter of despair. But even if Gorvind and Arvind can be convicted and sent to prison, Meena would still be stuck living with her mother-in-law, who hates her, blaming her for the death of her son. It was an epoch of belief. The brothers had torched their own sister because she, a Hindu, had dared marry a Muslim, which the brothers believed was an abomination. They also hated her because she worked, while they did not, again somehow shameful, even though she gave them her entire salary. It was an era of incredulity. Really, this medieval bullshit is still going on in the 21st century?


Thrity Umrigar

Smita Agarwal had not wanted to go back to Mumbai, but the veteran reporter cut short her vacation in the Maldives when she got a call from Shannon Carpenter (broken hip, in hospital), a friend, and the South Asia Correspondent for her newspaper. Smita expects to be hanging with her pal for a while as she prepares for surgery, then recovers. But Shannon redirects her to taking on reporting duties for a grim story. The trial of brothers Gorvind and Arvind is due for a verdict soon. An associate of Shannon’s is sent along to help with translation, and coping with local cultural issues. Mohan is not a reporter, but someone is needed to help smooth things for Smita, who will need a translator. She has not been back to India for decades, and very much needs the help.

What Smita finds in this remote place is incredibly disturbing, a primitive society riven by a particularly deep and violent religious division and a legal system that is a caricature of bias and corruption, although sadly far too real. Smita interviews Meena, her mother-in-law, the brothers, the village leader who had encouraged them to commit the crime, and the lawyer who is handling the case against them. There is no ambiguity about guilt here. The only legal question is whether there will be any sort of justice in such a backwater.

Honor is a tale of two tales. It is not only in Birwad that bias crimes are committed. Alternating with the tale of Meena is Smita’s attempt to address the reason her family moved to the states from Mumbai when she was a teen. She revisits her old neighborhood and speaks, or tries to speak with people she knew back then. Her story is revealed bit by bit over the course of the novel. Later she tells Mohan the full tale of her family’s experience. It is clear that it is not only remote, rural India that has a problem with mindless us-versus-them bigotry.

The parallel stories incorporate contrasting elements. The novel looks at old versus new, faith versus materialism, rationality versus extremist religiosity, corruption versus honesty, modernity versus tradition, right versus wrong, kindness versus cruelty, understanding versus blind rejection, patriarchal abuse versus gender equity. There is the contrast between the cosmopolitan Smita and the rural Meena, the comfortable Mohan and the struggling villagers.

Smita wrestles with her feelings about India, mostly repulsed by it because of the treatment her family had received, the ongoing religious warfare, and a million small miseries the nation inflicts on everyone. But she also recognizes some of the kinder sides to life there, particularly as epitomized by Mohan. She is also confronted with a woman in Meena who had actually done a radical thing, standing up for love in the face of extreme bias, and then standing up for justice in a cruelly unjust place. She had opened herself to huge peril by attending to her heart. Whereas Smita lives a solo existence, sustaining barriers that prevent her from ever committing to anyone emotionally. Even though Smita’s reporting for a western newspaper is expected to benefit the fight against religious bigotry, this is not a trope of westerner coming to the rescue of a desperate third-worlder. Here, the illiterate local has much to teach the sophisticate.

The novel had dual inspirations. First was the reporting of New York Times reporter Ellen Barry, who documented some of the worst outrages of Indian injustice during her years working there. There are a couple of links in EXTRA STUFF to Barry’s NY Times work, and one article of hers in particular that was an obvious source for this novel. The second inspiration was Umrigar’s family’s history.

In 1993, my middle-aged father stood on our balcony and watched helplessly as the apartment building across the street burned. It had been set on fire by a mob of angry Hindus who had heard that a Muslim family lived on the ground floor.
By this time, I was living in faraway America, safe from the paroxysm of insanity and violence that gripped Bombay—the erstwhile most tolerant and cosmopolitan of Indian cities—during that terrible period. But I can still hear the bewilderment in my father's voice as he later recounted the incident during our weekly phone chat. I immediately worried about my family's well-being, but he brushed aside my fretting. We were Parsis, a small, prosperous, and educated religious minority in India; the joke was that there were so few of us, nobody saw us as any kind of threat. - from the Bookbrowse interview

So, the two places may be dramatically different, but the underlying problems are remarkably similar. In addition to continuing her writing about India, in which she focuses on class and gender issues, there was another stream that flowed into her work this time.

I wrote ‘Honor’ during the Trump years,” she says. “I was writing about India, but I was also writing about my own adopted country. This othering of others is not a phenomena you can assign to any one country. The trend winds are blowing across the world’s two largest democracies, India and the United States. I am sometimes appalled and bewildered and dismayed by the parallels.” - from the LA Times interview

It is certainly no stretch to see in people who erected a gallows for a vice president who would not do what their leader wanted the very group madness Umrigar shows us in India. The Indian version gives us a village leader stoking the violence, encouraging the brothers to commit an atrocity. Here we have Trump, Tucker Carlson, Fox News and a host of fascist demagogues screaming lies about “the other.”

A major focus in Honor is on how the word has been misused to support unconscionable policies and actions.

The word honor has been abused and shorn of its meaning in traditional, male-dominated societies, where it is simply a cover for the domination of women by their fathers, brothers, and sons. The sexual politics of the so-called honor killings are impossible to avoid. Women are raped, killed, and sacrificed to preserve male pride and reputations.

In this novel, I wanted to reclaim the word and give it back to the people to whom it belongs—people like Meena, a Hindu woman, and her Muslim husband, Abdul, who allow their love to blind them to the bigotries and religious fervor that surround them, who transcend their own upbringing to imagine a new and better world. - from the Bookbrowse interview

Honor is a tale of two loves. We get from Meena’s POV her history with Abdul, and how that love survives his murder in her love for their daughter. Smita has never really had that kind of relationship, but finds herself increasingly drawn to Mohan, as she sees him in action, helping her maneuver a culture she does not really understand, sees what a good, kind man he is, and begins to wonder if there is some way to sustain their connection after her work on this story is complete. She also struggles with her feelings about India, which have been hostile, but as warm memories from her youth return, as she learns from Mohan of the many good things about her birth country, she warms to it, and regains some of the affection she once had for her homeland.

I see that child who lay upon her bosom and who bore my name, a man winning his way up in that path of life which once was mine. I see him winning it so well, that my name is made illustrious there by the light of his. I see the blots I threw upon it, faded away. I see him, fore-most of just judges and honoured men, bringing a boy of my name, with a forehead that I know and golden hair, to this place—then fair to look upon, with not a trace of this day’s disfigurement—and I hear him tell the child my story, with a tender and a faltering voice.

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” - Tale of Two Cities - via Project Gutenberg

Shift the boy in Dickens’ tale to Meena’s daughter, Abru, in this one and it also fits right in. Honor is a gut punch that will being you to tears of grief and rage. Hopefully it will make you aware of the currents of group hatred that flow in far too many places, probably one uncomfortably close to home. But it will also offer you cause for hope, cause to see beyond the storm clouds of conflict to the clearing skies of hope. Honor is not a far, far better book than Umrigar has ever written. Really? With her dazzling oeuvre, what could be? But it is certainly among her strongest works. And that is saying a lot.

Despite the darkness of the subject matter, Umragar sustains a positive outlook. In the LA Times interview, she references Tony Kushner.

He says something to the effect of: Hope is not a choice. Hope is a moral obligation. I try and live by those words. I may sometimes not feel hopeful about my own personal circumstances, which is absurd because I’ve had every opportunity and privilege in the world. But I always feel hopeful about humanity.”

Review first posted – March 25, 2022

Publication dates
----------Hardcover - January 4, 2022
----------Trade paperback - September 27, 2022



This review has been, or soon will be cross-posted on my site, Coot’s Reviews. Stop by and say Hi!

=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages

Interviews
-----Bookbrowse - An interview with Thrity Umrigar - there are two parts to this, first, an essay by Umrigar re Honor then an interview from 2006. Both are excellent
-----LA Times - A book of horror and hope in India, inspired by extremists closer to home BY BETHANNE PATRICK

My reviews of prior books by Thrity Umrigar
-----2018 - The Secrets Between Us
-----2016 - Everybody’s Son
-----2011 - The World We Found
-----2009 - The Weight of Heaven
-----2008 - The Space Between Us

Items of Interest from the author
-----Book Club Kit
-----excerpt – Chapter Five
-----Workman Library - Thrity Umrigar discusses her upcoming novel, HONOR (Jan 2022) - video – 3:22

Songs/Music
There is a play list in the Book Club Kit

Items of Interest
-----NY Times - articles by Ellen Barry
-----Read this one of Barry’s in particular - How to Get Away With Murder in Small-Town India
-----Wiki on Honor Killing
-----Gutenberg - A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – the entire text

Reminds Me Of
-----The Heart of Darkness

[Debra- semi hiatus due to a loved ones health · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, Honor is a powerful and moving book about love, sacrifice, and loss.

Indian American journalist, Smita has returned to India, believing she has been called there to take care of her friend and fellow journalist, Shannon. Upon visiting her friend in the hospital, she learns she has been called there to cover the case of Meena - a Hindu woman who has been ostracized and later attacked by both members of her village and her own brothers for marrying a Muslim man. It is a gut wrenching and heartbreaking case.

Smita is instantly reminded about how good she has it in America. India was once her home. She and her family left India when she was fourteen-years old to move to the United States. How will she feel about being back?

Tradition. What happens when you go against it?
Honor. What does it mean to you? What does it mean to others?

While Meena's fate hangs in the balance, Smita comes up against misogamy, tradition, and where morally reprehensible acts are allowed to happen. As Smita begins to feel an attraction to Mohan, her driver and translator, she begins to realize what freedoms she has vs. the lack of freedom Meena has. The lack of freedom women in India and other cultures have.

Again, this was a beautifully written, thought provoking and moving novel. It touches on love, family, attraction, honor, tradition, hatred, sacrifice, betrayal, ignorance, bribery, and hope. This book made me appreciate the freedom and choices that I get to make in my own life. It also serves a looking glass into what life is like for women in other countries who do not have the same freedoms that I do. Where Honor killings are still the norm, where those in power turn a blind eye, and where women have no voice.

The descriptions in this book are vibrant and lush. As the author described the heat, the hostility, and the beauty - I could feel and imagine it all. I was moved by the story, saddened by the injustice of things, and felt hope for other things. Not always an easy book to read, but isn't that the case of books that describe things as they are? That make us take a long hard look at injustice and the mistreatment of others.

I found myself highlining various beautiful passages and re-reading others. This was my first book by Thrity Umrigar and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Honor a MUST READ which I highly recommend.


Powerful. Moving. Riveting.

4.5 stars

Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

[Canadian Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A disturbing look at how women have been treated culturally and historically by misogynistic men in India, with their patriarchal ideas of what family honour is. Especially in the small villages outside of the cities.
A journalist, Smita, originally from India with her own secret of exile, has been called to write a story about a woman who did a dishonour to her family by marrying a Muslim while she was a Hindu. Her brothers set him on fire and she tried to save her husband but was engulfed in flames leaving her face disfigured. Smita is covering the story as the woman has brought charges up against her brothers. The woman, Meena, wishes to honour her husband’s life and their forbidden love, by standing up to the old traditions at the risk of being ostracized by both faiths. The courage and strength of this one woman. Representing millions more.

I’m not sure what honour there is in a culture that dishonours life. Dishonours women. Old Customs where woman are seen as subjugates. The shame a woman carries with her if she so much “steps out of line”.

The writing is rich with textured characters. The flaws of this story are those that are steeped in the old world traditions
of a culture that prevents it from moving forward and recognizing the value and honour of a female.
Abru.
5⭐️

[Kavita · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is such a pity! A great opportunity to tell a story about a critical social issue, but the author squandered it over some cheap and pretentious work. Honor is about Smita Agarwal, an American journalist who is hiding some deep secret in her past. She gets called in to cover the story of Meena, a Hindu woman from a remote village who eloped with a Muslim man, and had her husband murdered by her brothers. She finds some peace with her past as well as love with an Indian man, Mohan.

The first thing I noticed is that Umrigar, despite being of Indian origin and having spent her entire childhood in India (till 21), has not bothered to do the least bit of research on the country or the culture. I would not be surprised to learn that she has not set foot in the country since the day she has left and only took up this topic because it would be a guaranteed hit with white people. One example is that there have not been dancing bears for decades in the country, and especially not in Mumbai. Might as well also show fakirs sleeping on nail beds for entertainment factor. And there are airconditioned cars throughout India ... you don't have to roll down your window, lady! 🙄 And has she ever been to an Indian airport?! An ant can't get inside, but somehow our security is lax because her American highness needed to feel superior.

And really, no Indian would ever forget the year of the horrible Hindu-Muslim riots of the 90s. No, it was not in '96, as Umrigar believes. This book should be burned for this insensitivity. It's basic research, which the author could not be bothered to do! Also, has she been to Indian restaurants or eaten at a roadside stall? Gender of the payee doesn't matter. Nor in hotels. Many hotels don't allow unmarried couples but WOMEN's SIGNS ARE VALID. It got irritating really fast.

I kept cringing at Smita's "American" identity, which basically is all there is to the book. Once you realise that Smita is American, you are done. Some of the stuff in relation to this was quite cringeworthy. Indians are depicted as lapdogs for the wonderful Americans who throw scraps their way. For example, Nandini, a colleague of an American journalist, Shannon, actually behaves like a dog throughout the book, so much so that is her only role in the story. It was hilarious how both Mohan and Smita screamed about her being an American citizen and the intolerant religious, nationalist mob just stopped. I doubled up laughing at this while also being vicariously embarrassed. How dumb can you get?

The writing is pretty mediocre. Which would not be a problem if the storytelling was handled more expertly. Umrigar chose to cover two interesting topics. One is about Smita's dark secret during the "1996" (LOL!) mob riots. It was an interesting story but the foreshadowing got pretty annoying and made me lose interest in both story and character. If you have anything to say, just come out and say it without faffing around about your Americanness.

The other story covered Meena's struggle for justice, which I honestly thought could have been done much better. The author chose to take the story backwords and then tell it in flashes, which I felt did not do justice to Meena's story because I was already impatient to know what happens in the present. It was a depressing ending but I am not going to hold that against the author. It was weird that in this day and age only an American is going around covering this story. Like, why? India doesn't have journalists? Huge eyeroll, and yet another colonialist take. There are journalists putting their lives at risk in the country to cover exactly these issues, and Umrigar's colonialist take is very insulting and patronising.

I also thought that instead of concentrating on Smita's unnecessary Americanness and her stupid love story, more pages should have been devoted to Meena and her actual story. Why is her village so backward? Why did her brother turn against her? What the hell happened to her sister? Why did she just disappear from the pages? Why bring a silly magician village chief into the picture? I thought that covering both stories took away from both.

The one good thing about the book was Mohan and his character development. He really grows as a person through the book, while Smita remains a self-centred idiot from start to end. There was no spark between the two and I simply don't understand why Mohan falls in love with this horrible woman. It probably has to do with the tense situations they endured and the relationship won't last long. Smita is a deeply unpleasant character, forever moaning about her Americanness and Indianness and comparing the two and having random unknowledgeable opinions on everything. It was really horrid when she compares herself to Meena! She is extremely entitled and whiny throughout, about one thing or the other. Why does anyone like her?

Overall, while there is merit in the subject, it would be much better written by an Indian author. Honor feels like one of those cringeworthy racist books written by white British imperialists in the 1800s. Only this is by a woman of Indian origin and both set and written in a time when global travel is not just possible but extremely easy. It somehow feels worse. Minus stars, because you should do better, Ms. Umrigar. If you won't care about your country of birth, why would others? And you made me waste ONE hour of my time, writing this review.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Thrity Umbrigar’s new novel “Honor” reveals the sad reality of India’s ingrained culture in the unseemly rural side of the country. Far from the bustling and socially enthusiastic cities, deep in the rural areas are poverty, violence, caste hierarchies, religious fundamentalism, and misogyny. It is the misogyny that Umbrigar is the heart of the violence.

In her Acknowledgments Umbrigar tells the reader that she was inspired by news articles about India written by Ellen Barry for the New York Times. The names of the novel’s characters are fiction; Umbrigar used events and treatments of women in rural India as fodder for this novel. Reading this novel and recognizing that these things happen to women and people currently in India is emotionally difficult to absorb.

In this story, journalist Smita Agarwal is on vacation when she is asked by a good friend to come to India and help her. The friend had an injury which necessitates surgery. Once Smita is at her friend’s side at the hospital, she learns that the friend really wants her to cover a story for her. It involves a woman, Meena, who was burned while trying to extinguish the flames engulfing her husband. Meena, a Hindu, fell in love and married a Muslim. Meena’s brothers felt entitled to set Meena’s husband on fire because the marriage brought dishonor to her family and the village. Her husband died, and Meena suffered horrendous burns, disfiguring and disabling her.

Smita has her own personal baggage. She and her family left India when she was fourteen and she vowed never to step foot in India. Smita has successfully avoided India in her assignments and is anxious about traveling deep into the primitive countryside. There is something else about her dislike of India. Something about her family’s departure is an unresolved issue.

Smita isn’t a fan of Mumbai either, with it’s smells, crowding, and poverty. Deep in the countryside of India, it is worse: hatred, poverty, illiteracy, and worst of all corruption.

For balance, Umrigar adds the character Mohan, the son of a diamond broker. He loves India and Mumbai. He’s asked to accompany Smita to the rural village where Meena was burned. A man is necessary there, as women are property and not taken seriously.

Both Meena and Mohan are very devoted in their religion. Their devotedness is based on the Eastern philosophical tradition of sacrifice, selflessness, and honor. Neither character believes in retribution. Meena believed her marriage as modern, and integrated couple of the India of the future. Mohan understands the cultural norms, and sees only the good, and understands the ugly.

This is the story of Meena’s life. Through the events that happened to her we learn of divergence of the rural India and the city. India is a developing and emerging country in the cities. In the country, it is backwards. It’s also a story of India, of the diverse cultural norms that prevail.

The story does end on a somewhat high note, leaving the reader less traumatized. The ending was odd to me, as I felt this is a powerful story about Meena and the problems in the rural areas of India. I’m not sure why a thrown-in love story was needed, other than to make the story less devastating.

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Previously to reading Thrity Umrigar’s Honor I’d read another novel with the same title and subject matter. Both books make for harrowing reads, however, whereas I found Elif Shafak’s more thoughtful tone to be more appropriate to the subject fitting, here, well, Umrigar’s undermines her social commentary by throwing into the mix a rushed romantic subplot, a series of blatant plot points and coincidences, an abundance of mawkish metaphors, and one too many cartoonish side characters.

At first, I found Umrigar’s Honor to be a rather gripping read as it promised to be an unflinching story tackling honor killings, Islamophobia, discrimination, and misogyny. The novel switches between two perspectives: Smita, an Indian American journalist who left India at a young age after a traumatic experience, and Meena, a Hindu woman who married a Muslim man. Meena has survived an attack that her husband did not. Her brothers, alongside other men from their community, tried to burn her alive. Now Meena and her newborn live with her mother-in-law who is resentful of her, blaming her for her son’s horrific death. Smita is given this story after her colleague is hospitalized. Initially, Smita isn’t too keen on this as she’s very uneasy about returning to India. A friend of her colleague becomes her travel companion. While she’s initially reluctant about his presence she quickly discovers that travelling alone is inadvisable.
Smita interviews Meena and learns the details of her vicious attack. She later on also interviews her brothers and a powerful man in their Hindu community. While they deny their involvement it is clear that they were not only responsible but have no remorse about having murdered their sister’s husband and disfigured her. Smita’s feelings towards India are repeatedly challenged by her companion who forces her not to dismiss a whole country on the basis of the actions of some. As Smita witnesses how Meena is treated by her mother-in-law and learns of how she was treated by her brothers, she becomes aware of her the privilege she carries being Indian American. Still, as a woman, she’s also exposed to the misogyny that is rampant in Meena’s community. Umrigar doesn't paint Smita as a hero and I appreciated that sometimes, even when she’s trying to help someone, her actions do not have the desired consequences. In this way, I was reminded of The Far Field, another novel that is very much about privilege and guilt.
I did find Meena’s chapters to be a bit…condescending of her? Her vocabulary also struck me as inconsistent. Her chapters are in English for our eyes only, in reality, she’s speaking a dialect of Marathi, right? So why do her chapters occasionally seem to play up that she’s not well-spoken? Only for then to use complex sentences or allegories that really stood out in comparison to the rest of her narration? I don’t know…it seemed to me that the author was going to great lengths to portray Meena as this ‘simple’ village girl and it kind of annoyed me.
Smita also had her fair share of incongruities. For one, she claims to be good at her job yet she behaves really unprofessional. She tells off her companion, Mohan, for getting ‘emotional’ during one interview but she repeatedly does the same thing. She makes some really poor decisions and her line of questioning struck me ineffective.
For the majority of the narrative, the author does demonstrate her knowledge and insight into her story’s various subject matters (honor killings, religious conflicts, cultural and class divides). However, I did find her execution soap-operasish. At times her language, as well as her imagery, struck me as hackneyed, for example, “Smita could see the awful, irregular geometry of Meena’s face as past and present, normalcy and deformity, beauty and monstrosity, collided.” I also found it a bit predictable that Smita’s ‘past’, which has made her feel so conflicted about India, echoes in some ways Meena’s situation.
The pacing is fairly slow and I did not entirely understand why Meena’s chapters were even included given that, if anything, they made her relationship with her husband seem very rushed and random. The guy basically sees her once or twice while they are working and declares his undying love for her. His naivete about the fact that she’s Hindu and he is Muslim also struck me as a bit…unconvincing. I mean, he isn’t a child nor a hermit who is wholly unaware of his country’s political or social climate.
While the hearing’s result did strike me as sadly believable, I did find that section of the narrative somewhat rushed and illogical. Smita’s decision not to do something seemed a clear choice on the author’s part to force her character to feel guilty and haunted, indebted to stay in India. Smita’s relationship with Mohan also rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed a bit insensitive to have it so soon after yet another horrific plot point. The whole finale was corny, extremely so, and I hated how illogical it all was. Even if you have the character point out how ‘crazy’ or ‘insane’ they are by believing that they have just been given a ‘sign’ from above, it still doesn’t make it believable to have that character uphold their lives because of that random sign. The secondary characters were very one-note, the majority of them are horrible, ignorant, or a combination of the two things. Most of the Indian female characters, with the exception of Meena, are really nasty to Smita for no good reason. I didn't understand the point of her American colleague, Shannon, either. Her translator, Nandini, also served no purpose other than having scenes where Smita thinks her devotion to Shannon is' weird', and in a very childish manner wonders whether she's in love with her. Grow up Smita, ffs.
Sadly, while I appreciate that the author has tackled such important issues, I found her storytelling to be too…shall I say, ‘book-clubby’ for my taste. I did like that at the end she makes a point of stating how absurd it is that ‘honor’ killings are referred to as such when there is truly nothing honorable about them.

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[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!
Smita is an American foreign news correspondent, she was born in India, but when her family’s lives where threatened over religious issues, her father took her family to Ohio,, as he was a professor and got a job in the States.
Now in her mid 30’s she is called to go back to India on an assignment.. she has not been back there since being a young girl.
The assignment is to write on a case involving the burning death of a young Muslim man by his two brother-in-law’s that are Hindu. They also tried to burn his wife ( their own sister) but she made it out but with severe damage to her face.
I am going to stop here … don’t want to give anything away!
This book will make you very angry in parts, due to the treatment of women in India.. but there is also a story full of love.

I have had a couple other books by this author on my TBR for quite some time… I will surely get to them now!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honor by Thrity Umrigar is a 2022 Algonquin Books publication.

Smita, an Indian American journalist, has been summoned back to India at the behest of a friend, who is facing a medical crisis. Upon arrival, she discovers her friend doesn’t so much want her presence by her side as she wishes for Smita to take on an assignment in her stead.

The case in question is centered on Meena, a Hindu woman who married a Muslim. Members of her own family murdered her husband, while Meena was severely burned trying to save his life. Now Meena’s brothers are on trial, while she and her young daughter reside with her bitter mother-in-law.

Smita agrees to cover the case for her friend, albeit reluctantly. Accompanying her, is Mohan, who serves as a host/ guide/assistant, and occasional devil’s advocate, helping her navigate a country Smita has a hard time reconciling, but is still helplessly drawn to at the same time.

This is a powerful, gut-wrenching story, highlighting two very different, but very brave women, who sacrifice all they know for love and for the true, rightful meaning of ‘Honor’…

Overall, the book absolutely deserves all the praise bestowed on it. This book will linger in your mind and heart for a long time after you turn the final page.

4+ stars

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook….read by Sneha Mathan
….11 hours and 19 minutes

Agree, agree, agree…. with all the 5 star reviews.

The story pulled me in immediately. Terrific in audiobook format.

STORYTELLING MASTERY!!!! Eloquent and evocative writing…..
…..flows effortlessly…..

It was natural - ‘easy’ to empathize with the character’s circumstances, and intense emotions….


I enjoyed “Honor” a lot…..
—fabulous story….
A treat not to take notes —
…..it was like watching a movie…..
Completely enraptured!!!

Loved it!

[Sujoya - theoverbookedbibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

“Abru.
It means Honor.”

Meena Mustafa’s husband Abdul was burnt alive by her brothers in an attack that left a side of her face disfigured and left hand permanently damaged - an ‘honor killing’ as punishment meted out for the crime of marrying inter faith. Meena , a Hindu, fell in love with Abdul , a Muslim, leaving her home to be with him , an act that is viewed as dishonorable by her family and community. Four months of marriage ends in tragedy for Meena who was then pregnant with her daughter who she names Abru, Meena ,having survived because of the intervention of her brother-in-law who has since absconded fearing for his own life, goes against the wishes of mother-in-law and with the help of a lawyer ,who is fighting her case pro bono, reopens the case against her brothers and is now awaiting the verdict. Meena is aware of the deep seated corruption and potential danger she is up against but does not shy away from fighting her case in the honor of her husband’s memory and for the sake of her daughter so that she would grow up knowing that her mother did her best to fight for justice.

Indian American journalist Smita travels to India to continue the coverage of Meena’s story as a favor to a colleague ,Shannon, who is recuperating from surgery. Accompanied by Mohan, a friend of Shannon, who acts as translator and mediator and coordinating with Anjali , Meena’s lawyer, she travels to Meena’s marital home to meet her where she is a social pariah among her neighbors on account of fear and communal bias, She then travels to Meena’s native village to meet her brothers, who have been roaming freely after the charges were initially dropped, and the rich, powerful and unscrupulous village head who orchestrated the whole incident and is brazenly confident of the verdict being ruled in the their favor.

Smita is settled in the United States, but her family was once based in Mumbai with her having spent the first 14 years of her life there. While acknowledging that India is a country of rich culture and knowledge with an economy that is growing in leaps and bounds , in Meena she bears witness to the plight of less fortunate women in rural India stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty, lack of infrastructure and education and the influence of men acting as God in their own little kingdoms with little or no interference from local law enforcement . Having traveled the world on various assignments she has covered events associated with power struggles, poverty , religious intolerance and violence against women. But now she feels unable to deny her roots and it is this pull she feels that prevents her from treating this assignment and in turn Meena in the objective or dispassionate manner her profession demands. Her experience becomes a personal one which in turn forces her to recall the traumatic incidents that prompted her own family to migrate to the United States over twenty years ago . Smita (and the reader) is compelled to draw parallels. The stark contrast of their lives and the life altering impact of their respective ordeals are revealed through a powerful narrative that will keep you engaged till the every end.

In Honor, the author delves into a social issue headlining Indian and international news media- honor killings. The vivid descriptions from the Mumbai coastline to the bullet ridden walls of the Leopold Café (that bear witness to the terrorist attacks of November 26, 2008) and the street markets of Colaba to the rural countryside and rough terrain of Birwad and Vithalgaon are so beautifully penned that you feel like you are sharing Smita’s journey. But the romantic track was unnecessary (with its Indian movie style love story) and lessened impact of what could have been a more powerful novel.I have read several of Thrity Umrigar’s novels in the past and I feel Honor would deserve a place amongst her very best if it were not for the ending, with the author shifting focus onto Meena and Mohan's relationship.

However, it is a hard-hitting , evocative and compelling novel. The author has exhibited considerable restraint and respect while dealing with a sensitive topic. Not an easy read but when a story revolves around social evil, it is not meant to be. It is unfortunate when the very men who believe in upholding the honor, values and beliefs of a particular caste, creed or religion fail to comprehend that as human beings there is no honor in intolerance and discrimination, there is no honor in communal hatred and there is certainly no honor in violence fueled by that hatred. At the risk of sounding preachy, I will say that as one of many women who can confidently claim to have had it better , the question we can ask ourselves and act upon is what we can actually do for women who are not as fortunate.
“Smita herself had repeated the platitudes about the humanizing effects of literature and narrative journalism, how each medium cultivated empathy in readers. But toward what end?"

[Kartik · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whoo boy, I let my rage simmer before deciding to unleash my full wrath. I'm not gonna drag this out. I find this book extremely egregious and ignorant.

So let's just jump right into this shall we?

Beware of spoilers ahead

I hate how this book characterizes bigotry. The author seems to think that bigotry is an individualized action where you have the good people and the bad people. And the good people never do anything bad or evil and the bad people have no personality or development other than they are "bad".

This leads us to the central problem with this book. The author does not take into account any of India's history, social segregation, or economic conditions and instead just makes her villains do bad things without any explanation or reason.

Let's look at another aspect of this. Smita is assigned to report on the case of Meena, a Hindu woman who is ostracized from her village for marrying a Muslim man. The author fails to make ANY meaningful commentary on religion, caste, gender, income etc. Fun fact, my own mother grew up in an Indian village as the youngest of 4 sisters in the 1970s. Now, if my mom was the protagonist of one of this author's works, her story would be characterized by how repressive her society is, how badly everyone treats her and her sisters and so on. Well guess what? In real life, my mother and all my aunts were allowed to get full education and even leave their villages later in life once they were able to get jobs. (My mother worked in a completely separate state once she finished college!)

Now you might be saying, "Ok Kartik just because your mother had it easy does not mean the same applies to every woman in every village. Some women do experience a lot of oppression and we should tell their stories."

To which I would respond, "Ok but in order to do that you have to understand why they experience oppression in the first place."

For example, my family is from South India and in general (I say in general just for brevity, don't automatically assume that South India is good and North India is bad) South India tends to be more developed than North India. So it is true that the likelihood of my mother getting an education and job would have decreased had she lived in a northern village but why is this? Well there are a multitude of reasons: South India has access to a lot of major ports which allow for easier trading leading to faster growth and industrialisation. In addition, Southern India's soil is less fertile than in the north, which forced it to depend less on agriculture and more on service sectors, and South India was less harshly colonized by the British as compared to the north, so on and so forth. I'm not going to explain every reason as this is not an economics report but suffice it to say, none of these historical circumstances made their way into this book. The author seems to take it for granted that women and/or Muslims are constantly oppressed but without anything meaningful to say about the nature, causes or roots of oppression... what am I supposed to be walking away with? That some people's lives are bad? I could've just turned on the news station for that.

An example of a scene that serves no other purpose than to be trauma porn is when it is revealed that Smita, our protagonist, was forced to convert from Islam to Hinduism after a mob nearly tried to lynch her family. That sounds like a powerful moment right? Well guess what it makes NO IMPACT on the story. None, nada, zilch. The protagonist never references it again, nor does it even have an effect on the larger story. This scene exists for no other reason than to handfeed cartoonishly bad stereotypes of bigotry to the reader. And it expects me to think that it's a poignant moment!

This book had little no pathos, nuance, or subtlety. Just people behaving like one-dimensional cartoon characters who directly spell out the message for the audience. (AND, might I add, the message is incredibly awful and lousy.)

Let me give another example of how bad this book is at representing bigotry. There's a scene where Smita's Muslim family are being attacked by her neighbours for being a Muslim. But here's the thing, the neighbours have known that they are Muslims FOR YEARS. No explanation is given, they just randomly start attacking them for no reason despite the characters themselves pointing out that they've been friends for a long time. This is just not how anyone remotely behaves. And of course Smita's Muslim father is a professor of Hinduism because we have to be REALLY HEAVY-HANDED about he is a "true" believer who knows that God wouldn't want violence in contrast to the orthodox fundamentalists who want to kill him for being Muslim.

Ugh, this book SUCKS.

I'm sorry if I sound mad but I just cannot help it. I live in India and have lived here for nearly 9 years now so I can't help but be personally offended by this book. It didn't have any nuance, didn't have anything to say, and confirms the worst of stereotypes to the western audience that will invariably read this while gasping at their chests. The exact same problems happened in books like The Girl With the Louding Voice and Grown. Books that are so up their own ass about how "important" they are, they end up saying NOTHING remotely meaningful.

So let me say it again for people in the back: bigotry is subtle and a complex web influenced by a variety of factors from sociology, economics, geography, law and more. It's not just the "oppressor" and the "oppressed". If you genuinely want to write a harrowing story regarding hardships and injustice, then you have to do the work of untangling all the complexities and intricacies of society that caused the injustice in the first place. If you fail to do that then you just reveal yourself to be unknowledgeable, careless, and ignorant.

[Lisa (NY) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing novel about Smita, an Indian born journalist, who returns to India and takes on an assignment about a Hindu woman whose brothers burned and disfigured her and murdered her husband. All for the crime of marrying a Muslim man. In the process, Smita comes to terms with her own past. I've always found Umrigar to be a good storyteller and this book was no exception - although the insertion of Meena and Smita's backstories felt awkward.
(Thank you to Algonquin Books for sending me the ARC.)

[Melissa ~ Bantering Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though some of Reese’s Book Club picks have been suspect over the last year or so, she chose a good one when she selected Honor in January 2022. Set in contemporary India, Thrity Umrigar’s powerful novel brings attention to honor killings by way of the story of Meena, a Hindu woman whose Muslim husband is murdered by her own brothers, in turn leaving her disfigured when she attempts to save his life.

To say Honor is a tough read is to minimize the atrocities you’ll find within its pages. Tough isn’t a strong enough adjective. Neither is difficult, nor heartbreaking. In fact, all the words that come to mind feel like an understatement because the emotions you’ll experience while reading it will be in the extreme. Fury, disgust, sadness, frustration – you’ll feel it so hard.

If you can stomach the subject matter, you should read this book. And even if you can’t, you should still read it, because never has a book shown the hypocrisy of religious violence with such clarity and sensitivity. Umrigar nails it.


My sincerest appreciation to Thrity Umrigar and Algonquin Books for the physical advanced reading copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

[Brandice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words in a review cannot do this story justice — Smita, an Indian American journalist, returns to India to cover the story of Meena, a Hindu woman tortured by her own brothers for marrying a Muslim man. Smita works on the news story while Meena’s fate remains a question. While she is in India, old memories and painful parts of Smita’s past resurface. She is forced to confront some of these and becomes close with Mohan, a friend of a friend designated to assist her while she is there on assignment.

Honor is a story about forbidden love, family loyalty, and sacrifice. If this sounds dramatic, I feel you, but the story is excellent. I was immersed, invested, and didn’t want it to end!

It’s been increasingly challenging for me to find pride in being an American over the last decade, however, this book, though fictional, made me grateful to live somewhere where women aren’t treated horrifically. It was hard to read at times but an important story that deserves to be shared — I’ll be thinking of Honor for a long time and it’s a book I highly recommend.

[Kerrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been one to read books suggested by celebrity book clubs. I am so glad I looked at my fellow GR reviewers and went ahead with this one. It is a beautiful story of culture, acceptance, forgiveness, and love.

[Athena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I say this before every bad review, but I really, really mean it: I don’t pick up books hoping to dislike them. Sometimes a book works for me, and sometimes it doesn't, and this is a book I really wanted to work. But, unfortunately, I cannot in good faith recommend it.

Honor's premise is engaging. Meena, a Hindu woman in rural India defies her family by marrying a Muslim man from a neighboring village. Her family retaliates by setting their hut- and her husband- on fire. Meena barely survives; her legal case is taken on by a local non-profit, and her story is picked up by an international newspaper. And so enters the main character, Smita. While Smita is originally from India, a family secret has prevented her return for nearly 20 years. She is hesitant to tackle the story, but after spending time in Mumbai and meeting Meena, she reluctantly stays on.

On page 280 of this book, Smita notes how frequently the West takes stories from India (and pretty much anywhere that isn’t Europe or the US) and feed on them to the point of voyeurism and poverty p*rn. It’s an interesting point, but by the time the author makes it, Honor has already turned into the very thing it disavows. Maybe if characters had been more fleshed out, if more nuance or care had been given to Smita and Meena’s stories, this could have been avoided. The things that happen in Honor are very real and ought to be addressed- but the author treats these traumas as commodities for western consumption. The romance in the last 50-100 pages comes out of left field for a happy ending that feels rushed considering the intense suffering in the rest of the book.

To the authors credit, Honor is fast-paced and engaging- I found myself reading large chunks in quick bursts, despite the heaviness of the topics at hand. But once it was over, it didn’t sit well with me, and I ultimately can neither recommend nor endorse it.

[Terrie Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Honor" by Thrity Umrigar is beautifully written and deeply evocative Literary Fiction!

Smita, an Indian American journalist, returns to India at the request of Shannon, her friend and colleague. Assuming she's in India to help care for her friend, Smita visits the hospital and learns from her colleague that she's been summoned for something else entirely.

Shannon wants Smita to take over the story she was previously covering about Meena Mustafa, a Hindu woman whose home was deliberately set on fire causing the death of her Muslim husband and serious disfigurement to her. The Hindu-Muslim marriage between Meena and Abdul is viewed as abhorrent to her brothers who set the fire as an attempt to restore honor to their family by murdering Meena and her husband.

Meena is relentless in her vision of ensuring her brothers are arrested, brought to trial and judgement given, to restore honor to her husband's memory and hope of a better future for her daughter...

This is a story with subject matter that's difficult to read. It will anger you, bring you to tears, hurt your heart, and it may even cause you to stop reading. You'll pick it back up and finish it, though, just like I did. It's that good!

This authors' writing draws you in and connects you emotionally to the characters. You will get to know all of them enough to determine exactly how you feel about each one. It will come down to a 'love' or 'love to hate' relationship, nothing in between.

There are social conflicts in Meena's portion of this story. A mix of cultures that refuse to live in harmony because of religious differences. Barriers and boundaries that have existed for centuries which result in unimaginable cruelties to Meena, her husband Abdul, and their daughter Abru.

Smita's personal conflicts are woven through this story and brought to light via memories of the India from her past. Her story is also disturbing and while there are similarities between these two women's experiences, there are striking differences.

I love this authors' thoughtful and thought-provoking story. It broke my heart and then, it put all my pieces back together again. It's beautifully written and deeply evocative Literary Fiction that I highly recommend it to everyone!

Thank you to Algonguin Books for a physical copy of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

[Shreya ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thrity Umrigar's Honor

= Elif Shafak's Honor + some banal Bollywoodish ideas - the reality

Was it a commercial approach to attract the western readers? Maybe.

Did it work? Yes indeed. I mean, just take a look at some of the other reviews!

And since this similar tactic was fruitful for "The Bad Muslim Discount", of course it would've worked out for this book, because at least it kept in touch with reality in the first three-fourths of the novel. But it's really not worth the hype.

PS: Umrigar's other books are just fine. But this was quite a disappointment, at least for me.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read about an Indian American journalist who returns to India to cover a story about a Hindu woman brutalized by her own family for marrying a Muslim man. Thrity Umrigar captures the devastating effects of gendered and religious violence in Honor. She also adds interesting commentary about how Western forces can exploit stories from India in a paternalistic and orientalizing way; I liked that she noted a few times in the book that this type of brutality occurs in many countries and isn’t an indication of India’s “backwardness.” I appreciated, too, the healthy romance between two people of color, the main character and the man who accompanies her on her quest to uplift the voice of a woman wronged.

As Alycia notes in her review I found the writing a bit dry at times, though I still would recommend the book for those interested in its synopsis.

[Taury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Integrity = Your honor
India. Dual timelines. I enjoy learning about other countries. The male dominant countries are often backwards and difficult to understand. This dual storyline is no different. Love prevails.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had moments that were breathtakingly beautiful. Also ones that were painful and hard to metabolize. Ultimately, the author paints the picture that this is India, a land where there are beautiful moments and things to absorb, and also where horrors unimaginable take place. However, the main protagonist notes more than once that these kind of awful brutality and subjugation of women and other religions is a phenomena taking place all over the world, not just in India. But what is noteworthy, is that we get the impression from the beginning, that Smita is hadn't left India easily when she was 14. That she too was a victim of both realities of India.

This book is about how Smita has to come to reconcile in herself, both the truths and harsh realities, as well as the possibilities and wonderful things about the place she used to call home. It is a story of how the brutalities and horrors of the past can remain with you, but that the hope and promise for the future can grow stronger. I love a book like this where healing and transformation are the essence and the answer. Honor was a very special read, and one that will stay with me for a long time.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need more books like this one. Not just India but other countries around the world.
I truly liked how the author showed the bad and the good in the country. Also, how horrifying. You hear about such practices but I had no idea they are still as widespread.
The audiobook was well narrated for the most part (Nina's voice was a bit weird).
I'd highly recommend this book if you want to read a novel about India's dark side.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book demonstrates both the noble side and the ugly side of honor. It also shows the consequences of religious bigotry combined with toxic masculinity. Smita is an Indian American journalist who is summoned to Mumbai to take over a story being worked on by her colleague Shannon. The story involves Meena, a young Hindu woman with a toddler, who is suing her 2 brothers for the honor killing of her Muslim husband Abdul. Meena was also seriously disfigured in the arson fire that killed Abdul, but the brothers faced no punishment. When Smita has to conduct interviews, she is assisted by Shannon’s friend Mohan.

The love story of Meena and Abdul was very touching and believable and its tragic ending was horrific. Smita also had a devastating secret that colored her reaction to her return to India. I found those aspects of the book very compelling. I thought that Shannon, and her bizarrely attached assistant, were unnecessary. I also wish that the author had thought of something less conventional than turning Smita and Mohan into an instant romance.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Laura • lauralovestoread · Rating 5 out of 5]

January pick for @reesesbookclub

One word: AMAZING. I devoured this book in one sitting and I haven’t stopped thinking about the beautiful words written by the author.

I was transported to India as Smita navigates life back in her hometown after living in America while she covers the news story for a fellow journalist friend.

Honor was such a thought provoking, impactful story of the freedom of women and culture within another country. But be warned: you may have a book hangover when you finish.

*many thanks to Algonquin for the gifted copy for review

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

After a few months of contemplation and being angrier at this book the more I think about it, I've reduced my rating to one star. I'm an outlier here; it seems everyone is giving this book 5 stars. But I have complicated feelings about this book. I immediately got sucked into the book, although at first I thought the woman at the center of the story, Smita, was a bit of a diva and hating on her home country of India way too much. She was coming across as an ugly American, and I wasn't sure if that was intentional or not.

Eventually, she grew on me, but as we begin to get closer to the heart of the story, the book becomes incredibly graphic, with scene after scene of violence and molestation. I know this book is about an honor killing, but there was so much violence beyond that. It began to feel like trauma porn, and I was uncomfortable that so many white women are reading this book (it's a Reese's Book Club pick and a Currently Readings podcast pick) and raving about it. I fear this is the image they'll have of India. It was too simplistic and felt stereotypical.

Every country has problems, but all problems are nuanced, and there's no nuance in this book. It feels sensational and irresponsible, and I worry it will strengthen readers' impressions of India as a "backwards" country, that this story is all there is to India. There was no depth to how the story was told, to the history of the violence between Hindus and Muslims, to the history of India. Plus, again, trauma porn and a ridiculous romance that came out of nowhere.

[Rachel Hanes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! This was Reese Witherspoon’s book club pick for January 22’, and she nailed it with this pick. It’s going to be real hard for me to find a book that even comes close to the greatness of Honor.

This book was heartbreaking, infuriating, and even a bit exciting all at the same time. There is so much that goes on in the world regarding social injustices and prejudices, and I feel so oblivious just sitting around in my little bubble- almost clueless (and yet so protected and so free). My eyes have definitely been opened regarding how some countries are not as advanced as we are here in the USA - in the case of this book, India. This book was also a reminder of the different cultures, customs, and religions that others practice.

I also have to say that I loved the descriptions of all the characters. I felt I was able to visualize each person, and I knew each one’s personality- whether it was good or not. The towns and cities were described so well, I felt as if I was actually there in Mumbai.

If you only read one book this year, then please read Honor by Thrity Umrigar. I found this book to be outstanding! One of my favorites thus far.

[Lynn Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Everyone needs to read this book. And do not miss the essay at the end of the book by the author. “Women are raped, killed, and sacrificed to preserve male pride and reputations.” Holy moly this book made me think. This book will stay with me a long time. Stories from India have always piqued my curiosity and I’m equally fascinated and repulsed by the caste systems and gender roles that seem to plot your entire life the moment you are born. What happens if you stray from that? If you’re from a big city is that okay? What about from a rural city where modernism has not arrived? This story hits that part of me that makes me so sad for all women that are unable, not allowed, or don’t even dare to dream of a life of equality. Everyone needs to read this book.