Critics' Opinion:
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Published Jul 2001
256 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
A rich, moving, and deeply felt first novel, Bombay Time portrays the lives of longtime residents of a middle-class apartment building, and their complex relationship with the city of their birth. The men and women who live in Wadia Baug are all Parsis, a small ethnic minority whose relative affluence and Western orientation make them stand out in a city of mass poverty. Gathering for the wedding of one of their youngest members, the older residents look back on their youthful, more idealistic selves.
With wisdom and compassion, Thrity Umrigar introduces us to the Parsi men and women who have grown up together in the aging community of Wadia Baug. She traces young Adi Patel's disintegration into alcoholism; indicts Dosamai, the old neighborhood gossip; exposes the shattering romantic betrayal Soli Contractor suffered many years ago; depicts the rise of Jimmy Kanga, the local success story; and examines the history of the reclusive wisdow Tehmi Engineer. Above all, Umrigar gives us a nuanced portrait of Rusi Bilimoria, a middle-aged businessman who is struggling to come to terms with a bad marriage and the realization that many of his dreams remain unfulfilled. Long ago stripped of the ideals he held as an inexperienced young man, Rusi tries hard to make sense of his life and hold together a community that is fraying around him.
A keen observer of human relationships, Thrity Umrigar has created a remarkable novel about a group of men and women who are at once completely unique and utterly recognizable to us all.
"...She also manages to work in a portrait of the decline of Bombay, delivering an impressive debut offering a glimpse into a cultural world especially that of the Parsis, an ethnic minority that most Westerners know only in its barest outlines." - Publishers Weekly
"A wonderful addition to both public and academic libraries for its contribution to the emerging Third World voice in literature." - Library Journal
"Bombay Time is sweet, frightening, poignant, and chaotic as Umrigar dramatizes the power of community in the face of an increasingly dangerous and chaotic world." - Booklist
"The minimal plotting is at times contrived and sentimental, but the portrait of the city and its citizens is authoritative, richly textured, and engaging." - Kirkus Reviews
"Thrity Umrigar has an acute ear for dialogue, and a gift for unmasking the complexities of personal relationships. Wise and nuanced, the narrative grips the reader's attention." - Cleveland Plain Dealer
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Thrity Umrigar is the bestselling author of eight novels, including The Space Between Us, which was a finalist for the PEN/Beyond Margins Award, as well as a memoir and three picture books. Her books have been translated into several languages and published in more than fifteen countries. She is the winner of a Lambda Literary Award and a Seth Rosenberg Award and is Distinguished Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University. A former prize-winning journalist, she has contributed to the Boston Globe , the Washington Post, the New York Times and Huffington Post.
Author Interview
Link to Thrity Umrigar's Website
Name Pronunciation
Thrity Umrigar: thri-tee oomrigar
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