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There are currently 38 member reviews
for Honor
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Becky H. (Chicago, IL)
A tale of conflicts
India, a land of contradictions, is front and center in this novel of HONOR and how it can be used to hurt and even kill. Two women share the spotlight, Meena, dreadfully maimed by her brothers because she has brought dishonor to their family, and Smita, an American journalist who has her own reasons for avoiding India and all it has meant to her family and who is charged to write Meena's story.
This book was difficult to read and yet necessary to understanding the conflicting and conflicted women and men is this novel. The modern India of large cities and modern conveniences is balanced by the India of small villages where tribal leaders hold sway over men and women who live in primitive conditions. Muslim India is balanced by Hindu India, two "peaceful" faiths that bring about horrors beyond imagining when they come into conflict.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand the conflicts in India and by extension the conflicts in many parts of the world where men and women, Christian and Jew, Hindu and Muslim, orthodox and liberal, come into conflict.
Well written and sympathetic, HONOR earns 5 of 5 stars.
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Beth B. (New Wilmington, PA)
Applause for Thrity Umrigar
A masterpiece! Lushly formed characters confronting the contrasts of two cultures. Opened my eyes to a country (India) I knew very little about.
We are privy to witness how Smita, main character, conquered her fears and her past. This alone is intriguing but there is MUCH more. Not until the very end do we discover why the author titled her book Honor, a novel so rich in descriptions of connectedness and interconnectedness.
Ponder these: What is life? What is love? --- as you savor each and every page.
I am hopeful you will find yourself applauding the author as I have done.
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Liz R. (Minneapolis, MN)
Finding home
Thrity Umrigar takes us on a journey to India to show us the binding nature of culture, family and love in the what we identify as "home."
You will engage with Smita, Meena, Mohan and Abru through Umrigar's engrossing writing. This is not a book of distance but you will intimately learn and grow with these characters.
"Honor" is written with a compassion, power and insight that leads us all to answer the question of what home is.
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anita r
love.....
I loved A Space Between Us and looked forward to reading Honor. Even though I have been to India and witnessed much...what Honor provided was a true friendship and love between 2 women who never would have met if not for the crime committed. How sad if this was loosely based on a true story.
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Kari J. (Green Valley, AZ)
A Fitting Title
I did not realize it until I sat back and really thought about what I would write for this review. Honor is at the heart of every character, whether you love or hate them, stand back and attempt to step into their shoes. All players are so passionate - Meena, her brothers, her mother-in-law, Smita, Mohan, and the interpreter, Nandini, along with the few that I left out.
The story is one of tremendous courage and raw emotion, pure love and deep hate, and yet in the end, there is still hope.
Overall, Honor, for me, is a love story. It exhausted me to read it, but I am so very glad I did.
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Suzette P. (Chicago, IL)
Brutality and Love
The story is engrossing but the subject matter brutal and brings to mind real news stories about horrible violence against women in India and religious bigotry leading to disfigurement and murder. This book is a quick read but the events that result in a journalist investigating a story about a so-called honor killing in a small town in India and subsequent events at the conclusion of the court case against the killers are horrifying and may be triggering to some readers. While the author ultimately offers a glimmer of hope for a few of the characters, I felt that it came at great cost and could not completely overcome what is ultimately a very depressing and ugly story of hatred and violence.
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Justina E. (Chula Vista, CA)
Honor by Thrity Umrigar
Two separate stories are shared in Honor. However, both stories intertwine together to make a powerful telling of women's role/place in India. Smita is an American born in India who ends up covering a story about Meeta. Meeta is Hindu (Indian) who married a Muslim man, setting in motion catastrophic events. It was a depressing read, but the story was good.
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