HEAT AND DUST

HEAT AND DUST by Ruth Prawner Jhabvala

Since Ms. Hen is an avid reader, she will be reviewing books on her blog. She recently read HEAT AND DUST by Ruth Prawner Jhabvala and she thoroughly enjoyed it. She acquired the book from another book-loving hen at one of the gathering for writers that she likes to attend sometimes. Ms. Hen read HEAT AND DUST in January and thought it was an appropriate book for the middle of winter, since it is about India and the setting is hot and dry and the character complains about the heat incessantly. Thinking about sultry India is pleasant when it’s only 10 degrees outside.

The novel is about a young woman who sets off to discover the world in which her step-grandmother, Olivia, lived in the 1920s. Olivia was involved in a scandal, and even though the reader knows what happened at the beginning of the book, she keeps on reading to find out the details of the incident. Olivia and the narrator from the 1970s have parallel experiences and the young narrator knows that she is following Olivia, not purposely, though they lived in different times. Olivia to her is a legend, a myth, someone she’s learned about, but she never dreamed she would become like her.

The narrator from 1970 is a different type of person than Olivia. She is not bored by India, but she wants to learn its secrets. She is curious about the women in the village and the house where she stays. She has her mission to unearth Olivia’s secrets, and she is fascinated by everyone else’s secrets.

The tone of HEAT AND DUST is subdued and calm, reminiscent of Albert Camus’ THE STRANGER. The reader feels like she is entering a ridiculous world where nothing makes sense, but it is a beautiful world full of pain. Like THE STRANGER, the reader is ready for the worst from the beginning, and when the worst comes it feels like it is destined. HEAT AND DUST is about boredom, as is THE STRANGER.

Ms. Hen recommends HEAT AND DUST if you enjoy reading a novel with strong women characters, a taste of a different culture and subtle sensuality. And she would mention don’t try reading this in the summer when it’s 90 degrees out. Because you would be thinking of India and your feathers might wilt.