Fiction Review: The Secrets Between Us

Book By Book

Back in 2009, I read The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar for one of my book groups and loved it, as did the other book group members. I just realized, while looking for the link to that review, that I also read another Umrigar novel, Everybody’s Son, and enjoyed that one, too. The author has a talent for creating deep, real-feeling characters and emotionally complex stories. That gift once again shines in The Secrets Between Us, a sequel to that earlier, best-selling novel, as she brings back one of her most memorable characters.

The Secrets Between Us picks up right where The Space Between Us ended (no spoilers here and you don’t have to read that earlier novel to enjoy this one). Bhima, the servant woman from the first novel, is no longer working for Sera, a wealthy, upper-class woman. She is looking for a way to support herself and her granddaughter, Maya. The two of them live in a small shack with a mud floor in the Mumbai slums, and Bhima’s sole goal is for Maya to have a better life: to graduate from college, get a well-paying job, and move out of the slums. Bhima is aging but still working very hard, juggling multiple smaller cleaning/cooking clients, including one young woman who astounds Bhima by breaking all the societal “rules” she’s lived by her whole life. One day in the open-air produce market, Bhima meets Parvati. She’s noticed the older, bitter woman before, with the disfiguring growth on her neck, often spewing an angry diatribe at some unlucky soul. Bhima has never spoken to her before, but now circumstances bring the two women together. They form a tenuous business partnership, selling fruits and vegetables together in the market. Gradually, the two women, who’ve both lived hard lives, begin to develop a friendship, though each of them harbors shameful secrets. Bhima is illiterate and ashamed of the reason why she had to leave Sera’s employ, while Parvati hides the secrets of her disgraceful, shocking past. As Bhima makes the first real friends of her lonely life, her and Maya’s lives are changed for the better by the wonderful new women who’ve expanded their world.

This beautifully written novel was just as compelling as The Space Between Us, and I loved being in Bhima’s world again. The intriguing story again digs into the traditional class differences in India, while here exploring the changes occurring in the modern world. It’s also a deep, tender look at the power of women’s friendships. The audio production was excellent, with Sneha Mathan’s narration pulling me into the story. I will miss Bhima, but I am so glad that Umrigar returned to this beloved character to give her the ending she deserves.  

400 pages, Harper Perennial

HarperAudio

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