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Sister India
by: Peggy Payne |
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54 EAN: 9781573221764 ISBN: 1573221767 Label: Riverhead Hardcover Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 288 Publication Date: January 15, 2001 Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover Release Date: January 11, 2001 Studio: Riverhead Hardcover
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| Customer Reviews | ||
  - Impressive!I'll admit that Varanasi is not my favorite city in India, too many touts! But the evocation in this book was astounding. The light on the river, the people on the banks, the maze of houses and temples. Just the right amount of description to let the mind fill in the whole picture of both the story and the city. Sometimes, as I was reading, I found myself saying "Exactly!" Well-developed characters, all interesting and complex. I particularly liked the way that she described the different spiritual/mystical/religious relationship that each character had with the Ganga. Keep up the great work, Peggy! I can't wait to see what's next. Rating:  - Taste of India, Thin PlotThe prose of this book is beautiful and quite evocative of India even down to the fractured English used by the Indians , unfortunately there is little plot for the beautiful word smithing to hang on to. The characters for the most part seem shallow and poorly drawn as well. If you like to read beautiful prose without much of a plot this book is for you but if you are looking for plot and character development you'll be bored. Rating: - Americans Accept the Solace of Varanesi Despite ThemselvesMy curiosity about how the rest of the world sees America led me to this book, which I enjoyed greatly. It did show how Americans act when they are abroad--and the behavior they inspire among the locals. In this respect, Sister India promises a first hand view of the holy city of Varanasi, and delivers in spades. Reading the story of how friction between Hindus and Muslims changes three Americans in a shabby guest house, I found myself feeling the heat and smelling the river. Although the story focuses on the four-hundred pound American manager of the place--a woman who has escaped her unhappy small town past here-- it embraces the dramas of the other American characters as well. A curfew--as a result of attacks in the sacred city-- forces some self-realization on a crippled widow, an uptight businesswoman and an environmental expert whose marriage is falling apart. The combination of psychological insight into the characters and the exotic setting was mesmerizing and memorable. Rating:  - Not her first novel!One star rating is only because I haven't read this book. Two reviewers said that this is her first novel, but she wrote Revelation in 1988, set in her native North Carolina. It is now out of print, but received very good reviews when it was published. Rating:  - In the shadow of the exoticIf vivid descriptions were enough to form a compelling novel, then Peggy Payne's Sister India would be a rare accomplishment. However, while the sensual experience this novel provides is enjoyable, the plot falls short of captivating a reader. Payne's characters seem underdeveloped, causing her attempt to create tension to fail. The plot is over ambitious to the point where it seems too contrived. Like the Ganges River, the focal point of the novel, the plot is murky, mysterious, and polluted with dead characters. Payne's story seems to be of a "slice of life" in Varanasi, India. Nothing extraordinary happens. The religious riots that break out occur swiftly and are underplayed as if the warring between Muslims and Hindu is a habitual occurrence. Payne does not seem to concern herself with the details of the war. Rather, she uses the lock down to force her characters to live together, prolonging their stay and causing their pasts to emerge. This sets the novel up to be a character driven story. However, the characters fail to prove themselves worthy of such importance. The true plot lies in the story of Natraja's unusual, unconvincing past. The four hundred pound hotel owner is anything but ordinary. Payne attempts to create a parallel between the exotic Natraja and the magical Ganges. The hotel guest regard Natraja as a powerful guide and are both attracted and disgusted to her as they are to the river. However, Payne fails in both attempts to convince the reader that these things are worth caring about. It is difficult to understand what would motivate a person to leave her home and move to another country. Natraja, formerly Estelle, was born in America but leaves for India after discovering that her stepfather murdered her African American boyfriend at the age of thirteen. This is her motivation for moving to another country at the young age of seventeen. It is unclear as to what keeps Natraja in India. She does fall in love with a man but that relationship fails. Somehow, this four hundred pound woman found her place in society and stays throughout the religious turmoil. She carries the weight of her stepfather's deed, literally, and remains bitter and self-conscious throughout the novel. Similarly, the other characters in this novel have come to visit India searching for some sort of enlightenment. Each has their own pasts they are trying to escape, but do they succeed? Payne only reveals the future of one character, Marie, who remains in India because she has found herself useful there. This leaves the conclusion of the novel unsatisfying because it is an ensemble piece, but only a few characters receive some development. Because Payne alternates the narratives, each character is expected to be of equal importance. However, the lapses in the motivation, past, and future of the characters is unfulfilling. Payne offers only glimpses into the character's lives, and because there is little action in the novel they seem boring and irritating. Unfortunately there are just too many coincidental events in the novel that make the story unbelievable. Why would an American who is visiting India to fix the river pollution, risk his life to see the maharaja about a body being dumped into a river during the time of religious turmoil? For that matter, why would the American stay in India instead of taking the first plane out? Why would the maharaja insist on keeping the American at the palace but then allow him to escape down river? The reader is not given enough information about the nature of the character or situation to justify these actions. All of the characters seem to be drawn to the magical Ganges. This is the place of prayer for the Hindu people. It is also the site of their most sacred ritual, burning the bodies of the dead. Marie, TJ, Jill, Natraja, and Ramesh make many references to the river, but Payne does not show the river's power. Only TJ seems to have an awakening of sorts when he uses the river to push him away from the maharaja. Marie also seems to believe in the power of the river, but it is a psychic who convinces her to stay in India. On a more positive note, her description of the holy city, from the cramped streets to the beautiful golden palace seem to have a natural elegance that invite the reader into this sensuous experience. The scents of jasmine and Indian spices sift through the pages. The noise created by the rickshaws and busy streets echoes in the ears and the sites are vividly painted for the eye. To the un-traveled reader, the place becomes as familiar as your own backyard. This novel is a quick read, but not a page-turner. The eloquent setting descriptions force the characters to pale in comparison. I would like to see a novel that focuses on just one of the characters Payne introduces. I believe Natraja's story would be a more interesting one if it was the main storyline, however, the switching of narration proved to be a confusing distraction that made all of the characters seem flat. This could also be attributed to their lack of action in the novel itself. When the novel concluded, I felt that it had only just begun. I was still waiting for something to happen. However, nothing unpredictable did, it was simply a look at life in India. |
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