I love the title of this book. In India, there are about a zillion "two-wheelers" - aka motorcycles. The vast majority are driven by Indian males, and in many cases a woman is perched sideways behind him on the bike. (And in *way* too many cases, there are two-three children aboard as well, including a baby in her arms, one on her lap, and one squished between the two adults.)
The "sideways on a scooter" idea is cultural - it is considered improper for a woman to straddle a motorcycle. On my most recent trip to India, I did see some women driving motorcycles - but they are a decided minority!
So... based on the terrific and evocative title, I started this book with high hopes. It's hard to put my finger on why I was disappointed. The author does not follow any sort of a timeline.... the narrative jumps by months and years, with no explanation of the intervening time.
Things I liked: some of the descriptions are excellent. This passage is very evocative:
I'd moved around the corner from my old barsati in Nizamuddin, and although my new apartment was fully indoors, we still couldn't stave off the ooze and creep of the humid season. The spices disintegrated into a soggy mash in their leaky jars. The chapati bloomed with fungus just hours after Radha made it. Brilliant green mold rose up in a shimmering line along the windowsills. Millipedes scuttled along the walls, and hordes of mosquitoes hovered around the sink. The transparent geckos gorged themselves all day on the insects in my kitchen.
And I thought she did a good job with caste distinctions - why it still mattered so, so much to both her servants and to the people she had befriended in India.
Overall, I guess I would give this one a B.... some good sections, but I was unhappy with the uneven and unpredictable jumps in the narrative and in the timeline.
The "sideways on a scooter" idea is cultural - it is considered improper for a woman to straddle a motorcycle. On my most recent trip to India, I did see some women driving motorcycles - but they are a decided minority!
So... based on the terrific and evocative title, I started this book with high hopes. It's hard to put my finger on why I was disappointed. The author does not follow any sort of a timeline.... the narrative jumps by months and years, with no explanation of the intervening time.
Things I liked: some of the descriptions are excellent. This passage is very evocative:
I'd moved around the corner from my old barsati in Nizamuddin, and although my new apartment was fully indoors, we still couldn't stave off the ooze and creep of the humid season. The spices disintegrated into a soggy mash in their leaky jars. The chapati bloomed with fungus just hours after Radha made it. Brilliant green mold rose up in a shimmering line along the windowsills. Millipedes scuttled along the walls, and hordes of mosquitoes hovered around the sink. The transparent geckos gorged themselves all day on the insects in my kitchen.
And I thought she did a good job with caste distinctions - why it still mattered so, so much to both her servants and to the people she had befriended in India.
Overall, I guess I would give this one a B.... some good sections, but I was unhappy with the uneven and unpredictable jumps in the narrative and in the timeline.
