However close we may feel we are to another person, there will always be space between us, sometimes seemingly space enough for stars and planets to move. And so we have the theme of Thrity Umrigar's magnificent 2007 novel The Space Between Us.
Umrigar, who grew up in a middle-class home in Bombay where servants did most of the housework, returns to such a home in her story. Bhima, modeled after a woman who worked for the author's parents, is a 65-year-old servant who has worked for Sera Dubash for many years. At one time Bhima had middle-class aspirations of her own, but her husband was maimed in an industrial accident, turned to drink and then abandoned her, taking their son with him. Now she lives in a slum with her granddaughter, whom she has raised since the death of her daughter from AIDS.
Bhima still hopes for a better life for Mina, the granddaughter, who attends college thanks to Sera's generosity. When the girl becomes pregnant, unwilling to reveal who the father is, Sera offers to arrange for an abortion before the pregnancy shows and brings shame on Mina and Bhima.
All this helps illustrate how close Sera and Bhima have grown over the years and how much they depend upon each other. Yet because of class and religious differences, a vast space still separates them. Bhima, for example, may not sit on Sera's fine furniture or drink out of any of her cups. However close they may be in some ways, it always remains clear they can never be equals. Sera's kindness to Mina, which might help narrow that gap, leads instead to a crisis with the opposite effect.
Umrigar, now an Ohioan, writes with grace and power, qualities she bestows on Bhima, as memorable a character as you will find.
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