Series
Publication
Imprint: New York : W.W. Norton, 2009, c2007. Series: The Hindu Gods (2). OCLC Number: 824608422. Physical: 483 pages ; 21 cm. Includes glossary and reading group guide.
Call number
Fiction / Suri
ISBN
9780393333633
Original publication date
2008
Collections
CSS Library Notes
Description: Marrying in order to escape an overbearing father, Meera is further victimized by her physically demanding husband and lustful brother-in-law, a circumstance from which she finds fleeting escape through her relationships with her sister-in-law and young son.
FY2017 /
FY2017 /
Physical description
463 p.; 21 cm
Description
Following his spectacular debut novel, The Death of Vishnu, Manil Suri returns with a mesmerizing story of modern India, richly layered with themes from Hindu mythology. The Age of Shiva is at once a powerful story of a country in turmoil and an extraordinary portrait of maternal love. Meera, the narrator, is seventeen years old when she catches her first glimpse of Dev, performing a song so infused with passion that it arouses in her the first flush of erotic longing. She wonders if she can steal him away from Roopa, her older, more beautiful sister, who has brought her along to see him. When Meera's reverie comes true, it does not lead to the fairy-tale marriage she imagined. She escapes her overbearing father only to find herself thrust into the male-dominated landscape of India after independence. Dev's family is orthodox and domineering, his physical demands oppressive. His brother Arya lusts after her with the same intensity that fuels his right-wing politics. Although Meera develops an unexpected affinity with her sister-in-law Sandhya, the tenderness they share is as heartbreaking as it is fleeting. It is only when her son is born that Meera begins to imagine a life of fulfillment. She engulfs him with a love so deep, so overpowering, that she must fear its consequences. Meera's unforgettable story, embodying Shiva as a symbol of religious upheaval, places The Age of Shiva among the most compelling novels to emerge from contemporary India.… (more)
Language
Original language
English
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User reviews
LibraryThing member dbolahood
Blurb from Amazon
The Age of Shiva is at once a powerful story of a country in turmoil and an extraordinary portrait of maternal love.
Meera, the narrator, is seventeen years old when she catches her first glimpse of Dev, performing a song so infused with passion that it arouses in her the first
It is only when her son is born that Meera begins to imagine a life of fulfillment. She engulfs him with a love so deep, so overpowering, that she must fear its consequences.
My Review
This story focusing mainly on one indian family during a time when India was trying to gain independence was just okay for me.
I don't know if it's because Christmas is so busy but although I would enjoy the book while reading it as soon as I put it down it would sometimes be days before I would pick it up again.
As a general rule I need lots of "stuff" going on in my books (although there are exceptions) and this book just couldn't seem to hold my interest for very long.
However, for anyone who enjoys character driven stories I recommend giving this book a try. The book is very well written and all the characters (secondary included) are so well fleshed out I would believe it if someone told me these were real people.
The Age of Shiva is at once a powerful story of a country in turmoil and an extraordinary portrait of maternal love.
Meera, the narrator, is seventeen years old when she catches her first glimpse of Dev, performing a song so infused with passion that it arouses in her the first
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flush of erotic longing. She wonders if she can steal him away from Roopa, her older, more beautiful sister, who has brought her along to see him.It is only when her son is born that Meera begins to imagine a life of fulfillment. She engulfs him with a love so deep, so overpowering, that she must fear its consequences.
My Review
This story focusing mainly on one indian family during a time when India was trying to gain independence was just okay for me.
I don't know if it's because Christmas is so busy but although I would enjoy the book while reading it as soon as I put it down it would sometimes be days before I would pick it up again.
As a general rule I need lots of "stuff" going on in my books (although there are exceptions) and this book just couldn't seem to hold my interest for very long.
However, for anyone who enjoys character driven stories I recommend giving this book a try. The book is very well written and all the characters (secondary included) are so well fleshed out I would believe it if someone told me these were real people.
Show Less
LibraryThing member shweta81
"The Age of Shiva" is the story of a young girl turning into a lady, a wife, and then a mother. Her story is governed by mostly "unintentional" choices she gets into, mainly to stand against the dominating attitude of her father. I appreciate the writing skills of the author, but I did not find the
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book very interesting. I found it depressing that a person can make so many unwanted decisions in her life and then concentrate all her hopes on a mere child. I did not feel any sympathy for the lady, and did not enjoy reading it... But, it is possible that I happened to read it with a wrong perspective, and may be you will find the book great. Show Less
LibraryThing member heathersblue
An enjoyable book; a portrait of an Indian family's life in an increasingly independent India. The focus is on Meera and her life as a wife and mother and the forces that shape her decisions throughout the novel. However, the focus of the novel seemed to be on independence...while the novel starts
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at the moment Meera meets her husband to be and ends as soon as she has a real chance at creating her own life. It ultimately seems to suggest there is no true independence. Show Less
LibraryThing member eenerd
A beautifully written story about a woman and her struggles with expectations--her father's expectations of her, her expectations of her husband and in-laws, her expectations of her son and his of her as well. The writing is lush, and the settings of Delhi and Bombay are done well enough to really
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transport one. The ending was somewhat disappointing in that I felt like it broke off so suddenly and left me hanging. But in general it is a really good read about how we all create these little prison cells with our expectations of ourselves and one another. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cariola
After reading The Death of Vishnu, I was looking forward to Suri''s new novel. Sadly, I was disappointed. It's a bit difficult, in most cases, to enjoy a novel when you don't like the narrator/main character. As someone else said, Meera comes across as petty and vengeful; all of her decisions seem
Suri's writing is fine, although I've read many other Indian authors who give a better, more complete view of life in India.
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to come out of spite or selfishness. Her obsession with her son goes beyond dysfunctional, and yet she always feels self-righteous about her actions. Every time she begins to realize the mistakes she has been making, she vows to correct them but ends up justifying her errors and continuing her negative behaviors, telling herself it's for Ashvin's good when it's clearly to indulge herself. Perhaps if I was more knowledgeable about the characteristics of Shiva, I'd have enjoyed this more--but I really don't think so. A good novel needs more than a plotted parallel structure with links to a myth. It needs characters who are more than stereotypes and a story that engages the reader.Suri's writing is fine, although I've read many other Indian authors who give a better, more complete view of life in India.
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LibraryThing member sandyboyce
Compelling reading. I was hanging out for some glimmer of hope for Meera and Dev and Ashvin amidst the spiralling waves of dysfunctional relationships, disappointments, spent causes and betrayals. But in the end, it is an authentic portrayal of India - living with sadness, as well as the sheer joy
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at other times - each etched into the nation's soul. Show Less
LibraryThing member kepkanation
Though at times teeming with detail and drama, this book was ultimately a disappointment. Unlike his showier debut novel, The Death of Vishnu, which was lauded for its cultural revelation and overall generosity, The Age of Shiva loses its way as the author heaps dramatic event after dramatic event
Suri still brings India to life, and the cultural and historical notes are some of the best parts of the book. Yet in the end, they serve only to point out how false his main character, Meera, really is; against a backdrop of realism, her character is a mere caricature. She never exists as a real person, just as a foil to get the author from one drama to another.
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onto his hapless, unreasonable, and ultimately unsympathetic main character.Suri still brings India to life, and the cultural and historical notes are some of the best parts of the book. Yet in the end, they serve only to point out how false his main character, Meera, really is; against a backdrop of realism, her character is a mere caricature. She never exists as a real person, just as a foil to get the author from one drama to another.
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LibraryThing member ellen.w
The writing: good; the setting: interesting; the protagonist: escapes her emotionally abusive childhood only to emotionally abuse her own family and develop an almost incestuous obsession with her only son. Creepy.
LibraryThing member shazjhb
Lovely book. After reading the Death of Vishnu it is great that the author can write a second brilliant novel. I so enjoy Indian writers and Suri is an excellent example of a fabulous story.
LibraryThing member Clara53
Manil Suri's debut novel "The Death of Vishnu" showed great promise and that's how I came to read "The Age of Shiva". It struck me as unusual (but by no means unique or odd) that the author, being a male writer, narrated this novel (all 451 pages of it) on behalf of his female protagonist, from the
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first person, to be exact. He endeavored to get into female psyche and largely succeeded, except on one issue, which didn't seem natural to me. On the whole, I liked the book. I was enlightened by the sociological description of Indian society, though not completely new to me, and the country's political struggles over the years covered in the book. But all that was a background to the drama of Meera's life, and that's where I thought it was a bit too melancholic for my taste, at times distressingly so. This feeling of unrelenting sadness and frustration threads through the whole book and there seems to be no way out, even though at the very end there is an optimistic note, not too convincing for me, alas...Anyway, that's my subjective impression... But, again, the author himself admits in the after note that he never meant for Meera to be a "noble" heroine... As for his writing style, I was amazed that being not a professional writer, but a mathematics professor (!), Manil Suri has displayed such impressive talent. Show Less
LibraryThing member philipivan
I disliked this book so much when I received as part of the Early Reviewers program in 2007 that I deleted it from my library. Unfortunately, that also deleted the review which I need to have for purposes of the program. So I'm putting it back in, but with considerable reluctance.