Mumsahib: A Novel in Stories

Inspired by her mixed racial and religious ancestry, Lucy, a middle-aged writer, breaks away from snowy Toronto to backpack in India. There, she makes peace with the memory of her half-Indian mother, who felt like an alien wherever she lived. Lucy also begins to understand her grandmother, a missionary whose sensuous Indian husband both captivated and shamed her. The many-layered plot, the complex characters, and the interweaving of cultures and religions bind the ten stories that form Mumsahib into a rich, strong novel. At once evocative and incisive, Montagnes's prose reflects Lucy's emotional growth while charting her tour through India.