Cover Image: Temple Dancer

Temple Dancer

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Member Reviews

Had I not spent forty of the last years practising Yoga on and off, I might not have been interested in this work. Amy Weintraub is well known in U.S. Yoga circles and, in the past, produced several non-fiction books on the subject.

This, her first fictional effort, centres around the now banned Indian culture of the Devadasi or temple dancer. Formerly outlawed in 1988, the practise, a thinly veiled form of prostitution steeped in ritual and tradition is an early form of trafficking, since most of the girls were very young when bound into service.

The work, well written, but without the burden of brilliance, stages itself within the lines of a diary handed to our main protagonist, Wendy Rabin, on a train travelling to Chennai. Woven into the story of Saraswati, the Temple Dancer of the title, are the triumphs and tragedies of both women’s lives, albeit, a generation apart.

Readers committed to the esoteric arts will love this.

Thanks to Tumamoc Press and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this work
Complete review and additional material : Booksoup Blog: <https://streetsoup.net/?p=129>

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Temple Dancer by Amy Weintraub is the story of two women from different worlds and times. Wendy studies and practices yoga and often spends time at an ashram in India and one in the Blue Ridge. She has been divorced and has an adult daughter, Becky.
During one of her trips to India, she was given a small red book by a stranger as she shared a seat on a train. Twenty years later she has the diary translated and begins to read of the Indian culture of gifted devadasi dancers which was forbidden in the temples in 1947. Saraswati's story in the diary ends with great sadness. Wendy is later shocked to learn of a connection to this diary as she meets her daughter's new partner, Abhi. It seems the diary and dancers have come full circle in Wendy's life.
If you enjoy yoga and the study of Indian religious culture you will be sure to enjoy Temple Dancer.
I did find the story in the diary of Saraswati to be very sad. The custom of very young girls being sold for sex in the name of "Dedication" is very upsetting, no matter the culture. I do not think it should be romanticized. Exploiting children for sex, especially in the name of God/Goddess and for the gain of the parents and teachers is never acceptable.
Publication Date: September 8, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Overall, I really enjoyed the story and the wisdom and insights that it passed on to me… But I do have to admit that I enjoyed the story of Saraswati much much more than the story of Wendy. If you enjoy yoga, spiritual philosophy and so forth, I think you’ll be intrigued as I was.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Amy Weintraub’s Temple Dancer is a force to be reckoned with. Rich in emotion and vibrant in language, the novel follows the paralleled lives of Wendy, a woman in her sixties from New England, and Saraswati, a late devadasi who gifts Wendy her diary on a train in Southern India twenty years prior. While the novel weaves between memory and the present day, it can jump anywhere from the 1930s and 40s where Saraswati’s life takes place, to the 1990s, plunging the reader into Wendy’s world. Temple Dancer interacts Saraswati’s story with Wendy’s, as it includes romance and grievance, art and passion, and the spiritual connection, whether Hindu or not, to god. Weintraub’s language is heartfelt and sublime, painting a vivid image of what Saraswati’s life consisted of as a temple dancer while emotionally investing the reader in Wendy’s story. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to read and learn about the devadasis; Saraswati’s story will stick with me forever.

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This book drew me in from the start and I couldn't put it down. Written at a great pace and filled with beautiful scenery, it captured my heart and made me hold my breath on several occassions.

A chance meeting on a train takes the reader back to 1940's India and the centuries old tradition of temple dancers.
Meditation, yoga and Hindu religion are the main themes, as well as the bond and separation of mothers and daughters.
The chapters travel between modern day USA and historic India, giving an indepth account of the lives of both women on the time scale.
The end has a surprising twist, but also pulled me right back into the modern world, which was quite a shock after spending such an amazing time in the old country.

Temple Dancer is an astonishing story of karma and dharma, love and loss and the strength of women in a patriarch society.

Thank you Netgalley and Tumamoc Press for the ARC.

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This is quite good. It's one of those novels with wisdom/lessons baked in, but not in a preachy or sappy way. It has good pacing, an engaging story, and interesting characters. I know the author thru her non-fiction so I was pleasantly surprised to see this. Good stuff. Glad I read it.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

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