a story about honor and what it means individually and culturally. A very touching and impactful story. Definitely sits with you when you’re done

Honor by Thrity Umrigar was such an immersive novel taking you into the world of two different Indias – one, bustling and modernizing Mumbai, and the other, Birwad, a rural town experiencing discrimination of the minority Muslim population. Smita is an Indian American journalist who returns to her birthplace of India and is thrust into the world of India that she and her family had tried to move past. I was enthralled with this book and found myself contemplating the social issues of intolerance and corruption as well as the harsh realness and reality that Umrigar is mirroring in Honor.

Thirty Umrigar’s Honor is a heavy and dark novel but creates such an important narrative regarding intolerance and the ability of isolated intolerance to breed brutal and cruel events. Smita is sent to fill in for a colleague and friend to cover a story about Meena, a Hindi woman, who is seeking justice for the death of her Muslim husband who was burnt alive by her brothers, leaving her physically and emotionally scarred while raising their daughter, Abru, who will never meet her father. As a reader, you can see how Smita and other characters are confronted with the atrocities of this situation and how the corruption and discrimination are in stark contrast to the urban Mumbai as well as other Smita’s life in America.

Umrigar does such a great job of building the characters in Honor, making them feel incredibly real and distinct people. Mainly following Smita and Meena, you feel the struggles that both Smita and Meena have encountered, especially Smita is trying to reconcile her life in Brooklyn and her past prejudices of growing up in India. Meena helps to provide the narrative of an Indian woman, who tried to fight against the older traditions and bigotry of her town and has had firsthand experience of the brutality of the injustice and intolerance of the people of her town, including her brothers.

Overall, the pace of the plot in addition to the compelling narrative makes this a quick read that is rich with cultural detail and impressive character building. I felt drawn in and a part of the narrative early on in the book, and I was invested in the characters’ lives. Much of Honor was truly heartbreaking due to the content, but also due to the reality that this could and is happening in some parts of the world.

Hello favorite book of the year.

I am so mad at myself for putting one of my most anticipated reads off until the end of the year, but it paid off.

This is the first Thrity Umrigar novel that I've picked up, but it won't be the last. Her writing itself is amazing.

I'm still trying to unpack all of my thoughts on this, but I do know that I have a book hangover.

Honor follows Smita, a journalist who was born in India and immigrated to the United States as a teenager, as she returns to India to help out a friend/coworker that is in the hospital, but had been covering a story about Meena, a woman whose husband was murdered by her brothers.

Thrity carries us through Smita's return to India, of which she is hesitant to do so as there appear to be bad memories, and as she works with Mohan, a friend of Shannon, to visit Meena in a traditional village. We get POVs from Smita and from Meena, where we find out how Meena met her husband and how she ultimately lost him.

Themes in this include love, prejudice, sacrifice, and finding home and I dare you to try not to cry at the end.

TW: Arson, Islamophobia, child sexual assault, misogny, parent death

I loved this book and had a difficult time putting it down. The stories of Smita, Meena and Rohan were so absorbing that I felt they were inside my heart.

Meena is a Hindu woman living in a small, rural town in India. She has fallen in love with Abdul, a Muslim man, married him and had a child named Abru. Her brothers are furious at her for marrying outside her faith, and to a Muslim at that. They attack Meena and kill her Abdul, burning down their home. While trying to save her husband, Meena gets seriously burnt and disfigured by the fire.

Smita, an American journalist, travels to India ostensibly to assist her friend Shannon after her surgery. What she finds instead, is that Shannon wants her to take over the reporting of Meena's story. Rohan, a friend of Shannon's, accompanies Smita to Meena's town to help with translation and cultural issues.

Smita was born in India and lived there until she was 14. Her family left for the United States under difficult circumstances and Smita feels very negatively about India. Her memories and secrets are a burden and her life is shrouded in the past. Rohan, on the other hand, is a privileged Indian male who loves his country despite its flaws. Smita finds herself drawn to him despite her dislike of his background and culture.

Meena has decided to sue her brothers despite the corrupt nature of the legal system. Her attorney, Adjani, is an advocate for women's rights but can she bring her beliefs to the courtroom? Is she strong enough to buck the system that is set up to knock Meena down.

As Meena and Smita get to know one another, Smita realizes that she can't be objective about this story despite the rules of journalism. She is engaged with Meena's plight and is trying to protect her from her brothers and Ropal, who controls the town. They are turned against Meena and her very life is in danger.

The book is both a page-turner and literary fiction. I loved the cultural aspects of the novel and the characterizations of each protagonist. India, a place I've never traveled to, came alive for me. I felt the heat, smelled the car exhaust of Mumbai, and heard the cacophony of sounds that Smita was exposed to. Ms. Umrigar has written a poignant novel about two courageous women and the cultural divide that they face

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely incredible. Opened my eyes to cultural issues that I didn't even know existed. Broke my heart so many times, easy to read and understand, drew me in and kept me in. One of my favorite reads this year, for sure.

This was emotional and beautifully written with fully fleshed out characters that I cared about. I loved the setting, the relationships, the redemption. Gorgeous.

If you've been here long, you know that I'm a huge fan of Umrigar's work. In 2015 I included her on a list of authors who are on my "auto-buy" list. To say that I was excited to have the chance to read her latest early would be an understatement.

In 2012, I wrote this about The World We Found: "India comes alive in her hands - I never fail to want to travel there after reading one of Umrigar's books.

In 2014, this about The Story Hour: ''Umrigar just never disappoints me, always taking me out of my little white suburban bubble to look at the world in a bigger way."

In 2010 I was so in love with The Weight Between Us that my review of the book is almost entirely made up of quotes from the book. Also in 2010, I had this to say about The Space Between Us: "She is not the first person to write about class distinctions, poverty, and despair. Umrigar just does it better than most."

In 2022, I have this to say about Umrigar's writing - all of those things remain true. While it's true, of course, that our own country has more than its own share of prejudice, misogyny, and, as Isabel Wilkerson explained in Caste, our own caste system, it's always thought provoking and often heartbreaking to read about how those things play out in India. In Honor, Umrigar takes readers even deeper into the struggle that is life in a rural country divided in so many ways. There are some incredibly brutal scenes in this book that were really difficult to read; but, sadly, based on the reality that is the life of so many in India. Umrigar, as she always does, forces readers to confront uncomfortable truths and touches on so many difficult themes. Here she explores corruption, classism, religion, sexism, family, secrets, and, of course, honor.

One of the things that I've always loved about Umrigar's books is how well she writes multi-dimensional characters. Unfortunately, that was one area where I felt this book fell a little flat for me. While Smita and Mean are well developed, other characters were less so. Perhaps it was because there were quite a few characters who had so little space to be developed. There is at least one character who I felt developed to a point and then her story got lost in the greater story; she might have been left out altogether.

The relationship between Smita and Mohan caused me more trouble - being both too predictable and too unbelievable. I understand that Umrigar wanted the dual love stories to work against each other and I'm not sure how she might have developed Smita's and Mohan's storyline so that it would have felt less forced to me.

This one doesn't leave as many unresolved issues as so many of Umrigar's books do and there was a part of me that wished it had. Perhaps Umrigar felt as if she'd already given us too much pain and sadness.

Perhaps all of that gives the impression that this one didn't work for me. Let me just paraphrase what I say about Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey - even an Umrigar book that I have problems with is still better than most books. Umrigar always forces readers to face uncomfortable truths about the world in which we live and she always leaves me thinking about the characters she's created.

Though I found this book deeply impactful and candid, I didn't connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. The writing wasn't for me. However, I do understand that this could be a book others might really champion and get into.

I knew going in that Honor would likely be tough, but excellent reading and it's my first 5 star book in 6 months. Smita, an Indian American journalist, is called back to her home country of India to cover the story of a Hindu woman (Meena) whose brothers murdered her Muslim husband in an honor killing. There are parts of this story that gave me a sick feeling in my stomach, but I also couldn't look away. This is a story about religious extremism, women's rights, religious identity, and a complicated relationship with your homeland. Though Smita is covering Meena's story, the book is just as much about Smita's story, why she has such a complicated relationship with her homeland, and how she's coming to terms with that years later. Honor is a book you need to be emotionally ready for, but one you won't easily be able to forget.

I absolutely loved this book. It was a sad, heartbreaking story. This was the first book I have read by Thrity Umriger but it will not be the last.,

This atmospheric book is at turns heartwrenching and hopeful. The audiobook is narrated beautifully - I highly recommend.

I abandoned this book half way through. It was so determined to proselytize about American politics and mistreatment of women in India, that ithe action moved at a slow pace.

A deeply emotional story centered on the cultural mores, inequalities, class system, religions, family expectation and desperate means necessary to survive in Mumbai.
Through the eyes of Meena and Smita, two very different but remarkable women you see the horrific poverty, acts of violence, and hatred between Hindus and Muslims.
When Smita is sent to relay the violent crime suffered by Meena at the hands of her brothers, she is unprepared for how she will be transformed. As this complex book unfolds, you learn the background of Smita and why she has distanced herself, physically and emotionally from the country of her birth.
But in the end, who really saved whom?
“It seemed to Smita that the history of the world was written in female blood.”
I know this is the story of two women, but Abdul, Meena’s husband and Mohan, the new friend of Smita gave wonderful balance to this difficult, sad story. Both men showed tenderness, patience and a gentle spirit that gave hope.
This was not an easy book to read, it will bring tears at the realization that Honor is not a one-off, but speaks to the circumstance of women in many parts of the world. But it is also a book, which gives hope for a better future, for deeper understanding of others and for the belief that we each have a part to better humanity.
“Because a woman can live in one of two houses – fear or love. It’s impossible to live in both at the same time.”
#Honor stays with me, for its fragility and for its strength, and I strongly recommend it. #ThrityUmrigar has a voice that needs to be heard.
Thank you to #AlgonquinBooks and #NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
For more thoughts on this book, please read the post on https://morethanlettersonalinetoday coming soon. I was born in Mumbai, and have a few personal memories which will be shared.

One of the many reasons I read is to learn about other cultures and beliefs. In “Honor” Thrity Umrigar did a magnificent job of exposing me to Indian culture. She deftly explored and explained the inequalities women suffer and the conflicts between Hindus and Muslims. I learned a great deal, but what really propelled me through the book was the intense and powerful story Umrigar told.

Highly recommended.

My review was posted on Goodreads on 2/23/22

This is a book that I don't think I will ever forget. Honor was an emotional and riveting read for me right to the end. The author makes you feel what the characters are going through. It was heartbreaking and brutal at times, but also a story of love.

Thrity Umrigar captures my heart every time. This story broke me, healed me, then inspired me. Umrigar inspires hope where once there was despair, sows gratitude where once there was disheartenment. She is a force.

This novel tells the story of two women drawn together by hopeless circumstances, bound together by courage and determination. From the outset, I was invested. Meena and Abdul gripped my heart, and I was completely immersed in their story. It was horrifying and unimaginable, but it was also honest and authentic.

If you have never read a novel by Thrity Umrigar, here is your chance at a becoming entranced by her words and riveted by her message.

Many thanks to @algonquinbooks and @netgalley for gifting me with this e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Honor by Thrity Umrigar is an engaging and immersive read that captured and broke my heart and inspired hope and gratitude by the end. The book tells the story of Smita, a journalist who immigrated to the United States several years prior, who returns to conduct a report as a favor to one of her colleagues. The journey takes her on an exploration of her own past traumas and connects her to the story of Meena and Abdul, whom I was wholly invested in from the start. Umrigar's writing is seamless and vivid, drawing up intense feelings of grief, loss, shame, guilt, and family trauma, as the stories relate to what is told in the book. Reese Witherspoon recently selected this book as her next pick for her book club, and it's an excellent read for book clubs all around, with plenty of room for discussion.

Once again, the author has written an amazing book.
It is a difficult read. The strife and hatred that exists between Hindus and Muslims in India is explored. There is so much pondering of the human spirit and all that entails. It is so thought provoking and discussion of the many facets of religion, which is suppose to be a unifying force,, is examined.
It can be brutal and, yet, a reaffirmation of he human spirit prevails. It is a timely and necessary read.

Truly fantastic, both in writing and in plot. This is so difficult to read, but also really just incredibly well done. I would find it difficult to recommend to many readers though, so while I enjoyed it, I wouldn't put this into the hands of others.

Honor, by Thrity Umrigar, is indeed as immersive and wonderfully written as folks have been saying. This would be an excellent read for the upcoming spring, sitting with the sun’s heat on your legs to match the heat of the setting and discussing with a book club, as Reese suggests.

The story is vivid, and Umrigar’s writing is lovely. There are difficult passages as Smita covers the details of arson, murder, and intense feelings of shame, guilt, grieving, loss, and as a few episodes of intense trauma related to the story she is covering are told in the book.

This is a great fit for book clubs, and what I loved about it most was how well it touches on the disparity that can exist but is often overlooked between religion, culture, and personal expectations and how those three things pull at all of us in wonderful and sometimes disastrous ways.