This was such a great book! If you enjoyed the book Memoirs of a Geisha or Birth of Venus, you will love this book too! The three books have their differences in setting and time, but are each about the struggles that women go through simply because they are women. I really liked this book! I was able to read this as an “Advanced Copy” because I work at at bookstore, so the book won’t be out until January 2006. So, get on a waiting list now, and beat the rush! I am expecting this will be big very fast.

This book is set in India, and, in addition to being about all the troubles that only women experience, (a world of difference from what men’s lives are like), it focuses on the lives of three particular women. Sera is a wealthy woman. Bhima is her servant. Maya is the granddaughter of Bhima. The book defines the “space between” the lives of women who have servants, and the women who are servants. It explores the views held in India about the seperation of different classes. Bhima cleans Sera’s house, cooks her food, helps take care of her daughter. At the same time, Sera has seperate cups for Bhima to use, and has her sit on the floor instead of using the furniture. I had heard about these kinds of beliefs, but didn’t understand much about them before reading this book. Some of the women in the book have mixed feelings about these obvious seperations, but, feel compelled to follow them anyway.
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