| | |  | Dominoes & Tile Games | Home » » » The Age of Shiva: A Novel | | | | | | | Description: | | Modern India provides the backdrop for Meera Sawhneys story, which she recounts to her beloved son Ashvin in a compelling, haunted, and unforgettable voice. In The Age of Shiva, Manil Suri guides the reader from the India of 1955, only a few years post-partition, through 1980. Along the way we glean some insight into Indian politics (including the major influences of Nehru and Indira Ghandi on historical events), the Hindu-Muslim conflict, and the rise of Hindu nationalism. But most of all, we experience Meeras life as she lives and perceives it, from the impetuous, foolish mistake she makes, at age 17, when she marries Dev Arora, her sister Roopas one-time beau, to her existential despair when Ashvin leaves her Bombay apartment to attend boarding school in faraway Sanawar.
Along the way, we meet all sorts of characters, including Paji, Meeras meddlesome yet visionary father, who glimpses the future possibilities for his daughters if only they would acquiesce in seriously pursuing their education; Dev, Meeras increasingly alcoholic husband who refuses to relinquish his dream of becoming a famous singer; Arya, Devs lecherous elder brother whose right-wing Hindu nationalist involvements threaten to engulf Ashvin; and Zaida, Meeras Muslim friend and neighbor who takes charge when Meera hits the nadir of her life. | | | Features: | |
• Suri deftly paints a multi-faceted and riveting world in The Age of Shiva,
• where the abstract notion of modernity rearing up against orthodoxy takes concrete form with the creation of these soulful, flawed characters as they live, love, and continue to trudge onward, or not.
• The Author of The Death of Vishnu
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Manil Suri | | Hardcover:
| 464 pages | | Publisher:
| W. W. Norton & Company | | Publication Date:
| February 17, 2008 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0393065693 | | Package Length:
| 9.3 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.2 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 24 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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Character was not convincingAug 25, 2010
This book is well-written and interesting overall. However, the voice of the main character (a woman, though the author is a man) did not ring true for me. Several of the decisions that she makes were not convincing.
 This book is written by a manSep 13, 2009
This book is written by a man, but it describes the feelings of a woman. I have to say that Manil Suri did an amazing job. I could relate most of the time to the heroine's thoughts and feelings.
I have been to India, but only as a tourist and I lack the insight in Indian family way of life. This book helped me a lot to see that we are all the same. The names of the gods and the stories of creation may vary a little bit, but Meera's story could have been mine growing up in Europe after the second WW.
I read Death of Vishnu and immediately looked for another book by this author because I liked Death of Vishnu so much . I like The Age of Shiva even more and I do not understand that there are not more positive reviews.
I was amused by the description of the sexual practices described in the book. The Kamasutra is obviously not widely read in India. There goes another hope that there might be one country where sex is actually satisfying for the average woman.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Partly Annoying, Partly Disgusting, Partly Well WrittenJun 20, 2009
I bought this book at an airport based on the RAVE reviews on the inside cover and because being of Indian origin, I am drawn to Indian authors. What those reviewers saw in this story that touched them so deeply is beyond me. Perhaps the reviews are so great because the novel falls into the permanent niche that "exotic" Indian novels seem to have in the American bestselling book world.
The book started off with the main character making breast feeding sound like a deeply sensual and rather sexual experience. There are laborious descriptions that don't move or add to the story. The main character holds everyone around her (her parents, her siblings, her boyfriend then husband, his family, etc. etc.) in low regard. One concludes that there must be no good people in this story. Luckily, one or two make it in the story much later on.
The main character's voice as the narrator is so refined, literate and intelligent and that contrasts starkly with the fact that almost everyone around her is uneducated. A reader will also get bogged down in the descriptions and the seemingly random references to Indian politics, not to mention a very unsympathetic main character. By the time I got through half the book, I found the main character so despicable and illogical. THEN I got to a section where the main character actually physically lusts after her teenage son. I felt angry and at that point, I considered tossing the book, I persevered.
There were a few well-written and moving passages. One is the description of the younger male college student who innocently follows the main character from a distance in admiration. Another is the telling of the life story of Sandhya whose life was deeply affected by the partition of India and Pakistan. Those snippets of lovely writing were not enough to save this book.
 Post-independent tumoilJun 19, 2009
Manil Suri's style in this book is ponderous, and makes me wonder if the book would have been better had it been faster paced. This book is definitely not in the same class as Death of Vishnu, which I really liked.
The Protagonist in this book, Meera Swahney is a complex character, and we follow the story as told by her from adolescence to mid-thirties. She is NOT particularly likable, but at the same time very real, rebelling against the norm, ignoring advise and making the wrong choices. She always seems attracted to what she knows is not right for her, quietly allowing things to happen when she could have easily avoided them. She reveals a vicious streak and venomous tongue when she wants to manipulate the events, unconsciously doing herself, what she resented about Paji. The parallel of India's story after independence, the strong presence of Indra Gandhi and secularism prevailing against all odds is noteworthy.
My heart went out to Ashvin, confused by his mother's abnormal dependence on him and his subsequent misreading of the events he has experienced, seen and heard. Zaida, Biji, Sandhya, Hema, Freddy, Sharmila and Roopa are all examples of the varied cross section of women one can find in India. Dev's failure and Arya's sinister presence are well brought out.
On the whole this was an interesting read, evoking mixed feelings from a lack of empathy toward the female protagonist to appreciation of India and her people who have suffered, socially and politically to emerge unsuppressed and free to follow their paths in life.
ExcellentApr 09, 2009
The book was in perfect shape as was promised n the website. The book arrived promptly, to my utter dismay. I am very impressed by the professionalism. Thanks
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