Where the River Parts

Well-written historical fiction is always a joy to find, and this book does not disappoint. The brutal partitioning of Pakistan from the rest of India was a joy to many, but also a nightmare to many others. As religion breaks apart her family and friends, Asha must adjust to a life much different from the one of her childhood. Settling in Delhi, she manages but childhood loss follows her throughout her long life. Recommended reading.

Although this harrowing story is set during Partition of India in 1947 you could liken the atrocities to modern day problems. It's a great story spanning over many decades..and the prejudices never changing.

Really enjoyed this heart-warming drama following two families, one Muslim and one Hindu, as they live through Partition in 1947 India and how it impacted the future generations of their respective families. I gave this book four out of five as there were a few niggles I had with the writing, which I’ll cover first.
At times the dialogue is slow to the point of stagnant; luckily there were not too many pages of dialogue. I wish the editor had cut out the repeated phrases that didn’t move the story along or help us understand our characters any better. On the subject of dialogue I thought the use of foreign words was too much. I’m sure the writer thought it added authenticity but when the words were not always explained, and we could only guess at their meaning, it became too much like hard work and a bit annoying.
One other gripe I had was with pace. Sometimes, especially at the beginning, it was too slow for me. I also thought the last few pages were rushed, especially as the writer had built up tension towards the end with family conflict going on for the last 25 per cent of the book and then resolving that tension in one paragraph.
Now to the things I loved. A great premise for a story. Recent history always intrigues me, especially when we are still so close to it. This was a book about emotions and strength of will and I was with the characters every step of the way. I loved the sense of helplessness and vulnerability some of them had as they were not able to avoid the inevitable consequences of their lives.
I enjoyed the atmospheres created by Swarup which appealed to all the senses and were never overdone.
Asha is the main character and I found her a genuine, well crafted character who was easy to believe and relate to. There was nothing forced, fake or contrived about her.
Sometimes the language was quite poetic and I liked those touches throughout the book. The last few lines were particularly well crafted in my opinion.
I enjoyed that this story was told chronologically from beginning to end and didn’t jump around in time as I don’t think that would have added anything to the telling and I was totally satisfied by the outcome.
I hate to give spoilers in a review so I’ll leave it there and just say that I would recommend you read this book and I will certainly like to read more from the writer in the future.

The words are beautiful, almost poetic embracing you in an old worldly charm, of an era gone by.

Where the River Parts

Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written story, set in the last days of the British Raj. We meet Asha, a young Hindu woman who is deeply in love with Firoze, a young Muslim man. Then comes partition. 1947 and Asha's family must flee the newly formed Pakistan because of it's want to be a Muslim nation.

As the story unfolds, we learn more about the historical events that took place during Partition, how it impacted on families and friends at the time and how it affected future generations.

This is a novel that will stay with me for a long time. The characters came to life for me, I had vivid images in my mind, which is always the sign of an amazing book to me. I think what made this book even more likeable was that although this is a fiction book, these things will have actually happened. There will have been real life Ashas and real life Firozes. I would definitely recommend this book. 4* from me.

Good book, great characters... touched my heart

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were believable and I found myself instantly drawn into their lives. I found myself lost in their world and couldn't stop reading.

A well written story set against the Indian Partition.

Buniyaad (remember the DD serial?) is what came to mind reading the first half of the book but then it comes on its own with a refreshing and a contemporary storyline.