Did Not Finish

I felt like I was living a lovely dream while reading this book that takes a gentle look at love, traditions, and family. Set off the coast of India on the lush, imaginary island of Pi (short for Prospero’s Island according to some locals familiar with Shakespeare’s Tempest), the book’s story is narrated by Mina who is part of a large extended family all living under one roof.

Mina and her young cousins adore their Aunt Meterling. She’s too tall, too dark and too old to be unmarried, but in her genial way she thinks for herself. In her late 20’s Meterling meets and falls in love with an Englishman more than a decade her senior, setting off a flutter of activity. Within months of making each other’s acquaintance the two are married, but within moments of marriage, long before the celebrations were to be over, he is dead. Meterling is heartbroken, then to complicate things further she discovers she is pregnant.

As Sweet as Honey does not have a fast paced plot, but things do happen as the story evolves. Its charms are the relationships, the redolent descriptions of scenery, the dance between tradition and emerging modern ideas, and the appealing innocent freedoms of Mina and her cousins. There is a ghost story aspect to the book, but its ghosts are of the most benign kind. ( )

This wonderful new novel will be arriving on shelves on February 12 and I can't recommend it too highly. It's structure echoes that of [To The Lighthouse] and I found that it also had a similar effect on my reading. Woolf, who I adore, forces me to alter the speed at which I read, much in the way poetry will do, and that's exactly what happens with this novel, too. The story, most of which takes place on the island of Pi, off the coast of India, revolves around the marriage and re-marriage of a beloved Aunt named Meterling, a tall, striking woman who manages to defy convention without losing the love of her family.
Her first husband, an Englishman named Archer, dies in her arms on the dance floor at their wedding, when she is already pregnant with his child. She marries her second husband, Archer's cousin, before the child is born. Time passes. Meterling, Simon and young Oscar relocate to England. The end of the novel finds them back on the island, trying to decide if they will stay there or return, once more to England. These are the facts of the story. It's the telling of their story that I find so engaging, so hypnotic, so infused with a kindness, a generosity of spirit that is all too frequently lacking in contemporary fiction. No one dies in a hail of bullets in this, in fact there's very little real conflict of any kind here, except for the inevitable conflict of cultures in collision. But, by and large, this is a story of people of good will working to understand one another, to overcome conflict, not succumb to it.
[As Sweet As Honey] is Indira Ganesan's third novel and I hope it's publication (by Knopf) will bring her the audience she so richly deserves. ( )

As Sweet As Honey by Indira Ganesa is the story of a family on and off the island of Pi in the Bay of Bengal. It is an unusual jewel of a book. It sparkles with humor, folklore of Pi, love and the voices of little children. There is also jealously, a ghost and desire to explore the western world.

Most of the story centers on Meterling. She is a very tall dark woman on the island of Pi who is engaged to a short, plump Englishman, Archer. Meterling is fascinated by western world and at the same filled with a love for her family and the gorgeous flower filled island. But at the wedding by the ceremony, they dance and he dies of an aneurism.

At first, her story is told by many, aunts, uncles and little children. They are wondering about her and her desire to be different. They can't figure her out. Sometimes the questions asked by the children are answered by the aunts and uncles. Other times, the questions can only be answered by Meterling.
Then Meterling takes over the story, telling her history and her love for Archer and the sorrow that it brings when he suddenly dies. Gossip still is a strong force in this part of the story. But Meterling goes through her life making her own decisions.

The only thing that was negative for me is the first part of the book. I was so eager to meet Meterling but so many relatives had to have their say first. This book is not one that you can rush through but one to enjoy the little gems of wisdom, and humor of the children. The pain of grief and joy of living after that grief shines through this book.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in other cultures.and of Pi in the Bay of Bengal. Most of the story centers aroung Meterling. Indira Ganesan is a wonderful storyteller.

I received this book from Amazon Vine and that did not influence my thoughts in this review. ( )