In 1963 Seattle a grieving daughter opens a mysterious trunk. There she finds buried among silk saris, jewelry, and trinkets, a story. The story she has been waiting all her life to hear. The story of the American father who raised her and the Indian mother she never knew. In the early days of Americas involvement in WWII Captain Sam Hawthorne of the 3rd Burma Rangers embarks on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines to locate a stranded American missionary and escort her through the jungles of Burma to the relative safety of India. Sam arrives in India exahusted and injured but he has another mission; to find his brother, an enlistee with the British Rudrakot Rifles, who has been missing for over 2 months. We soon learn that "Captain Hawthorne" is an officer of the fledgling OSS and plans to use the skills he's learned in the OSS to discover the fate of his brother. He has just 4 days in Rudrakot to accomplish his goal but finds himself drawn into the lives of his hosts family and falling desperately in love with Mila, the daughter of the Indian political agent with whom he is staying. Although the consumation of thier love is a foregone conclusion, after all we meet their daughter in the opening passages, the author so expertly builds the sexual tension between them that it is nearly unbearable. Sam and Mila are like two halves of the same coin, both torn between their feelings and desires, and their familial obligations. The story of their growing love is set against the backdrop of the casual cruelty and bigotry of the British Raj, the growing nationalistic movement for India's independence, and Sam's increasing fear for his brother who he now believes is a prisoner in the nearby Field Punishment Center. The threads of all these stories are expertly woven together, the characters richly and sympathetically drawn, and the writing lyrical. A beautiful story and tremendously satisfying read! I would also highly recommend the authors earlier books: The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses.
The year is 1942. Pre-independence period of India. Setting is a princely state called Rudrakot with a sitting prince named Jai. An American, Sam Hawthorne, comes to Rudrakot, under the pretence of resting his injured shoulder and seeks the hospitality of the political agent named Raman who is an ICS officer. Sam stays in Raman's home with Raman's children - Kiran, Mila and Ashok. Immediately, there is an attraction between Sam and Mila and they indulge in a fiery love affair. Mila is engaged to be married to Jai, the prince. Will Mila marry her love Sam or will she marry Jai and fulfill her duty - that is the internal question.The book is filled with racism and prejudices, with atrocities being described in detail done by the British against Indians. History clips are thrown in the midst with mention of the Quit India movement, student rallies. Americans are shown in a kinder light as being more tolerant and also hated by the British. Affluent Indians' lifestyle, prince's palaces, food and indian clothes are described nicely.This would be a good book to be made into a movie. A couple of songs, with some emotions would be great. I was not inspired or felt gripped by the book. I would call this book a 'bhelpuri' - an indian snack that is a mixture of many ingredients. The book had history, racism, romance, student rebellion, gay love. The characters were not developed.
What do You think about The Splendor Of Silence (2006)?
The ending in this book made me mad (I kind of naively wanted a happy ending) otherwise I would give it four stars. I did appreciate how all the characters came together in the end though. I wasn't too sure why Marianne was given so much attention until the end. I really ended up loving her character.I loved Sam's character and his devotion to finding his lost brother. And of course I loved Mila and their tragic love story. Why does it have to be tragic? Argh!!For my conservative type friends, t
—Cynthia
What a satisfying experience to hear this book read by Sneha Mathan on the audio version of this well written book. Since the story takes place in India I appreciated the Indian accent and lilting quality of the the reader's voice. That, coupled, with a well orchestrated, interesting, and well researched story provided the basis for my high opinion. Every chapter begins with a quote about "The Raj experience" either from a British or Indian perspective. This background information added to the depth of the book by providing information that the reader might not have previously known. It also helped to set the backdrop for the struggles each of the main characters faced.I hate reviews that give away the story line, and unfortunately, the synopsis of the book, on the back cover, gives most everything away. How I wish that practice would end! That being said, if you like an intricately woven book that challenges your own perceptions about race, caste, history, and life; this book is for you. Just don't read the other reviews that share the plot.
—Carol Meissner
At the moment I'm devouring books about India, and this one definitely satisfied. Overall, the time covered in the book is no more than a week (spread over April/May 1942 and April 1963), but the author skilfully packs a lot into such a short amount of time.Primarily, it is a book about infatuation and obsession. These are things such as money (Ken), lust and sex (Mila, Sam and others), power (Vimal), reputation (Kiran) and human companionship (Jai). The collision of these obsessions drives the events forward in a snowball motion towards the climax of the book.It's a very delicious book. The attention to detail is superb and doesn't jar at all. Even the constant switching between the events in Burma and those in Rudrakot is done so well that it didn't annoy me - it was like peeling away layers piece by piece until the truth was revealed.I will say that it was quite a predictable plot in many ways, though there were some surprises (I won't mention which).The reason it doesn't get 5 stars is that I'm not a fan of "omniscient" narrative - ie where the narrator is clearly part of the story but knows absolutely everything, even the things he shouldn't. I also felt that there was one loose end left untied, and that was how Raman (the father) reacted to all the events. His character is wonderfully fleshed out in the beginning of the the book, but by the end he is hardly mentioned.Even so, I enjoyed reading it and I would heartily recommend it.
—Bethany
