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Bezig met laden... The Heart Is a Shifting Sea: Love and Marriage in Mumbaidoor Elizabeth Flock
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Rather than merely presenting facts about heterosexual romance and marriage in India, the author brings these otherwise dry statistics to life through the stories of three couples. There is some diversity here--arranged and "love" marriages; Hindu and Muslim faiths; working and middle classes--but many common themes emerge, especially how marriage is the foundation of society because it perpetuates the family line, and having children is an essential part of marriage.. The narratives also include interesting information about current politics and economics in India. The most disturbing thing I learned is that "one in two Indian children--boys and girls both--had been sexually abused." Recommended. The growing preference for love vs arranged marriage is a major sea change in the ever-stormy sands of social upheaval in India. As women become more educated, work outside the home, and take jobs in more liberal other countries, they become less willing to put themselves at the mercy of two sets of parents, as well as the astrologers who often have the final say in whether a match is made. In this story, the author delves into the courtship and marriages of three Mumbai couples - the first are Marwaris (known for their relentless drive for business success), the second a Sunni Muslim couple, and the third are Tamil Brahmin Hindus. Each pair, with some romantic experience prior to their marriages, eventually commits to a partner chosen by their parents - and the parents themselves end up being the greatest cause of problems and tensions for them. Mumbai, in all of its overwhelming growth, pollution, monsoons, and religious strife, is both a fantasy and a nightmare setting. The three couples share all their confidences with the author in a manner that is almost startling in its intimacy. It's both remarkable sociology and a powerful introduction to middle class Indian city life. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
In the vein of "Behind the Beautiful Forevers", an intimate, deeply reported and revelatory examination of love, marriage, and the state of modern India as witnessed through the lives of three very different couples in today's Mumbai. In twenty-first-century India, tradition is colliding with Western culture, a clash that touches the lives of everyday Indians from the wealthiest to the poorest. While ethnicity, class, and religion are influencing the nation's development, so too are pop culture and technology an uneasy fusion whose impact is most evident in the institution of marriage. "The Heart Is a Shifting Sea" introduces three couples whose relationships illuminate these sweeping cultural shifts in dramatic ways: Veer and Maya, a forward-thinking professional couple whose union is tested by Maya's desire for independence; Shahzad and Sabeena, whose desperation for a child becomes entwined with the changing face of Islam; and Ashok and Parvati, whose arranged marriage, made possible by an online matchmaker, blossoms into true love. Though these three middle-class couples are at different stages in their lives and come from diverse religious backgrounds, their stories build on one another to present a layered, nuanced, and fascinating mosaic of the universal challenges, possibilities, and promise of matrimony in its present state. Elizabeth Flock has observed the evolving state of India from inside Mumbai, its largest metropolis. She spent close to a decade getting to know these couples listening to their stories and living in their homes, where she was privy to countless moments of marital joy, inevitable frustration, dramatic upheaval, and whispered confessions and secrets. The result is a phenomenal feat of reportage that is both an enthralling portrait of a nation in the midst of transition and an unforgettable look at the universal mysteries of love and marriage that connect us all. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)306.81Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Culture and Institutions Marriage and Parenting MarriageLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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Flock does a good job interviewing the couples, though she uses a narrative style that blends her reporting and interviews with background information and commentary so it's not always entirely clear where the line is between them. She manages, through her long relationship with the couples, to get a remarkable level of detail and openness, including sex, miscarriages, and in-law disputes. All three couples have difficulties adjusting to the rapid pace of social change in Mumbai, in different ways: Maya wants independence, Shazad and Sabeena grieve as his father refuses to allow them to adopt a baby, and Parvati has trouble adjusting to married life.
Overall, this is a good read, and Flock has been careful to do her background research and is aware of the limits of her reporting. She doesn't try to make grand observations about India or its traditions, but tries to keep herself as a more neutral observer and doesn't insert herself into the narrative. ( )