Welcome to Litsy!

This is a continuation of “The Space Between Us” by the same author. Despite this being a sequel (and although I have), I don‘t think you need to have read the first book to read this one. The bits you need to know are told to you in this story (good thing, because I wouldn‘t have remembered any of it!). I liked this. Cont in comments...

Gatsby says to put down the book and get her food. #foodandlit

November was a terrible reading month for me so I chose a book I finished in August. The second book to The Spaces Between Us. This book is so beautifully written and Bhima grows in so many ways including accepting others who are different from her. So good! #12booksof2021

What a perfect follow up to The Space Between us. It‘s such a beautiful story. Bhima‘s character arch is so lovely. She has such a good heart. She grows so much and I loved where the story ended. I loved so many of the characters in this book. This book deserves all the stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My first interval walk/run ‘jog‘ since surgery. I am loving this audiobook and it kept me going today!

On to the next! 😁

Beautiful short walk this morning and started a new audiobook #20in4

I didn‘t think it was possible to love this sequel even more than the first, but I did! The characters are so starkly real, I physically ache for them. Kudos to Umrigar for creating a fascinating story of unlikely friendships, of resilience, forgiveness and hope. Highly recommended in audio, with Kleenex on the side. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

#Booked2021 #SetInACountryWhereUNPeacekeepersAre
#SeriesRead2021

• Continuing my TBR project:
This is one of the highest rated book on my TBR list - Originally added April 2, 2020.

I read the first book in this series about a year ago (recommended by ModernMrsDarcy.com) and loved it. As soon as I picked up this one the story came right back to me and I quickly fell into the drama. Umrigar as a special way of pulling you into the story.

Although it is dawn, in Bhima‘s heart it is dark.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

“It is our secrets that define us” How true!! This book BROKE MY HEART!!! The audio narration was perfection🙌🏻A multilayered story revolving around a few women of different castes in #India #ReadingAsia21 BEYOND gripping!! I‘m ready for book three!!! Please Reese make this into an HBO miniseries. This can be read as a standalone but I recommend reading A Space Between Us first. Reading will require a stash of tissues.

LOVING this book!!!! Narration is phenomenal🎧🙌🏻
You don‘t need to have read The Space Between Us but having that backstory makes this book that much more special.
#ReadingAsia21 #India

I‘m loving this challenge @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle ❤️

I read A Space Between Us years ago and fell in love with Bhima & her story. I was so excited when Thirty Umrigar wrote a sequel. #ReadingAsia21 #India

In slum section of Mumbai, India two women in poor circumstances meet and soon become business partners, one is educated, other uneducated but hard-working. A real friendship develops as they need to lean on each other.
As they learn about each other, we learn about the culture and status of women and feel so much empathy for these women and the hard life they had to endure.
Loved the story! Loved the characters!

While not quite on par with The Space Between Us, this was still such a poignant read. I love how well the author writes all kinds of relationships among women, whether family, friends, or foes. And I specifically liked the progression of connection between Bhima and Parvati. The pain and misfortune they both experience is shown honestly but never feels gratuitous or exploitative of the real people they represent. 4/5 ⭐️

Is it the special curse of women, to keep other people‘s secrets and carry their shame? What would happen, she wonders, if all of them—Parvati, Serabai, Sunitabai—simply put down their loads one day and refused to pick them up again?

She feels a scream start from deep within her at the irony of this situation. Will she never have a say so in any aspect of her life? she wonders. Does she have no more choice in deciding her own destiny than one of her cauliflowers? Like them, she has been bought and sold, sliced and diced, moved from one corner of the city to another.

At her age, time has stopped flowing in a linear fashion; rather, it ebbs and swirls, creating a whirlpool at its center that on most days swallows her whole. Her yesterdays have lost their bite; it is her todays that come bearing down with fangs and claws that she has to watch out for.

After a DNF, I always try to pick something I feel extra sure about, and since this is a sequel/follow-up to a book I loved (The Space Between Us), I am certainly optimistic ☺️ #nowreading

Sympathetic, lively, and colorful women dominate this story that explores relationships across economic, religious, generational, and cultural themes. It is wonderfully written and the characters highly compelling. It celebrates the ability of these women to draw strength from one another in a way that celebrates all that makes them different.

Two incredibly strong women forge a relationship solely for financial survival at first but become as close as family as they learn to trust each other. With the support of the other they each grow and begin to reconcile themselves with their pasts. I didn‘t love the last couple of chapters but otherwise this was everything I wanted from a sequel to The Space Between Us and more.

This feels like an ultimate Galentines Day read. The women in this book are written with such care and attention, set in a backdrop of such aching poverty. The push and pull of self-preservation mixed with desire to give and receive kindness is at the heart of this story. I‘m only 1/3 of the way through and am already in love with all the women in this book.

👍🏾👍🏾 Not plot driven, but really compelling character writing. I started this audio book before I realized it was a follow-up to The Space Between Us. No matter, because it stands alone. Loved Thrity‘s writing and looking forward to more.

Excellent book. Check out my full review on Goodreads: #Edelweiss+ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35959168-the-secrets-between-us

Wow - this was an amazing read! It's been a while since I read The Space Between Us but it was still easy to pick up the story (though a re-read is in order). The main thing that I'm taking away from this book is that it's never too late to learn, grow, start a new business, make new friends, and reconnect with the past. One of the many quotes I wrote down is this - "that a life without trust is not worth living." So true!

Umrigar's story is about love, loss, struggle, class, and misfortune due to circumstances. Her words read like fine poetry and are a sharp contrast to the cultural brutality that is depicted. I have had the pleasure of reviewing her before, and this certainly won't be the last. Her writing is captivating and thought provoking and I highly recommend this series.