"Bhimais living at the bottom of the Indian caste system: she lives in the slums of Bombay and works as a servant to Sera, a Farsi widow. Her husband has left her, taking her son with him, and she has never seen either of them again. She has lost her daughter and son-in-law to AIDS and is caring for their now 17 year old daughter, Maya. Bhima believes it would be worth this whole life of misery if she would succeed in making a better life for Maya by sending her to school - but then Maya gets pregnant.
One factor has helped Bhima through a number of times in her life: Sera, the Farsi woman she works for. That they are from different castes is never in doubt. Bhima is not allowed to sit on the family's furniture, has to bring her own mug because she isn't allowed to drink from the family's glasses... But still somehow, Sera and Bhima have managed to build a strong bond across these boundaries, and that is quite exceptional within the strong hierarchy of Indian society. Sera is also the one who is paying for Maya's education.
Maya has an abortion, and with that, all problems should be over. But then, it becomes clear that it is Sera's family that has caused the problems in the first place (Maya is not the girl of low morality she is first made out to be, but has been molested by Sera's son-in-law). "
L. Peeters, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of The Space Between Us
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Inside culture (main char)
- Indian (Ghandi, not Sitting Bull)
Other aspects:
- story of the poor
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- Indian (Ghandi, not Sitting Bull)
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Woman's story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- servant
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Indian Indian
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Main Adversary
Identity:
- society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 (a little)
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- India
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Sex in book?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
