Synopses & Reviews
A rich, moving, and deeply felt first novel,
Bombay Time portrays the lives of longtime residents of a middle-class apartment building, and their complex relationship with the city of their birth. The men and women who live in Wadia Baug are all Parsis, a small ethnic minority whose relative affluence and Western orientation make them stand out in a city of mass poverty. Gathering for the wedding of one of their youngest members, the older residents look back on their youthful, more idealistic selves.
With wisdom and compassion, Thrity Umrigar introduces us to the Parsi men and women who have grown up together in the aging community of Wadia Baug. She traces young Adi Patel's disintegration into alcoholism; indicts Dosamai, the old neighborhood gossip; exposes the shattering romantic betrayal Soli Contractor suffered many years ago; depicts the rise of Jimmy Kanga, the local success story; and examines the history of the reclusive wisdow Tehmi Engineer. Above all, Umrigar gives us a nuanced portrait of Rusi Bilimoria, a middle-aged businessman who is struggling to come to terms with a bad marriage and the realization that many of his dreams remain unfulfilled. Long ago stripped of the ideals he held as an inexperienced young man, Rusi tries hard to make sense of his life and hold together a community that is fraying around him.
A keen observer of human relationships, Thrity Umrigar has created a remarkable novel about a group of men and women who are at once completely unique and utterly recognizable to us all.
Review
"Petru Popescu's The Oasis is a poignant and remarkable Holocaust memoir: Filled with love, it suffuses us with hope." (Elie Wiesel)
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Review
"[Umrigar's] heartfelt book . . . displays an impressive talent for conceiving multidimensional, sympathetic characters with lifelike emotional quandaries and psychological stumbling blocks."—
The Washington Post Book World"Umrigar's vivid and easy prose carries the reader into the heart of these families, limning their neighborhoods, their desires, their hopes, and failures."—Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
"Bombay throbs with the life and death, crowded, hot, dirty, and volatile . . . [This novel] is a warmhearted look at human nature, with all its strengths and flaws exposed."—The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Thrity Umrigar has an acute ear for dialogue, and a gift for unmasking the complexities of personal relationships. Wise and nuanced, the narrative grips the reader's attention."—Bapsi Sidhwa, author of Cracking India
"With the unflinching gaze of a Diane Arbus protégé, Umrigar pulls each of [her characters] into and out of focus to reveal the definitive—at times profoundly intimate—events of their respective lives . . . [A] dazzling debut."—The Hartford Courant
"Bombay Time's wonderful cast of characters and their tragically funny stories stay with you long after you finish reading this bittersweet novel. Thrity Umrigar's heart is as big as her homeland, and this is a beautiful novel."—Brad Watson, author of Last Days of the Dog-Men
Synopsis
At the wedding of a young man from a middle-class apartment building in Bombay, the men and women of this unique community gather together and look back on their youthful, idealistic selves and consider the changes the years have wrought. The lives of the Parsi men and women who grew up together in Wadi Baug are revealed in all their complicated humanity: Adi Patel's disintegration into alcoholism; Dosamai's gossiping tongue; and Soli Contractor's betrayal and heartbreak. And observing it all is Rusi Bilimoria, a disillusioned businessman who struggles to make sense of his life and hold together a fraying community.
About the Author
Thrity Umrigar grew up in Bombay, India. A recipient of the Neiman Fellowship at Harvard, she writes for the
Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio. Her work has appeared in
The Washington Post, and she is a contributor to the
Boston Globe. She lives in Kent, Ohio.