Of Marriageable Age

By: Sharon Maas

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

A spellbinding story of forbidden love. Three continents, three decades, three very disparate lives: Savitri, intuitive and charismatic, grows up among the servants of a pre-war English household in Madras. But the traditional customs of her Brahmin family clash against English upper-class prejudice, threatening her love for the privileged son of the house.

Nataraj, raised as the son of an idealistic doctor in rural South India, finds life in London heady, with girls and grass easily available... until he is summoned back home to face raw reality.

Saroj, her fire hidden by outward reserve, comes of age in Guyana, South America. When her strict, orthodox Hindu father goes one step too far, she finally rebels against him and even against her gentle, apparently docile Ma. But Ma harbors a deep secret, one that binds these three disparate lives and hurtles them toward a truth that could destroy their world.

©2000 Sharon Maas (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A vast canvas of memorable characters across a kaleidoscope of cultures.... Her epic story feels like an authentic reflection of a world full of sadness, joy and surprise." ( The Observer)

Good

Good story but I found it hard to follow. It ends very nicely. I would recommend to people that are interested in different cultures.

Generational Journey

The narrator's voice is quite distinct and was always the first thing I noticed before the words. Her accents and gender voices were great and I always knew who was talking which was vital because this story had a lot of plot twists.
I loved it!

Excellent story, writing ok

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. The author needs a little more experience so the writing does not sometime read like a "B"movie. Lots of historical background I am going to enjoy researching.

Decent story. Terrible narrator.

I enjoy learning about foreign lands and cultures in my fiction, and this certainly did not disappoint in that regard. However, Maas's narrative style has far more "telling" than " showing". It dragged, with long sections of narration that begged for some action or dialogue. I stuck with it to the end, and there was a satisfying (if somewhat too tidy) twist and resolution.
The real problem was the reader. Her whispery, garbled speech was so awful, I almost returned the book after the first half hour of listening. She sounds like she has marbles in her mouth. I would recommend reading the book rather than listening to the audio book if you are interested in the story.

Loved it, and hated it!

Wow! That is pretty much the extent of my reaction to this piece. Fascinating and frustrating, love it and hate it. A feminist's absolute nightmare, and yet a cultural treasure. It's amazing how much there is to learn about the world, and how different people's beliefs and traditions vary from ethnic group to ethnic group and within those groups. Cultures within cultures without degrading them by calling them SUB-groups. I don't think people can even begin to understand the magnitude and absolute definition of the word "diversity". However, it is through cultural pieces such as this one, even when it is a historical fiction narrative, that I grow as an individual and a global citizen. Works like this one make me abhor the term "tolerance" ever so slightly more, as I view it as having a despicable definition. What we need is "understanding" and "acceptance" to begin to alleviate the world's cultural bigotry, not "tolerance". Let's replace that term with one like: "respect". That sounds more like a great beginning!