Faint Promise of Rain Faint Promise of Rain

Faint Promise of Rain

A Novel

    • 4.7 • 9 Ratings
    • $9.99
    • $9.99

Publisher Description

It is 1554 in the desert of Rajasthan. On a rare night of rain, a daughter is born to a family of Hindu temple dancers just as India’s new Mughal Emperor Akbar sets his sights on their home, the fortress city of Jaisalmer, and the other Princely States around it.



Fearing a bleak future, Adhira’s father, the temple’s dance master—against his wife and sons’ protests—puts his faith in tradition and in his last child for each to save the other: he insists that Adhira is destined to “marry” the temple’s deity and to give herself to a wealthy patron. Thus she must live in submission as a woman revered and reviled. But Adhira’s father may not have the last word. Adhira grows into an exquisite dancer, and after one terrible evening she must make a choice—one that will carry her family’s story and their dance to a startling new beginning.

GENRE
Fiction & Literature
RELEASED
2014
October 7
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
332
Pages
PUBLISHER
She Writes Press
SELLER
Ingram DV LLC
SIZE
8.3
MB

Customer Reviews

crystallyn ,

Gorgeous.

The world of 16th century India was admittedly foreign to me before I read Duva's gorgeous novel. That mattered little, however, because she's a master of drawing the reader into the world of her characters, the dance, and the changing area near the citadel of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. I can still picture the places--the temple, the modest home in which Adhira grows up, the desert camps, the market and citadel.

The novel and everything that happens within it center around Adhira, a mystical child who was born into a family of Hindu temple dancers, called devadasi. Ahdira embodies the dance and what it represents, but is also subject to the hard lessons of being tied to a wealthy patron. The book transcends the story of the temple, wrapping the reader in a story of family and how, just as with families today, the relationships between family members are sometimes tenuous, complex and fraught with both love and drama.

It's rare when I read a book that makes me care so deeply about so many characters. Faint Promise of Rain does that for me in spades. I felt Girija's worry and pain, Gandar's blind devotion and the folly of his choices, Hari Dev's struggle and his kind heart, Padmini's sadness and Mahendra's desire and disillusionment. I felt anger when bad things happened to the family, and deep conflict when they acted in ways that only hurt themselves. I wanted them to be loved, to succeed, to be happy. And Ahdira! I felt her magic weaving through me with every word.

These are characters I will remember and think about for many years to come. Duva's debut novel speaks volumes about her talent. I can't wait to read her next book!

di pinto ,

A downer

This story depicts a dysfunctional Hindu family in 16th Century drought ridden India during a time when traditions are threatened by an encroaching Muslim society. The youngest daughter, Adhira, narrates the tale.

The question is whether this dysfunctional family can survive the father’s harmful decisions and bad choices, and whether the four siblings can ever find peace and happiness in life. In a mixed bittersweet ending, the characters play out the cards that life has dealt them.

Contrary to other reviews, I found nothing “gorgeous”, “beautiful,” or uplifting about the misogynistic depictions in this book. Of some interest was the history and social norms of little known 16th Century India, and the imaginative descriptions of the dances and religious stories. Unfortunately, the imagery did not override the misogynistic themes. It seems that an increasing number of modern writers feel that the path to book sales is to write a tome on abuse. I felt sorry for the people in this story, especially the women, who had to live in a society where they were often simultaneously venerated and abused. There isn’t one major female character in the story who isn’t horribly abused by men in one way or another –bullied, demeaned, sexually used, beaten, scarred, sold, or raped. Who wants to spend 8 hours immersed in that?

So for me, this book was a downer. I generously give it 2 stars instead of 1 for the endearing character of the “go to” brother and son, the physically impaired Hari Dev, who exhibited empathy, sound judgment, and competence throughout. Hopefully, the author’s next book will be more uplifting and focus on the goodness and beauty of one of the world’s major civilizations. I would like to see Hari’s character developed in future books. There are better ways of evoking emotion than dragging the reader though horrible and hopeless situations.

— di pinto

nmooch ,

Transported me back...

I had an opportunity to read this book when it first came out in 2014, and could not put it down. The evocative descriptions of place and time, the buildup of the character's personalities, and the way the story ebbed and flowed was gripping and mesmerizing. I had no idea about the roots of kathak dance, and this book was not only informative in that regard, but wove the story of Adhira into a fictional but yet imaginable landscape of that time period in Rajasthan. I would highly recommend this book!

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