Rating: 
Summary: Two Parallel Lives So Different
Review: "Heat and Dust" rarely evoked the images of either of these two things for me.... Perhaps it was such a richly human novel concentrating most centrally on the feelings of women and their problems at two different moments in Indian history that I was more caught up in the drama of its characters than in the Indian landscape. Heat and Dust is not a dry novel. I think that one of the most interesting aspects of the novel is the shared story between Olivia, the young woman from the 1920's, and the unnamed young woman of the 1970's who is the granddaughter of Olivia's British husband. The parallels between their lives are beautifully set aside one another, while at the same time, using the two women as a guide, we can see how India and the lives of women around the world have changed in the short span of fifty years. It is interesting to note how Ruth Prawer Jhabwala manages to show this huge contrast using the lives of two white English women as her instrument. If you are looking for a complex saga, this is not your type of novel, because "Heat and Dust" is quite simple and straightforward, but I think it is an interesting pair of stories for both women and men who are interested in India and interested in how choices can affect our lives. It is mind-boggling for me to think how different two women's lives can be due to the simple fact that their dates of birth are a few decades apart, but in "Heat and Dust" we can see that this seemingly simple factor changed the courses of millions of lives, while for others the years change little or nothing at all. Enjoy reading!
Rating:
Summary: Two Parallel Lives So Different
Review: "Heat and Dust" rarely evoked the images of either of these two things for me.... Perhaps it was such a richly human novel concentrating most centrally on the feelings of women and their problems at two different moments in Indian history that I was more caught up in the drama of its characters than in the Indian landscape. Heat and Dust is not a dry novel. I think that one of the most interesting aspects of the novel is the shared story between Olivia, the young woman from the 1920's, and the unnamed young woman of the 1970's who is the granddaughter of Olivia's British husband. The parallels between their lives are beautifully set aside one another, while at the same time, using the two women as a guide, we can see how India and the lives of women around the world have changed in the short span of fifty years. It is interesting to note how Ruth Prawer Jhabwala manages to show this huge contrast using the lives of two white English women as her instrument. If you are looking for a complex saga, this is not your type of novel, because "Heat and Dust" is quite simple and straightforward, but I think it is an interesting pair of stories for both women and men who are interested in India and interested in how choices can affect our lives. It is mind-boggling for me to think how different two women's lives can be due to the simple fact that their dates of birth are a few decades apart, but in "Heat and Dust" we can see that this seemingly simple factor changed the courses of millions of lives, while for others the years change little or nothing at all. Enjoy reading!
Rating: 
Summary: I've never forgotten this book
Review: As a sensitive individual with an adventurous and even rebellious spirit, I found kindred souls in both of the main characters of the two stories in this one novel. I was deeply impressed because even though I can't imagine going to India, I can very well imagine being in either of these people's situations: caught up in very human circumstances and uncontrollably taking steps to get yourself further caught up. You don't have to be interested in India (much less in heat or dust) to be absorbed in this beautifully, even excquisitely, rendered story.
Rating:
Summary: A work of art
Review: Beautiful, prosaic, well-woven story about two English women in India in two different eras. A work of art that is a pleasure to read and savor.
Rating:
Summary: A work of art
Review: Beautiful, prosaic, well-woven story about two English women in India in two different eras. A work of art that is a pleasure to read and savor.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not of the first rank
Review: HEAT AND DUST is Jhabvala's most famous novel, but it's never really made it into the bigtime of novels concerning Anglo-Indian relations. Although sensitively and intelligently written, the novel's biggest problem is that the two major female characters aren't fully fleshed out: there seems to be much less to interest us regarding the narrator (who is almost a total cypher) and Olivia than there is regarding the Nawab and Chid. Still, the evocations of India both in the Seventies and the Twenties are quite marvelous. All in all, I'd say this is a well-written novel, but not quite up to the level of such other works which take on a similar theme as Paul Scott's THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN or Rumer Godden's THE PEACOCK SPRING.
Rating:
Summary: aspects of love
Review: hi there iam a sixteen yr old who is studing the novel Heat and Dust as part of my english Hsc course I think that Ruth has done a comendable job in depicting the unique world of India Heat and dust is a book dealing with love and the different levels of love one can have for another the aspect that suddnely you can have so much then it is lost and turned to dust. The preceedings which lead up to the main feature of the book are to be considered an important factor in this novel how diffenrt people react and the difference in western and eastern view and the flash backs which occur within the novel; giving a sense of modern day vs 1920's : the important "rules" that were placed on society and their culture and how others will react in a different life time is fasinating. a truley thought provoking novel excellent to study due to the complex story line and emotional dealings truley profound!!
Rating:
Summary: It is unclear what is achieved by the parallel stories
Review: I am not claiming possession of great literary understanding, but somehow none of the two female characters tell you much about what sort of ideals they represent, which passions move them or how they are a reflection of their times. Olivia is clearly a neurotic woman who does not know what she wants and the nameless narrator is just observing the time passing by in India trying to understand why Olivia "sidetracked" from her alliance to live a passionate lover affair with a local prince. But such love story which is really tame and silly. Nothing in this novel offers a new or daring cultural perspective is just a very plain narrative of how two women in India, 60 years apart, are living very lonely and bored.
Rating:
Summary: Literary Masterpiece, but based on ''Selling East''
Review: I do not find this book a true picture of pre/post independent India. Like many other authors, Ruth Pawar Jhabarwala has written this fiction, with an western world's perspective of India. Although, the work is a literary masterpiece, I feel the backdrop of indian culture is very unconvincing. A feeling always comes along that her idea (intended or unintended)has been to depict India in shambles, misery, mysticism and lot of color. Because that sells in the west!!
Rating:
Summary: Prim and proper meets passion in 1920's Indian Raj !
Review: I have always been captivated by novels that take on the expat and women who are gutsy enough to be a head of the times and think for themselves. Such is the story of Olivia in Heat and Dust. But Olivia is not a truely modern woman, in the sense, that she "fallsl" for an Indian nawab, and it is this relationship that leads her down a path that is shaky, exciting, and, ultimately, still makes her rely totally on the opposite sex for her very survival. What is so extraordinary about her, is that she is willing to give up the safety of everything she has ever known to become the lover of an Indian with minor royal ties. Olivia's husband is warned by the English officers and their wives that if a young English woman stays in Delhi during the unbearable hot months instead of going to the mountains for the cooler air, the uninhibited Indian passions could have a permanent deletorious affect on her. In other words, the prim and proper white English must be constantly on guard against the wayward passions of the "darker" people. Fifty years after Olivia has her downfall, a distant relative, curious about what has happened to Olivia, becomes deeply involved in researching Olivia's passionate evolution and disappearance. This beautiful story, submerged in periodism and heated love interests, uncovers the nature of two fascinating women. Not to be missed by anyone who is attracted to the raj of the British East Inda Company. A warm jewe!
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