Heat and dust door Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

INTRO: I’ve read “Heat and dust”, written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It tells the story of Olivia. An unnamed, beautiful woman travels to India to learn more about her grandfather’s first wife, Olivia, living there fifty years earlier. This book describes the Indian summer. Everyone who experiences this heat and dust, especially Olivia, is changed for ever.

TIME & SETTING: This novel takes place in 1923, when Olivia Rivers travels to India to join Dougles Rivers at this post, but she finds another man, Indian prince Nawab. He is more interesting than a British colonial society, and eventually, she develops an affair with him. She goes to bed and reduced by a very charismatic Indian prince, during the boring heat of the day while her husband is away to work. When Olivia’s step-granddaughter learns of Olivia’s romantic adventures in India through old letters, she’s concluded to go to India and find out all she can about prince Nawab and the relation that he had with Olivia. This novel is written from the viewpoint of the unnamed, step-granddaughter during her time in India in 1923. It starts with an introduction where that she tells about Olivia. She wrote in a form of a diary, started on 2 February 1923, when the diarist arrived in Bombay. It’s Olivia’s story – the story of 1923 – the year when her whole life changed.

OPINION: I think it’s very engaging story with enough romance, history, scandal, drama, etc. to satisfy more readers. But Olivia was a bit annoying, but over all, the characters and dialogues were realistic and pleasant to read it. Sometimes, I felt that it described things too much, whit a lot of details, and this made it sometimes boring and less interesting. She would have just gone to point of the story. But it’s mainly succeeding book and I recommend it for readers who likes to read diaries. I think it’s easier to read a diary than o whole story.