Heat and Dust

by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Book Overview

The Booker Prize-winning novel--intertwining the narratives of two women, past and present, and their relationships to India--from the novelist, short story writer, and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Partly set in colonial India during the 1920s, Heat and Dust tells the story of Olivia, a beautiful woman suffocated by the propriety and social constraints of her position as the wife of an important...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582430152
• ISBN13: 9781582430157
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Heat and Dust by Oat

This story of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is easy to read but difficute to understand. It was about niece who want to find out the history of her family once they lived in India in 1923. With this reason ,she traveled to India and tried to follow all events that happened by that time. The story is described through a memory note which is fascinating for me. In addition ,It is illustrated the picture of India quite clearly both life style and culture. In my opinion ,this is really interesting and can attract me to finish it in a short time. Thus ,i think this book is quite good and i recommand it.

THE HEAT OF THE ROMANCE...THE DUST OF ITS ASHES...

This is a well written book that explores Anglo-Indian relations through the power of romance. Set in two distinct eras, colonial India of the nineteen twenties, during the time of the Raj, and the independent, freewheeling India of the seventies, during the time when India was a mecca for disenfranchised youth, it tells the story of two women.One story is that of Olivia, the wife of a minor district official in colonial India, who in 1923 caused great scandal by running off with the Nawab, a local Indian prince. Divorced by her husband, Douglas, for this scandalous transgression, Olivia remains in India, while Douglas remarries. The second story is that of the narrator, a descendant of Douglas and his second wife. During the nineteen seventies, fascinated by the story of the now deceased Olivia, she goes to India, visiting those locations where Olivia had lived and those which would have been a part of her existence at the time. As did Olivia, she falls under India's spell. As did Olivia, she, too, has an Anglo-Indian love affair and picks up where Olivia left off, giving the reader a powerful sense of de-ja vu. The book is a beguiling story of two women from two different generations who come under the spell of India. The book is evocative of British colonial India, as well as of India of the nineteen seventies. During both eras, Anglo-Indian relations are pivotal to the budding romances. The book is evocative of the rythyms of Indian life in all its richness and tumultuousness, as well as its lingering poverty and superstitions. It is redolent of a time gone by and hopeful of what is to come. It is also an interesting dichotomy of the good and bad in both cultures, Anglo and Indian, and the influence that both cultures have on these two women, who are so different, yet so alike. This is a book that whets the appetite, leaving the reader wanting more than the author is prepared to give. It is, nonetheless, a book well worth reading. The book was also made into a Merchant Ivory film starring Julie Christie and Greta Scacchi.

Very Enjoyable

The best novel I have ever read depicting an Indian Story Line. Though the author is not considered an Indian, she displays her thoughts in a classical but respectful way....

aspects of love

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!!