*Umrigar, Thrity. If Today Be Sweet. Morrow. Jun. 2007. c.336p. ISBN 0-06-124023-0 [ISBN 978-0-06-124023-2]. $24.95
If
a theme runs through journalist and best-selling author Umrigar's latest
novel (after The Space Between Us), it would be that the issues challenging
us as individuals are the same catalysts for the change that we face as a
society. Umrigar once again explores the intimate world of the Indian woman,
but this time, the setting is not Bombay or even India but Cleveland, OH.
She tells the poignant story of Tehmina "Tammy" Sethna, a recent widow
divided between the life she led with her husband in India and her current
life in Ohio with her son and his American wife. What might have been just
another story about widowhood is, in Umrigar's hands, a canvas on which
love, death, family, pain, and personal transformation are subtly painted.
Readers see through Tammy's eyes as she struggles to understand her new role
in life and the new definition of family. This novel transcends culture and
will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Recommended for all public
libraries.-- Marika Zemke, West Bloomfield Twp. P.