India Gray:
historical fiction by Sujata Massey
Two novellas and two short stories, all set in India, span a
time frame from 1919 to the early 21st century. My favorite was the
novella “The Ayah’s Tale,” in which a teenaged Bengali girl leaves school to
become a domestic in a wealthy British family household in 1920s Bengal. She is
cheated out of her wages and time off by the unfeeling mother of the family,
who spends her time socializing and carrying on an affair. Menakshi is in
charge of the three older children, two boys and a girl. She entertains them by
making up stories for them, and the middle child becomes fond of her. They are
oblivious to the fact that she has a life outside of their family.
“Outnumbered at Oxford” is the second novella, which takes
place at Oxford in 1919. Two young woman, one an Indian and one British, solve
a mystery when they set out to find a missing Indian servant who is accused of
stealing some valuable mathematical papers.
“India Gray” is a short story set during World War II; an
Indian woman is volunteering at a military hospital. Will the patients trust
her when they learn her husband is British? In “Bitter Tea,” a teenaged girl in
21st century Pakistan attempts a rescue of a friend, who is being
threatened by a fundamentalist cleric.
Evocative settings and time periods. Massey’s main
characters are all exceptional women, strong in different ways.
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