If you’ve ever wondered about Indian culture, Hindu festivals, mixed marriages that span continents, or how people from a different background assimilate in America’s new world, Shiva’s Arms is surely the book for you.

A literary story, Shiva’s Arms tell the tale of Ram, who marries the American Alice, of Ram’s mother, known as Amma, of his sister Nela, and of son Sam who grows from childhood to adulthood with a foot in each world. The story’s narrated through the eyes of each of the main characters, flickering sometimes between points of view, so the reader’s left vaguely unsettled, unsure, just as the narrators are.

There are beautiful scenes, of a wedding in India and Alice’s cultural mis-steps as she tries to fit in; of a festival of dolls with Barbies adding their color to tradition; of “painting” with chalk, sacred symbols that strangers scuff with shoes. And there are sad scenes too; Alice’s struggle against depression; her mother-in-law’s seeming cruelty; Nela’s wounded dance round relationships.

The characters in this novel are all very real. They see their own mistakes and navigate troubled waters of their own making. They analyze their motives and forget to notice love. But there’s healing for Indian and American errors, and samsara sagara (the drowning sea of domesticity) proves to offer shelter on beautiful shores.

Moving rapidly, from a time before Sam’s birth through to his high school graduation, the story spans continents and cultures, pleasures and pains. Ram drifts on the edge of understanding, ever-loving, ever-loyal. And Sam drifts on the edge of rebellion. A sudden coincidence brings all the relationships into turmoil and sharp focus, and a breathtaking dogged devotion leads to breathtaking delight.

There are Indian words and phrases, and foods, scattered through the tale, but I never felt the need to refer to the glossary till the end. Then I delighted in reading their full meanings. There are Indian recipes too though I’d struggle to find patience to make them. But most of all, there’s an Indian and American feel to the tale, a telling of something real from which all of us can learn, a blending of cultures that leaves them both unique and that heals the rift.

The author, a published poet, clearly knows what she’s writing about, and I loved learning from her and sharing her love of cultures and of words. ( )

Right from the beginning of this story I was lured into the lives of a family, most specifically a woman, who culturally is not accepted. Yet she keeps with it until the very end. I felt so much empathy for her, and then at the end I felt her strength. Truly powerful!
This is a book that will hit nerves with most who read it, but in a way not offensive.
The writer has done an outstanding job on the detail of emotion, good and bad. Conveyed to the reader it rang loud and clear.
Yes there is recipes, but I did not try. Though I will one day.
I am recommending this book, it was fantastic! ( )

This review was originally posted on my blog: http://jewelknits.blogspot.com/2010/06/shivas-arms-book-tour-and-giveaway.html

I was immediately drawn in by the picture of Alice being hustled through the airport and into the sweltering Indian heat on her first visit to meet her new Indian relatives-by-marriage. Most of us have or know someone with an overbearing mother-in-law, and I think those issues are doubled, if not tripled, when you add in the cultural differences between groups like Americans and Indians.

As I read, I could feel Alice's frustration, her husband Ram's ambivalence and all of the interplay that exists when two women each want to run things. Amma's visits to her son's house in America are fraught with tension, although there are some close moments with Amma and Alice throughout the book where you think that all things are now settled and they've become at least contented with each other.

I enjoyed this book, although there were some rather abrupt transitions throughout. My fondest wish would have been to see the characters come to life in full flesh a bit sooner and to have more background info on the major players. This is a debut novel following some extremely well-received volumes of poetry, so I kept that in mind as I read, as the flow of poetry is often a bit fractured for effect.

All in all, it is well worth a read, as it reads quickly and is light enough (even with the subject matter) to make for a good summer reads book. I did, however, feel a need to take points off for the abrupt transitions and sometimes surface sketches of the characters and action. ( )