The Story Hour

June 30, 2014
The sixth novel from Umrigar (The Space Between Us) is a deeply moving portrait of connection, disconnection, and missed connections set in an unnamed Northeastern university city. Maggie Bose is a black psychologist married to an Indian man; when an Indian woman, Lakshmi, is admitted to the hospital after a suicide attempt, Maggie is assigned the case. She understands the woman’s sense of isolation, and offers to treat her pro bono. Lakshmi is lonely, married to a man who doesn’t love her, and she works without pay in his grocery store and restaurant. Maggie tries to befriend Lakshmi by telling her stories about her life. When Lakshmi brings food as thanks, Maggie and her husband encourage the patient to accept catering jobs in order to earn her own money. Soon, the lines blur between patient and friend. A secret from Lakshmi’s past and the impulsive action that follows her discovery of Maggie’s affair change their lives. Although Umrigar is sometimes heavy-handed, this compassionate and memorable novel is remarkable for the depth and complexity of its characters.

June 15, 2014

As a psychologist, Maggie generally stays objective, but she offers free treatment in her own home to a young Indian woman named Lakshmi who has tried to kill herself, recognizing that what Lakshmi really needs is a friend. With friendship, though, come revelations of deeply held secrets that shake both of them, creating some tough and looming choices. From the author of acclaimed fiction like The World We Found and The Weight of Heaven.

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