Shiva's Fire

Starred review from April 3, 2000
If not for references to modern technology, this tale set in India might defy chronology; the folkloric narrative, primal settings and universal themes confer a timeless quality. Parvati, the heroine, has a mystical aura; some villagers think she carries doom because her birth coincided with an unprecedented cyclone that devastated the entire region. Parvati does not know if she is to blame for the destruction caused by the storm or the famine that followed, but she retains a memory of everything she has witnessed since infancy. As she grows up, animals flock to her, seemingly communing with her, and when music is played, Parvati cannot keep her feet still, no matter how hard she tries. Eventually, Parvati's talent for dance and spiritual gifts win her a scholarship to a gurukulam (a school run by a great teacher). But devoting herself to her studies requires sacrifices Parvati has not even dreamt of. The Hindu concept of dharma is as intricately woven into this saga as decorative threads are woven into Parvati's elaborate dance costumes. Staples's (Shabanu; Haveli) deceptively plain prose conjures a variety of moods, textures and images. Poetically and suspensefully expressing the sorrows and joys of the spiritual life as well as the life of the artist, this is a spellbinder. Ages 12-up.

India is the setting for Suzanne Staples's story of Pavrati, a child with great and magical gifts. Born on the day of a devastating cyclone which causes her father's death, Pavrati, along with her mother, is shunned by the townspeople. When a guru arrives and requests that Pavrati come to his school to learn the dancing arts of the devadasi, a new world of possibilities unfolds. Christina Moore is a gentle narrator. Her firm voice and belief in Parvati's goodness carry the listener as Pavrati triumphantly returns to dance for the maharaja's birthday. As Pavrati becomes acquainted with Rama, the maharaja's son, who also has many gifts, Moore underscores the tension between Pavrati's devotion to dance and the possibilities of friendship and love. Moore does not rush, and her pauses allow the listener to reflect and to anticipate subsequent events. Listen and enjoy! A.R. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine