I’m not going to lie, I started Honor wondering if it was going to be similar to A Burning because topically, both books do look at the Muslim-Hindu tension in India (though Honor also looks at the question of gender) but by the time I finished this, I was convinced that this is going to be one of the best books of 2023 that I’ll read.

Honor starts when American-Indian Smita leaves her vacation in the Maldives to come to the aid of Shannon, a close friend. But she soon discovers that Shannon didn’t call her here for help in the hospital, Shannon called her so Smita could take over the story of Meena, a Hindu woman suing her brothers for the murder of her Muslim husband (which also disfigured Meena quite badly).

As with A Burning, Honor tells the story of more than one character – there’s Meena, whose love story with her husband and her courage in pursuing justice forms the main story of the book, and there’s Smita, who left India for a reason. Both stories were heartbreaking and echoed one another, shining a light on what is a very thorny problem.

At the same time, the India that Smita sees isn’t all bad. She’s shown incredible hospitality from Mohan and a few others, and Meena and her husband Abdul’s love story shows the best that India can be. There are also those with acts of radical courage that we don’t hear much from, like Meena’s sister. Umrigar writes about India with a clear-eyed affection; her love for the country doesn’t blind her to its faults.

In the end, I found myself sucked into the book, unable to put it down because I had to know how Meena and Smita’s stories would end. I found this to be a captivating and powerful book, and I’m so glad that it’s a “bookclub” book because I might not have found the story otherwise!

Featured Image: Photo from Canva