I did warm to India though and Elisabeth McNeill brings it over so well, with the heat and general grubbiness of the city compared to the bungalow in the hills, where the air is like champagne. She also catches the ex-patriot attitudes to Indians and the way that some people can spend an entire posting to the sub-continent without leaving the ex-patriot compound.
The story is interesting if not compelling. The three women all encounter problems in their marriages for very different reasons – and they all react differently. The temptations on offer and the risks which go with them are not those found back home and each of the women struggles struggle to cope. The results were interesting if not exciting, particularly when looked back on many years later.
The book would have benefited from a better editing and proof readingproofreading. I was pulled out of the story on several occasions when I couldn't quite understand what I read – particularly when a diary apparently sold yoghurt.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
For more in a similar vein we can recommend [[The Immigrant by Manju Kapur]] and [[Fragile Memories by Joan M Moules]].
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