![]() ![]() After leaving Lockwood, she hopes to get a teaching position. I really liked Pom as a character she’s determined to succeed and despite her low caste and lack of formal education, she’s really good at English and words and just learning languages in general, something most people like her can’t do. I’ll call her Pom, since that’s the first name she remembers. The way the book is organized helps make it much faster to read too it’s divided into sections that aren’t too short or too long, and every part of the main character’s journey and life is very interesting (at least, it was to me). It went by very quickly, but The Sleeping Dictionary is a pretty long book so don’t despair you’ll have plenty of time to savor its beauty, its loveliness, its tragedy. I very quickly read 100 pages of the book before I knew it. I enjoyed the characters too as one reviewer says, this is indeed historical fiction at its best, with all the ingredients necessary: compelling characters and an enthralling story, historical detail, and realism, as well as a gorgeous cover (although that’s neither here nor there). Massey’s descriptions felt so realistic, as if she had been in the places at the times she was writing about. There’s scarcely a misstep in the book, and the writing just drew me in and swept me away. I enjoyed so many different aspects of The Sleeping Dictionary, from its cover to the story, to the writing, to the rich historical detail. She really brings to life India right at the most major turn in its history, from colonialism to independence, seen through the eyes of one intelligent but impoverished young woman whose real name she cannot tell for various reasons. I haven’t read any of her earlier work, but I might now. It’s Sujata Massey’s first non-mystery novel, and she did very well. The Sleeping Dictionary definitely impressed me. As India struggles to throw off imperial rule, Kamala uses her hard-won skills-for secrecy, languages, and reading the unspoken gestures of those around her-to fight for her country’s freedom and her own happiness.” But although success and even love seem within reach, she remains trapped by what she is. Eventually, she lands in Calcutta, renames herself Kamala, and creates a new life rich in books and friends. Her private dreams almost die when she arrives in Kharagpur and is recruited into a secretive, decadent world. As a maidservant in a British boarding school, Pom is renamed Sarah and discovers her gift for languages. ![]() “In 1930, a great ocean wave blots out a Bengali village, leaving only one survivor, a young girl. You ask for my name, the real one, and I cannot tell. ![]()
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