Set in 1861 England, this is the story of Reva (Ruth) and Nell
(Naomi). Reva, a Brahmin Indian girl, and Nell, her mother-in-law,
have returned to Nell’s home in Abbotsville after the death of
Nell’s husband and son. Because Reva is an Indian and this is
shortly after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the people don’t accept
her. They are outraged that Nell has returned with her Indian
daughter-in-law. The women have been cast out by everyone who could
help them. They have no money. They’re starving and living living
at a disreputable inn in a storage room with a dirt floor.
Reva tries to take
care of Nell and find food, but it isn’t easy. She goes into the
fields trying to gather grain to feed them. Lord Barric’s steward
finds her and lets her continue to get grain even though the earl is
not pleased. Barric finds himself drawn to Reva, but he fears to
compromise his social position.
Reva is a strong
character. She is in many respects alone in a strange land. Even the
god in England is not the god she grew up with. Barric wants to help
her, but he is intimidated by the fact that she is grieving for her
husband, a British soldier. He also knows that the towns people
dislike having an Indian among them, and it would hurt his standing.
Both Barric and Reva
have to grow and learn to accept things and people who are foreign to
them. I love the story of Ruth and Boaz. I think the author did a
good job of recreating their story in a different setting. It makes
the point of how difficult it is to accept people when they are
outsiders.
I received this book
from Net Galley for this review.
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