[.ca] East Into Upper East: Plain Tales from New York and New ... (ISBN 1582430349)

From Amazon.com:
The "East" of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's East into Upper East refers to India's sprawling metropolis, New Delhi; the "Upper East," not surprisingly, is that other big city, New York. In this short-story collection, Jhabvala explores the nature of love on two continents. The first tales take place in India. In "Expiation," the narrator, an affluent cloth broker, must deal with a much beloved but mentally unstable younger brother. Many years of closing his eyes to the evidence of his brother's delinquency eventually puts the entire family at risk. In "Farid and Farida," a marriage that had soured when transported from India to London reanimates in an unconventional way when the two estranged spouses meet again years later under a Banyan tree in India. Jhabvala moves from the six stories set on the subcontinent to New York with "The Temptress," in which an Indian holy woman is literally imported to the States by a wealthy American. From there, the author delves into the lives of Manhattanites. In "Fidelity," for example, Dave, his wife, Sophie, and his sister, Betsy, live in a symbiotic relationship stronger than betrayal, disappointment, and even death. The subtitle of Jhabvala's collection is Plain Tales from New York and New Delhi, and plain they are--if by that you mean stories that are straightforward in the telling. This is not to say, however, that they are not subtle. Jhabvala's characters are multifaceted and the situations in which they find themselves complex. In East into Upper East she proves once again that a complicated story can be plainly told, yet resonate all the more powerfully for its simple elegance and economy. --Margaret Prior

Unusually Complex and Contrasting Cultures:
The dichotomy between two cultures and countries couldn't be revealed more subtlety than as written by this author ... Her stories have unusual themes and are written matter-of-factly .. yet they possess great depth and understanding which is camouflaged in plain words, simple rhetoric. Do *not* let the "apparent" simplicity ...fool you. As the saying goes, 'still waters run deep' ... These stories are immensely rich and deep. The book is divided into two sections, the first, called "East" has six stories from India. The other, called, "Upper East" is devoted to stories from New York and the East coast of the USA. The following are two summaries of stories from India. In the "Expiation", the reader is introduced to a family who were poor but who lived in a developing region of India. Their standard of living improved tremendously as they prospered after starting a business. The odler brother tells us his story, how he loved and cared for his younger sibling ... whose pet name is "Bablu". the "baby" of the family, Bablu ,becomes spoiled and eventually -- reckless. We find out to what depths brotherly love prevails *despite* the irresponsble behavior of the younger sibling. "Farid and Farid", is my favorite story in this section. This happily married, sucessful young Indian couple move to the UK to fulful their dreams. However, life in London does not meet their high expectations. After 15 years, they live in a shabby apartent and are still 'just making it'. They rely on 'loans" from a friend who was from their hometown in India. Although, this male friend was unpopular when growing up at 'home', in the UK he becomes a very wealthy man. Farida can no longer tolerate their squalid living conditions, so, she returns to India, without her husuband. After 20 years of separation, her hsuband, Farid searches for his wife. To his astonishment he discovers her at an ashram, a mountain retreat, where she is receiving visitors from all over India and the world, providing them wisdom and peace. She accepts her hsuband's visit serenely ... as if they were never apart. Next, the Indian business friend from the UK discovers Farida's sucesful venture and tempts her with an offer -- find out what it is. The conclusion to the story is worth reading. Section two, "Upper East" is filled with eight highly diverse human interest stories. The author tells a story simply and elegantly. After completing each story in this section, this reader felt ... as if struck by lightening. The messages in each story leave a huge unexpected impact. They are filled with layers and layers of undiscovered meaning. There are no "warning danger ahead" signs to reveal the unexpcted paths taken by the people in these stories. Just as well, the warnings would not be followed anyway ... In this section, my favorite story "The Temptress". Briefly, two former college room-mates meet an Indian lady who sees to be an ordinairy person. These two friends are seeking meaning and enlightenment in their lives. "Ma", the Indian lady, seems to possess extraordinairy powers to reveal illness, past lives, and predict the future ... One of the young ladies provides Ma a room in her apartment. Ma develops a strong following as she lectures to people about "life". The neighbors flock to this 'spiritual' lady. One needs to read the story to find out how ithis one ends. In summary, Ms Ruth Prawer Jhabvala possesses an unusual ability to tell highly complex stories with elegant simplicity. Her talents are dazzling. People's lives are revealed so gradually, that only after the reader is finished, does the full impact of the unique perspective reealed, fully strike the reader. Even then, it takes several hours to penetrate and realize, just how much complexity was revealed. This book receives my highest praise. Erika Borsos (erikab93)