The story starts after Mair's father dies. Mair and her siblings are cleaning out his home for sale when Mair comes across a beautiful shawl. Mair's sister thinks it was their grandmother's. Mair finds a lock of hair in an envelope, tucked within the shawl. The hair doesn't belong to anyone in her family. Mair finds the shawl and its history to be a mystery. How did a missionary's wife come into possession of such a fine shawl? Who's hair is tucked in this envelope? What was her grandmother's life like in India? With all those questions, Mair treks off to India.
The book goes back and forth between Mair's journey and Nerys, her grandmother, in 1940's India. The switch wasn't always clear. I wish Thomas would have made it a little more clear which time period we were in. That's my only gripe about The Kashmir Shawl. But I loved the mystery, the romance, the history. I liked Mair and Nerys and their stories. Thomas writes so well and makes the story flow very well.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Kashmir Shawl. I can't wait to read more of Thomas' books. Others who shared their thoughts on The Kashmir Shawl: House With No Name, For Book's Sake, Curious Book Fans, Reading The Past, and Readers in The Mist.
The crazy thing is that I saw this book somewhere and immediately was drawn to it because of the beautiful cover. The story sounds wonderful and actually something I find myself drawn to often. Lovely review!
ReplyDeleteI think I have read one by her, it was really sad and took place in Egypt
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