The World We Found Audiobook By Thrity Umrigar cover art

The World We Found

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The World We Found

By: Thrity Umrigar
Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
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Best-selling author and PEN and Beyond Margins Award finalist Thrity Umrigar’s acclaimed novels “resonate with rich prose and vibrant depictions of India” (Booklist). In The World We Found, Armaiti, Laleh, Kavita, and Nishta - once friends at the University of Bombay - reconnect 30 years later when Armaiti is diagnosed with cancer. Coming together, all four women are forced to reexamine their lives.

©2012 Thrity Umrigar (P)2012 Recorded Books Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction World Literature Middle East

Critic reviews

“[A] powerful meditation on friendship, on loss, and all the regrets of middle age …” ( Boston Globe)
Compelling Storyline • Well-developed Characters • Seamless Voice Transitions • Thought-provoking Novel • Masterful Ending
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My experience of this book improved 100% after I abandoned the audiobook and picked up a hard copy. The reader's performance made the characters seem trite and the dialogue adolescent. Read the book - but bypass this performance!

Lovely story, terrible reader

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extraordinary book... from all angles...truly illuminating, heartbreaking... i couldnt stop reading it And will save it for rereads... wow!

gisele

so worth reading

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The story was exciting and well written. Soneela's narration not so much. Her lack of knowledge of the Hindi language is blatantly obvious. It would have been nice if they had someone who could actually pronounce the Hindi words!

Good story but performance not so much!

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This is a lovely story of four college friends, now in their forties. It starts off beautifully by describing the changes in their lives and how they have stayed the same. One of them is terminally ill and initiates a reunion. This creates a conflict involving the friend who was forced to convert from Hindu to Muslim by her husband during the rising religious tensions in India. This book addresses issues of religious conflict, personal change and lost idealism. It is a decent read, especially if you are from India.

Thought Provoking

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I really enjoy Thrity Umriger's books, and once again she has written a thought provoking novel, Four women friends, now nearing 50 years old, this is a story of their close friendships during college in Bombay in 1970's, the separate paths their lives have taken, their efforts to reunite and as they do so they learn about themselves and each other. In the process, the decisions they make may yet again change their lives. Thrity Umriger captures the complexities and complications of human relationships that cross culture, religion, geography. She treats her characters fairly, women and men, Hindu and Muslim. This story gave me a broader picture of life in India in the past 50 years. A good read and always thought-provoking.

Loved the audio version; narrator's use of accents gives it richness and a pleasant listening experience.

A very good book club book!


Umriger Doesn't Disappoint

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If you could sum up The World We Found in three words, what would they be?

It took me a while to get into the nook; I found the writing more " telling" me than showing me about the characters, but then I became engaged. I liked the characters, the plot was okay but a bit trite. The writing was spotty, very predictable and cliché ridden at times. The ending was too predictable and too tired. I was very hopeful in the middle of the book that I'd like it the rest of the way through but the ending let me down.

Did Soneela Nankani do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The characters were the best part of the novel.

Almost. not quite

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This book was well written and narrated beautifully. But the story line left me wanting for me. I kept waiting for the climax…it came with a soft landing at the end.

Well written

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Good story of friendship and women’s rights. About 4 women in India who were best friends in their youth and reunite as one is dying.

Good story & learned a bit about India

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I am unable to get over the narrator’s pronunciation of Hindi words - “beta” “Beti” and other Hindi phrases and her take on Indian accent. Why can the narrator not pronounce the Hindi words so annoying !

Hindi pronunciation?

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This is my 6th Thrity Umrigar book that I’m read and it’s just as good as all her other novels…compelling story line and relationships, well developed characters with varied points of view - that each give nuance and empathy to the story. Thrity is exceptional in her ability to express humanness in all her books; in all its beautiful, struggling, funny and painful glory. Her stories always leave me feeling somehow changed….this book was no exception.

Wonderful book and heart wrenching story!

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