In addition to this swirling of emotions, Smita is accompanied by an interpreter named Mohan, an Indian man who loves his country. Despite her extensive international travel as a journalist covering major world conflicts, Smita can’t help but resent and despise her homeland for what she sees as its backward ways, crowded and dirty streets, and horrific treatment of women. Smita is reluctant to even travel back to India because of her history she was born there, but her family fled when she was a teenager. Her husband was killed, and she was permanently injured, so she is pressing charges against her brothers and the villagers who helped set the fire that took so much from Meena. So Smita travels to a poor village in the rural part of India to interview Meena, a Hindu woman who was attacked by her own brothers for marrying a Muslim man. She has flown to India on a moment’s notice, and upon arriving realizes her friend wants her to help her with a story. Smita has interrupted her long-awaited vacation to help a fellow journalist. It feels strange to declare my love for a book that’s so filled with people’s pain, but it’s true, I loved this one despite the horror I felt as I continued through its pages. As much as I loathe to admit that I follow an actress’s book recommendations, I typically enjoy everything she suggests, and Honor is no different. Honor by Thrity Umrigar* is a bestselling novel, many people have read it, including thousands of book clubbers as it also has the Resse’s Book Club stamp of approval.

The details, setting, and circumstances may fade from my memory, but I’ll always remember the protagonist Meena – the woman who sacrificed her body for those she loved. This is a story that will stay with me for quite awhile.

Thrity umrigar honor