Using Thrity Umrigar’s novels to tackle summer reading apathy

One way I suggest engaging eleventh and twelfth-grade readers — especially for summer reading assignments — involves assigning modern novels outside of the traditional canon.  Two books by Thrity Umrigar, The Space Between Us (2005) and Honor (2022) created a high level of engagement in my AP English Literature students at the onset of the school year.

I have always found assigning summer reading novels a bit tricky.  I want students to enjoy what they read, but I also need to guarantee that the level of reading they complete will help them achieve success on the AP English Literature exam. I use the summer reading to segue into an in-depth analysis of the novels that students can then return to as viable texts to write about on the AP exam.

Different Experiences

Additionally, I consider whether the books showcase experiences outside of my students’ normal sphere.  I want students to learn about people and places vastly different from where they live.  At the same time, they will also learn about the human experience, no matter a person’s culture, class, or creed.  In this way, young readers develop a deeper sense of empathy – one that will help them as they move on to college and meet a wider array of people. 

Two of Umrigar’s novels that I have assigned for summer reading will help to explain how I achieve the aforementioned goals.  Each text presents readers with complex characters and situations, ideal for AP English Literature exam questions. Umrigar expertly weaves historical and current issues in the novels that prompt readers to think about the link between the past and the present.  A good number of the issues Umrigar tackles elicited surprise in my readers at their own ignorance of happenings in modern-day India. 

Umrigar makes the reading experience even more unique by incorporating Hindi words and phrases that add to the authentic nature of her characters.

The Space Between Us

In The Space Between Us, Umrigar centers the text on two women from different classes in present-day India: Sera, an upper-middle-class housewife, and Bhima, her servant.  The continuance of the age-old caste system in a city setting allows Umrigar to explore the gap in women’s experiences and perspectives.  Umrigar intensifies these differences when Bhima learns of her daughter’s unexpected pregnancy, creating much conflict between the two women and their families.  As readers learn more about Sera and Bhima, their perceptions and judgments shift dramatically, especially through flashbacks that provide back stories for both women.  Umrigar explores how poverty vs. wealth and the lack of female power drive characters’ decision-making when faced with personal trauma.  In the wake of these conflicts, readers ultimately come to discover that no matter the characters’ differences, their basic humanity draws them together. 

Honor 

In Honor, Umrigar introduces readers to Smita, an American journalist who travels to her home country of India to cover the story of Meena, a Hindu woman who faces persecution for marrying a Muslim man.  Meena faces the old traditions that parts of India still uphold, but fights against them by suing her brothers for killing her husband.  In writing about Meena’s experiences, Smita must face horrible truths about modern-day India in places that still practice bride burnings, sexual harassment, and dowry deaths. 

Umrigar delves into the past of each woman, drawing surprising similarities in the traits they share.  Their bravery in facing a system that oppresses women drives the action of this book and allows young readers to consider the power struggles that women all over the world still face today.  Umrigar’s work mirrors Smita’s job in the novel, as they both strive to expose the truth in the struggle for awareness and change.

An Author Study: Umrigar

To enhance the analytical study of the novels, I scheduled a one-hour Zoom visit with Thrity Umrigar.  Writing a request for an educational grant from our school’s support organizations allowed me to cover Umrigar’s fee.  Each of the two times I have hosted Umrigar, she has wowed my students with her bright, articulate comments and her friendly nature.  They enjoyed her conversational style and her willingness to answer all of their questions about the novel and her writing practices.  This experience enabled my students to engage with a living author which greatly impacted their appreciation of the works and her writing craft.

Overall, the combination of assigning Umrigar’s work and hosting her in our classroom impacted students in a way that will not only serve them well on the AP exam, but stick with them for a lifetime.  Umrigar’s novels allow them to explore the past and present in a way that develops their analytical skills, but most importantly, their empathy for other human beings.

Bobbie Serensky has taught AP English Literature and AP English Language for 25 years.  She served as a Reader for the AP English Language exam for seven years.  Bobbie lives in suburban Cleveland where she enjoys spending time with her family and her Yorkipoo, Murray.