Cheryl Snell's Blog

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »

Sometimes, in the revision process, a character becomes beside the point. In Shiva's Arms, I had to pull the character of Sam, Alice and Ram's son, back to a younger version of himself. In early drafts he was old enough for a scene like this:
Damn! Once the thought of the girl entered his mind, there was no way to get her out of his head. He had no choice but to pull up the memory of night they met--- the smell of the college bar, the musk of girls in tiny skirts, the ferment of beer...

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »

1) Describe the dynamic between Ram and Alice during the first part of the novel. Why is Ram afraid of Alice's interest in Brahmin culture? If he is a symbol of assimilation, is he effective in that role?
2) What does 'samsara' signify for Alice? For Ram? How about Nela? Explain the strain her "shame" caused her family.
3) How is Alice's state of mind reflected by the clothes she wears? The juxtaposition of a Christian cross with a gold Ganesh around her neck?
4) Throughout the novel, the a...

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »

1)Favorite phrase in Shiva's Arms?
vidama pidingarathu (the way samsara gets its hooks into you and won't let you go)

2)Favorite maxim or proverb in the book?
The elephant should not marry the mouse

3)Favorite description?
"Soon the lawn bloomed with bright saris. Heads tilted upward to try to see what Amma saw--light traveling to each person, to take with them wherever they went."

4)Scenes that made you want to visit India?
The celebration of Golu; Nela offering her hair at the temple.

5)Favorite ...

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »

You tackle several big themes in your book—culture clash, mental illness and its effect on a family, the ways in which tradition dies hard. Do you believe that you have a core subject, and will write through its permutations, as Faulkner did with race, for instance?

It's tempting to lose myself in such a complex subject as the Indian diaspora, especially as the ramifications evolve, but there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio.

What challenges did you face in writing about such...

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »

I get the question: "What inspired you to write this?" a lot. The idea for the book took hold as I witnessed conflicts between immigrants and the family members they leave behind. What is lost and what is gained? Stories my husband told me about his childhood in India and my own position as an "unsuitable bride" provided both setting and emotional center.

For VS Naipaul, "finding the centre" was paramount. For me, it's the threshold that holds the most fascination, as it does for the charac...

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »

"Cheryl Snell's book is an interesting, lyrical, humorous at times - read about two cultures. The main character is charming, vibrant, real in the best of ways. I love reading about different cultures, and ... Cheryl Snell describes in lyrical ways the Indian culture and American artist's reactions and accommodations to that culture. And of character (three-dimensional and likeable, but not perfect) I like. Very good writing."

--Nanette Rayman-Rivera, author of Project: Butterflies, algerias, ...

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »

1. Alice. Wife, mother, daughter-in-law, artist, depressive. It's not until she learns the meaning of reconciliation that she finds her place in her extended family.
2. Ram. The husband who runs away from his Hindu culture as fast as his wife runs toward it. He tries to accommodate both his traditional mother (the namesake of the god of destruction) and his wife. The quintessential man in the middle.
3. Amma. Matriarch of a Brahmin joint-family, she must reconcile herself to the culture clash w...

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »

Is there a happy medium between Hindu tradition and American style or does the battle of wills between a mother and daughter in law for the love of the man in the middle trump all else?

From a seemingly simple clash of cultures between in-laws, Shiva's Arms evolves into an exploration of freedom and the ties that bind, love and duty. Written in a lyrical style studded with startling imagery, the author uses South Indian myths and customs to explore questions of belonging--national, cultural,...

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »

One version of the origin:
Once,a small rat drew out the wick of a lamp in a Shiva temple, and the glowing lamp filled the temple with light. When it came time for this particular rat to be reborn, it came back as a king, as a reward for its inadvertent good deed. Now, on the full moon day of the Tamil month Karthigai, bonfires are conducted in the temples, showing that we have set fire to our sins and sorrows.

View full post on Cheryl Snell's website »