Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Weight of Heaven

3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 · rating details · 1,477 ratings · 336 reviews

When Frank and Ellie Benton lose their only child, seven-year-old Benny, to a sudden illness, the perfect life they had built is shattered. Filled with wrenching memories, their Ann Arbor home becomes unbearable, and their marriage founders. But an unexpected job half a world away offers them an opportunity to start again. Life in Girbaug, India, holds promise--and peril--...more

Hardcover, 365 pages

Published April 14th 2009 by Harper (first published 2009)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Books of 2009

166th out of 1,225 books — 6,456 voters

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

favorite world fiction & literature

88th out of 143 books — 157 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Apr 16, 2010 Sherri aka SDMomChef rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-by-my-favorite-authors, good-for-book-clubs

How does one deal with the loss of a child? I hope never to answer that question, but the main characters in this book, Frank and Ellie, are forced to address their grief when their only son, Benny, dies unexpectedly. Frank has an opportunity to move to India, and he and Ellie see this as a chance to try to heal their wounds and keep their marriage from falling apart. Their decision seems logical - a move to a completely new country where people and places will not remind them of their lost son....more

like 4 likes · see review

Aug 13, 2012 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel depicted India similarly to past novels that I've read; there's a feeling of hope and incredibly rich culture, but also an overwhelming sense of despair and corruption among the people. I didn't like the somewhat cheesy lines that the author used to end each chapter, but all in all the story was well-developed and unexpected. The main characters in the novel felt very real, their interactions, their personalities, and all of the experiences that led them to India. It's one of the only...more

like 1 like · see review

Oct 26, 2008 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is heart wenching on many levels- first there are Frank and Ellie, who are recovering from the loss of a child; then there is the case of the American company Frank works for in India, wreaking havoc on the lives of native Indians in its typically naive American way; and lastly the Indian house servants Frank and Ellie have inherited, along with their young son...you see where this is going? Umrigar takes the reader on this bumpy journey of love and loss, where the end in sight is inev...more

like 2 likes · see review

Aug 10, 2011 Erika L. Miller added it

Shelves: reading-between-the-wines

A surprisingly good book with a surprising twist. I found myself despising Frank for, I suppose, being the typical American that was using his power, clout and money to get what he wants out of life by taking it from a poor family. His close-minded denial of what he was trying to do with Ramesh when confronted with Ellie but then was blatantly obviously about it with Gulab annoyed me. He was being a complete hypocrite and obsessively psychotic when Ramesh is away with his father.

His selfishness...more

like · see review

Aug 21, 2012 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Weight of Heaven is a beautifully written novel about a painful period in the life of an American couple, Frank and Ellie Benton. Frank and Ellie’s only son, seven-year old Benny, has died from meningitis. Frank was away for work during the sudden illness and he blames Ellie for Benny’s death. After Frank is offered a job in India, the two decided to take the job in Girbaug and start life anew.

While in Girbaug, Frank befriends a young boy, Ramesh that is the son of the servants at their hom...more

like · see review

May 04, 2012 Marcy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Frank, his wife Ellie, and their son, Benny were a loving, happy family until the day that Benny died of a rare rash. Frank and Ellie's life together fell apart. Their pain could not heal in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the life they had made with their son was full of reminders. Frank had an opportunity to work in India; Ellie thought it would be a welcome change. Ellie never forgot her son, but she began to heal as she made a new life in India and began to use her social work skills to help Indi...more

like · see review

Apr 08, 2012 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just a week ago, I read my first Thrity Umrigar novel and loved it. (The World we Found) So, I deliberately sought out another of her books. I was not disappointed with this novel. I am kind of in awe of this author, how she can draw me into the lives of her characters and tugged on my emotions to the point that I had tears running down my face numerous times. Once when I was at the gym on a stationary bike I was reading and crying. Another time I brushed away tears at my favourite Second Cup co...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 30, 2012 Mary Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar is a suspenseful story about the death of a child, marital discord, political corruption, and American imperialism.

“A few days after Benny’s death, Ellie and Frank Benton broke into separate people. Although they did not know it then” (1). With this introduction of a grieving couple in “their once Edenic life in Ann Arbor, Michigan” (4), Umrigar appears to be focusing on marital and parental love and grief. Frank blames Ellie and knows, “What she wanted fro...more The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar is a suspenseful story about the death of a child, marital discord, political corruption, and American imperialism.

“A few days after Benny’s death, Ellie and Frank Benton broke into separate people. Although they did not know it then” (1). With this introduction of a grieving couple in “their once Edenic life in Ann Arbor, Michigan” (4), Umrigar appears to be focusing on marital and parental love and grief. Frank blames Ellie and knows, “What she wanted from him—forgiveness—his could not grant her. What he wanted from her—his son back—she couldn’t give” (9).

Almost immediately, however, Ellie convinces Frank to accept a job change and they move to Gribaug, India where Frank will head the new factory of NaturalSolutions herbal remedies, and the scope of the novel expands significantly. Ellie, a practicing psychologist, ignores all she knows, and expects this change of environment to draw them together and help them move past their grief.

Unfortunately, while Ellie is settling in and making a positive difference in the lives of local women, Frank is becoming obsessed with Ramesh, the son of housekeepers Edna and Prakash. Ramesh is the opposite of Benny in many ways, but Frank sees potential in the boy and believes that he and Ellie, not Edna and Prakash, are the ones who can help Ramesh develop. Ellie encourages the relationship with Ramesh even though she and Frank are not growing back together as a couple. She is concerned but she also knows that Ramesh helps take Frank’s mind off Benny.

Meanwhile, both are learning about India. Gribaug is a village of very poor people who used brewed, chewed and smoked the leaves of girbal trees and burned the wood to heat their homes until the Indian state government leased the trees to NaturalSolutions for fifty years. Conflict between villagers and the factory is inevitable.

Ellie becomes friends with Nandita, the wife of Shashi, an independently wealthy businessman who manages a forty-five room resort in Girbaug, and begins volunteering at the NIRAL health clinic where “in the faces of the local women” she sees “her own sister, mother, and aunts” (49). What she learns about the country attracts rather than repels her and she feels useful.

Frank, however, has trouble taking on the role of manager of workers who are so impoverished, and he feels confused about how to handle things and indifferent to the locals’ plight. In fact, when demonstrations against the factory begin and Frank asks his head of security to handle the problems, he is very unprepared for the outcomes. When he finds himself “sitting in an office in India in the middle of the night discussing how to cover up the death of a young man … despite the horror, the shame, the revulsion he felt . . . there was also a kind of excitement, a sense of being tested, of being adult and worldly ….” (34). Frank begins a moral decline that leads to a shocking conclusion.

Umrigar develops the characters of Ellie, Frank, Prakash and Nandita in ways that illuminate India, showing it to be “a place of political intrigue and economic corruption, a place occupied by real people with their incessantly human needs, desires, ambitions, and aspirations and not the exotic, spiritual, mysterious entity that was a creations of the Western imagination” (51). Through Ellie, Unrigar notes that “every Eden came with its own handy-dandy snake, one who would strike without warning and at the moment she would least expect it to” (29).

(less)

like · see review

May 02, 2010 Linda (Evanston) rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've not read books by Thrity Umrigar before. This was recommended by a friend who is a librarian. The book was very deep and well-written, holding my interest even late at night. An American couple, Frank and Ellie, move to India, where Frank works in a company called "Herbal Solutions". After having lost their only son to illness, Frank befriends a young Indian boy whose parents work in their household. The attachment of Frank to the boy, Ramesh, becomes too strong, leading to antagonisms all...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 04, 2010 Literary Feline rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was first introduced to Thrity Umrigar through her novel, The Space Between Us. It was one of those novels that made the author an instant favorite of mine. I knew I had to read every book she wrote. I haven't quite managed that, but it's still something I'm working on. I followed The Space Between Us up with Bombay Time and now The Weight of Heaven.

What I love most about Thrity Umrigar is her gift for drawing out the emotions of her characters. The reader gets to know them through and through...more I was first introduced to Thrity Umrigar through her novel, The Space Between Us. It was one of those novels that made the author an instant favorite of mine. I knew I had to read every book she wrote. I haven't quite managed that, but it's still something I'm working on. I followed The Space Between Us up with Bombay Time and now The Weight of Heaven.

What I love most about Thrity Umrigar is her gift for drawing out the emotions of her characters. The reader gets to know them through and through, feel what they are going through, know what they are thinking, and feel like we know them just as well as we do ourselves. At least that's how it is for me.

The Weight of Heaven is more than what it might first appear. An American man and woman grieving for their lost son move to India in hopes of reconnecting with each other and starting a new life. Their 7-year-old son had been their world. His death has torn them apart. Frank Benton blames his wife, Ellie, for their son's death, despite her doing everything she could to save him. His anger has put a wall between them that, at times, seems insurmountable.

Ellie is determined to save her marriage, while Frank, haunted by the memories of his son, turns his affections toward an Indian boy, Ramesh, the son of the household cook and maid. In his own way, Frank wants to piece his family back together. However, the path he chooses to do that will have drastic consequences.

Ellie comes to love India, both the culture and the people. She is a psychologist and volunteers her time helping the people of Girbaug, the community in which they reside. She is well liked not only by the other characters in the book, but by me as well. She was not perfect by any means, but she has good sense and a thoughtful manner about her.

Frank's experience in India is much different. He runs the Indian division of an American company and faces constant conflict with his low paid workers and the locals whose land the company bought from the government. He has a more cynical view of the country. The death of an employee rattles him, especially the circumstances surrounding that death. And on top of that is his own overwhelming grief for his son.

I will be honest. I never grew to like Frank. I wanted to, at least on some level. I tried to understand him, knowing that people deal with their grief differently. His pain was palatable as was Ellie's. I wanted so much to reach into the book and comfort them both. I wanted to save Frank from himself. Because, even if I didn't care much for Frank or the decisions he made, I still felt for him, could see how the life he is trying to put together for himself is unraveling. He truly is a lost soul, who, in his desperation, made the wrong choices.

I was most drawn to the story of Prakash and Edna, Ramesh's parents. Prakash, in particular. He is a complicated character with many layers. He was not the most likeable, I suppose, but, like Frank, there is a desperation about him, a longing. His only son is being showered with affection by an American man, offered things Prakash could not offer Ramesh. His once happy marriage is not so good anymore. His life was not what he wanted it to be. Edna only wants what is best for her son. She is torn between her loyalty to her family and letting her son experience the finer things in life. Where her husband drinks himself into a stupor and hardly spends time with their son, here is a wealthy American family who encourages his education and welcomes Ramesh into their home.

Just as the personal aspects of the novel are emotionally charged, so are the social issues brought to the forefront: the impact of globalization on a small community and the cultural clashes between the Indians and the foreigners. The author offers a look into varying perspectives, providing a well rounded picture of the world and the characters she has created in the novel. And, although I am not going into depth about this aspect of the book, it was perhaps the piece I found most intriguing of all.

I barely have touched on the surface of the novel. It is multi-faceted to be sure. It is rich in culture and character. The Weight of Heaven was in some ways just as I expected, but it also held much surprise. It was not quite the novel I expected it to be. Thrity Umrigar proved yet again why she is one of my favorite authors.

Book Source: Bought for myself.
(less)

like 4 likes · see review

Dec 17, 2009 Shawna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was better than "If Today Be Sweet" but still not as good as "The Space Between Us." What made Umrigar's first book so good was that there was so much at stake, literally life and death, survival by inches. This book a mixture of the two prevous titles, you have an American couple living in India. They are escaping the death of their son and find solace in the country and the husband, Frank begins to fixate on their housekeepers' son. I had a hard time suspending my disbelief in places...more

like 1 like · see review

Oct 11, 2009 marg rated it 2 of 5 stars

For someone who 'doesn't do India' I sure to find myself in this bind time and time again. But this time I thought it would be different! Mistake.
Thrity - and there will be no more reading of Thrity - takes a slightly different approach to the usual depressing Indian novel and uses an American couple as her main characters who end up transferring themselves to India shortly after they lose their only son, a seven year old named Benny, to a weird disease that I didn't quite understand.
So, in trut...more

like · see review

Jul 23, 2009 Darci rated it 4 of 5 stars

OH MY GOODNESS. This book was so good I almost gave it 5 stars. I really, really like this author, and after I read one book by her I took a break so it wasn't ruined by the next one, in case I didn't like it as well. This was so good.
The story is really great... with a few details that kind of bugged me. Ellie and Frank are living in India while Frank works for an American company. They live in a company house, complete with a servant-family living in the shack behind them. The detail that bugg...more

like 1 like · see review

Jun 27, 2009 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I've read all of Thrity Umrigar's previous novels and found them to be extremely enjoyable and hard to put down...this one was no different. A beautiful story of what grief can do.

From back cover:

"When Frank and Ellie Benton lose their only child, seven-year-old Benny, to a sudden illness, the perfect life they had built in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is shattered. But an unexpected job half a world away offers them an opportunity to start again. Life in Girbaug, India, holds promise-and peril-when Fra...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 26, 2011 Virginia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011books, library

I picked up this book because I read some of the author's other books, which I liked.
I did not like this one as much - it was too dark and intense for me. I don't think I could have read it if I had children, since the central plot involves the death of a child. (I have found, since I acquired dogs, that I am now completely & utterly unable to read anything that uses the death of a dog as a literary or plot device, watch movies where dogs die or are put in perilous danger to evoke a respons...more

like · see review

Sep 23, 2009 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thrity Umrigar's latest novel The Weight of Heaven is a dramatic work exploring the effects of grief on a couple who has it all. From the opening pages when we meet Frank and Ellie, we are plunged into the grief over the loss of their son Benny. The couple are in such despair, with their marriage fraying, that they decide to move to India when Frank is offered a position running a multinational corporation there. They hope that without the constant reminders of Benny, they will be able to find e...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 22, 2009 Will Byrnes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Frank and Ellie Benton have suffered what no parents should, the loss of their 7-year-old son, Benny. When Frank is offered a chance to manage a factory in Girbaud, India, the couple leap at the opportunity to get away from the constant reminders of their loss. But Frank transfers his love for his son onto Ramesh, the engaging, bright child of the people who take care of their house. His inability to truly get past the death of his own child and his desperate attachment to this Indian boy lead t...more Frank and Ellie Benton have suffered what no parents should, the loss of their 7-year-old son, Benny. When Frank is offered a chance to manage a factory in Girbaud, India, the couple leap at the opportunity to get away from the constant reminders of their loss. But Frank transfers his love for his son onto Ramesh, the engaging, bright child of the people who take care of their house. His inability to truly get past the death of his own child and his desperate attachment to this Indian boy lead to a series of increasingly bad decisions.

Umrigar shows us the intersection where East and West meet, on a painfully personal level. There is no idealization of India here. Cultural warts are on full display. As are the more attractive elements of the Indian culture that make Ellie Benton feel that she is becoming truly local. Larger issues are brought to the fore as well, conflicts between tradition and modernity, between globalization and local values, between haves and have nots at several levels. And while the insensitivity of the corporate West is portrayed, neither is the West pilloried as having nothing to offer the Indian people.

It is a fast and intensely engaging read. I was moved to tears by this story. I had to stop myself from publicly dripping on the subways where I do most of my book reading, saving that for more private places. That this tale is so emotionally charged does not make it a melodramatic weepy. Do read it armed with some tissues, but the joy here is how well Umrigar portrays the details of grief, of a marriage under enormous stress. It is also more than merely a personal tale. The title refers to morality, and the choices characters make here are to be seen through the lens of right and wrong and her characters' struggle with what they want conflicting with what they believe to be right. Her ability to effectively portray personal trauma while painting a larger picture of disparate worlds intersecting, and do so in an accessible, personal way makes this is a wonderful novel.
(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Jul 26, 2010 Aban (Aby) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Jan 22, 2012 Patty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, contemporary-fiction, literary-fiction, fiction, family, fathers-and-sons, death-and-dying, death, grief, children, women-writers, marriage, murder, husband-and-wife, michigan, adoption, parenting, india, kindle

I bought this book for my Kindle because it was on sale. Plain and simple - this novel sounded like it was worth $2.99. I had never read anything by Umrigar and only vaguely knew about her books. I was willing to take the risk given the price.

Well, this is the best bargain I have made in quite awhile. Ms Umrigar tells a fascinating story about how one family deals with one of the most difficult life experiences - the death of a child. The story is well written and seems possible even when it was...more

like · see review

Feb 09, 2010 Serena rated it 5 of 5 stars

Thrity Umrigar's The Weight of Heaven is a heavy with grief, emptiness, and struggle. The Bentons (Ellie and Frank) lose their son, Benny, at age seven from meningococcus. Ellie has liberal leanings politically and is a therapist to clients in Ann Arbor, Mich., while Frank is a proud, American business executive with residual issues of abandonment. The loss of a child can be daunting for any family, and it is clear how grief of this magnitude can slowly rip a family apart.

"And now they were two....more Thrity Umrigar's The Weight of Heaven is a heavy with grief, emptiness, and struggle. The Bentons (Ellie and Frank) lose their son, Benny, at age seven from meningococcus. Ellie has liberal leanings politically and is a therapist to clients in Ann Arbor, Mich., while Frank is a proud, American business executive with residual issues of abandonment. The loss of a child can be daunting for any family, and it is clear how grief of this magnitude can slowly rip a family apart.

"And now they were two. Benny was gone. What was left behind was mockery -- objects and memories that mocked their earlier, smug happiness. Benny was gone, an airplane lost behind the clouds, but he left behind a trail of smoke a mile long:" (Page 2)

As this American couple struggles with the loss of their son, Ellie and Frank embark on a new life in India when Frank is transferred to a new HerbalSolutions factory. The distance between them had gaped wide by this point, and both hope that the experience will help them repair their relationship and bring them closer to one another. However, in rural India with its impoverished population, Frank and Ellie find that their values change and their current circumstances and grief dictate their reactions to one another, their servants, the local community, and other expatriates.

"Now she was trying to control the sway of her hips, trying hard to resist the tug of the pounding drums that were making her lose her inhibitions, making her want to dance manically, the way she used to in nightclubs when she was in her teens. But that was the beauty of the dandiya dance -- it celebrated the paradoxical joy of movement and restraint, of delirium within a structure. This was not about individual expression but about community." (Page 220)

Readers will be absorbed by the local community and its traditions, the struggles of the Benton's servants, and the stark beauty of India. But what really makes this novel shine is the characters and their evolution from idealistic college students and young parents to a grief-stricken and dejected married couple in a foreign nation. The tension between Frank and Ellie is personified in the dichotomous views each character reveals to the reader about the Indian community from the lax work environment and labor disputes at Frank's factory to the deep-rooted sense of community and communion with nature shown through Ellie's interactions with individuals at a local clinic.

The Weight of Heaven is more than a novel about grief; it is about how grief can distort perception and push people to make life-changing decisions that can broaden their horizons and transform them forever. Umrigar's prose is poetic and full of imagery that paints a vivid picture of India and its rural community and its city life in Mumbai/Bombay. Class differences, the struggles of American expatriates, grief, death, and marital woes are explored deftly in this novel, and it is clearly one of the best novels of 2010.(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Apr 20, 2009 Lara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-harper-collins

I am in awe of Thrity Umrigar. I enjoyed her previous book, The Space Between Us, but The Weight of Heaven positively blew me away. Even though this book drips with sadness and grief and made me want to throw it against the wall toward the end, I still give this one five stars because...well, WOW.

When I read, I like to flip up the bottom corner of pages where there are passages, phrases, ideas that I like or that impress me in some way or that make me want to talk about them. If you look at my...more I am in awe of Thrity Umrigar. I enjoyed her previous book, The Space Between Us, but The Weight of Heaven positively blew me away. Even though this book drips with sadness and grief and made me want to throw it against the wall toward the end, I still give this one five stars because...well, WOW.

When I read, I like to flip up the bottom corner of pages where there are passages, phrases, ideas that I like or that impress me in some way or that make me want to talk about them. If you look at my copy of this book, practically every other page is dogged like this. From Ellie's realization of the inanity in saying "Have a nice day" (p. 21) to perfectly illustrative phrases like, "Her hands shook like birds in a rainstorm" (p. 234) , The Weight of Heaven makes me wish my book club were talking about this book RIGHT NOW.

So, what's it about? It is the story of an American couple (Ellie and Frank) whose 7-year-old son has died, leaving them crippled with grief. (And the grief, oh my god, the GRIEF. If you read this book, do not attempt to read it on your commuter train, or you will find yourself fighting tears at 8:00 a.m., surrounded by strangers.) Actually, I'm not sure I could read this if I had kids. I don't know if my heart could take it. Anyway, Frank's company offers him a position managing the company's India office, and he and Ellie decide to go. Frank's business is more complicated than he thought when he took the job, with clashing cultural and economic ideas between himself (and his counterparts back in America) and the impoverished workforce and local residents - a situation that makes him hate India and everything about it; whereas Ellie finds friendship and fulfillment in volunteering in the community and feels precisely the opposite. As all of this is playing out, they (and, particularly, Frank) take an interest in their housekeepers' young son, which adds a new layer of cultural and economic tension to their lives and to their marriage.

The Weight of Heaven is well-written and fascinating and impossible to put down. Downright excellent, actually.

**PS - I forgot two things. (1) I think a lot of you will hate the ending; and (2) This book reminded me of this one class that I took in college that was supposed to be a contemporary literature class but instead was taught by a dude who should have named it "dystopian literature" - except instead of it being a true dystopia, it would be like a marital version of dystopia. I'm not sure I'm making any sense, but I thought it might be relevant enough to repeat here.(less)

like 3 likes · see review

Oct 28, 2012 Sandie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-books, contemporary-lit, favorites

With THE WEIGHT OF HEAVEN bearing down on them following the loss of their only child, Frank and Ellie Benton leave their Ann Arbor, Michigan home for a new beginning in Girgaug, India.

When Frank, filled with good intentions and unconsciously seeking a replacement for his beloved son Benny, befriends Ramesh, the son of the couple acting as their housekeeper and cook he opens a real Pandora's box of situations that have catastrophic consequences to the lives of all involved.

Filled with insights i...more

like · see review

Mar 11, 2011 cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was at four stars till the last fifty or so pages when it dropped significantly. It's hard when a book ends poorly but I'm focusing on the overall ...moreI was at four stars till the last fifty or so pages when it dropped significantly. It's hard when a book ends poorly but I'm focusing on the overall package and trying not to let it sour my total opinion. I will say that I'm often an ending critic...too many authors tie everything in a perfect bow that is to fairytale for me...this wasn't a v...more

like · see review

Nov 25, 2012 Shwetha Kalyanasundaram rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thrity-umrigar, indian-writing

Thrity Umrigar’s novel “The Weight of Heaven” is a captivating and heart wrenching drama filled with beautiful and lyrical writing.
The novel covers the painful period of Frank & Ellie Benton who are recovering from the loss of their only son as they trudge through marital discord due to the devastating loss. The novel is propelled to an entirely new plane as social issues such as class differences are brought to the forefront, as the story shifts base to a country reeling under political co...more

like · see review

Apr 27, 2009 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

As soon as I started this book, I knew it was going to be one that I would have a hard time putting down--it drew me in right away, with Umrigar's very natural style and character development.

The story line of a couple losing a child was gut-wrenching, and it was interesting how Umrigar introduced us to the characters at present and then took us back to various points in time to better understand why they were behaving and reacting the way they were at present.

The depiction of India, and America...more

like 1 like · see review

Jan 01, 2010 Cathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Following the death of their young son, the Benton's marriage is falling apart so when Frank's boss offers him the opportunity to run the company's factory in a small village in India, Ellie tells him to take it. She finds her place in India, volunteering at a local clinic, making friends with an American educated journalist turned volunteer, befriending village people. But Frank is out of sorts and soon has labor problems. The only compensation for him is the son of his housekeeper, Ramesh, a b...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 21, 2010 Kay rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fans of Umrigar will not be disappointed. The Weight of Heaven
is a beautifully written story about an American couple suffering the loss of their only child, Hoping to find some some comfort and closure, Frank and Ellie move to India where he runs an American company. What may be unsettling to some readers is the intense struggle they encounter in their grieving.

This is not a 'feel good' book. It is also fair to say that Umrigar delivers a strong political message. The 'ugly American' is alive...more

like · see review

Sep 30, 2012 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another compelling read by Thrity Umrigar. She's just an excellent writer and I'm so looking forward to reading the rest of her books. This one centers around an American couple whose young son died, and all the trauma they go though subsequently and the toll it takes on their marriage. They move to India for Frank's job, but it's a thinly-veiled convenient excuse to flee everything they've ever known in an attempt to move past their son's death. India brings with it its own blend of challenges...more

like 1 like · see review

Jun 19, 2012 Abrar added it · review of another edition

لا شي يضاهي مرارة ما بعد فقد العزيز ،، حتى الفقد نفسه لا يوغر الجرح في النفس أكثر من الوحشة والوحده وسط الذكريات المفرحه المبكية معا ،، وإن كانت الاحداث من نسج خيال فلعل فيها بعض المشاركة لمحزوني هذا الكوكب

عزائنا الامثل بعد هذه الرواية أن ننظر الى السماء بعين القلب ونشكر الله على نعمة وجودنا بين أحبائنا

like 1 like · see review

Mar 21, 2010 Kristi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kristi by: Bookworm with a View

I enjoyed The Weight of Heaven very much, despite its propensity to make me burst into tears. The thought of losing a child is unbearable to me, and Umrigar's description of the parents' pain and loss were very real. There was one evening while reading that I had to get up to go kiss my sleeping daughter, because I needed to see her and be thankful that my child is still with me.

The Indian setting was very interesting to me, and I think that it provided a well thought out back drop for the story...more

like 1 like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (12)

More editions...

Genres

Cultural > India

31 users

Book Club

7 users

Parenting > Adoption

5 users

Contemporary

4 users

Family

3 users

Adult Fiction

3 users

Relationships

3 users

Literary Fiction

3 users

Drama

2 users

Marriage

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Thrity Umrigar

A journalist for seventeen years, Thrity Umrigar has written for the Washington Post, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and other national newspapers, and contributes regularly to the Boston Globe's book pages. She teaches creative writing and literature at Case Western Reserve University. The author of The Space Between Us, Bombay Time, and the memoir First Darling of the Morning: Selected Memories of...more

More about Thrity Umrigar...

Books by Thrity Umrigar

First Darling of the Morning: Selected Memories of an Indian Childhood

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Weight of Heaven

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Weight of Heaven

“India, she now knew, would not be content staying in the background, was nobody's wallpaper, insisted in interjecting itself into everyone's life, meddling with it, twisting it, molding it beyond recognition. India, she had found out, was a place of political intrigue and economic corruption, a place occupied by real people with their incessantly human needs, desires, ambitions, and aspirations, and not the exotic, spiritual, mysterious entity that was a creation of the Western imagination.” — 6 people liked it

“أتعرف ماهي القوة الأكثر خطورة في هذا العالم يا عزيزي ؟ إنها ليست القنبلة الذرية. إنه الإنسان الحرّ فعلاً. ذلك هو ما عليك الاحتراس منه” — 3 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Weight of Heaven
avg rating	preview: The Weight of Heaven Goodreads rating: 3.73 (1477 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3429253-the-weight-of-heaven?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347746144l/3429253.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3429253-the-weight-of-heaven?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar[/url]

The Weight of Heaven

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website