What if there was a wall or a fence dividing India?

India Was One is not an easy read. It is not a love story, a mystery/thriller an adventure, a travel book or anything that fits into a structured genre. But India Was One is all of those things and so much more.

Looking deeply into the culture and mores of a country that most Westerners don't understand, it takes the reader on a journey that is at once heartbreaking and life affirming. This novel will take you to the heart and soul of both the geographic land that is India and the richly diverse culture that is its people.

While none of us can fully understand a people or a culture unless we are part of it, it does open the doors to more comprehensive knowledge of why India is at a crossroad politically and economically.

But this isn't a history book or a travelogue, it is a story of people who love. Living their lives as all of us do. Working, laughing, joking and taking care of themselves and their families. As they celebrate festivals and buy homes you will see people who are living their lives much as we do. Falling in love as we do.

But there is an undercurrent in this rich and warmly penned story. What if India were divided physically? How would that change the lives of the people of India who live there and the lives of those who now live, work and contribute to so many other countries? Are the cultural divisions that are happening so radically in India akin to a physical division. What if there was a wall or a fence dividing India?

For those readers who want a love story and an understanding of a rich diverse culture India Was One will deliver that with warmth and skill. For those that want to understand why India is at such a cross-roads, why so many people are leaving India and emigrating to other countries you will find many of the answers here.

I am glad I read this novel. It increased my understanding and I enjoyed the story. I was disconcerted all the way through the novel by the italic words explaining every native East Indian term used. It took away from the flow of the novel and if the author really felt it was needed a list could have been added to the end of the novel. Most of the words used are not so difficult to figure out in context and for most readers they are not unfamiliar. Other than that and a few editing errors, it was well written. It does use British English so those readers not familiar with usage and spelling will find some differences but they are minor.

It is high on my recommend list.