By the Mud Stove

by Divya Tombran

Starting in the nineteen-sixties and spanning over two decades, By The Mud Stove is a story about an orphan girl, Indira, who grows up with her grandmother, Nani, in Rose Hall Village, Guyana. Among many others, their lives intertwine with Francine's, Indira's best friend, capturing moments of laughter, tears, and joy around the fire of the mud stove. The plot depicts an enchanting time of innocence and relates the love and life stories of six characters - Indira, Francine, Laliwa, Sally, Afonso, and Ling - all of whom represent the six peoples of Guyana. The story brings alive the scenes and moods of that magical era in this quaint little village, and also portrays a time of hardship and poverty, and the spirit of caring and sharing under these conditions. The tale will take you on the journey of Indira and Francine's lives, from kindergarten to high school, and as they embark on their married lives as teenagers, illustrating the deep friendship between the two, whose bond in the end is tested with a most unpredictable circumstance.

Genres: Fiction

568 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Divya Tombran was born in Guyana and emigrated to Canada in her late teens. She ventured into a number of careers, including, Marketing and Fine Art Photography, and is now writing on a full-time basis. She currently resides with her husband in Canada, and plans on dedicating her future to writing and publishing exotic works of fiction set in her homeland, as well as, her current place of residence. By The Mud Stove is officially her first work, set in Rose Hall, Guyana.

Since her debut novel in 2018, Ms Tombran has just released her second work “Seya, The Woman By The Sea” in October 2020, a novella that is also set in her homeland. She’s currently working on her third book, also set in Guyana.

Reviews

[Karen J · Rating 5 out of 5]

“By The Mud Stove” by Divya Tombran

First I want to thank Divya Tombran for sending me a signed copy of “By The Mud Stove”. Thank you for your gift of giving me the pleasure of reading your incredible heartfelt book “By The Mud Stove”. An amazing work of art for you to treasure and to be very proud of. I have to mention the cover itself is beautiful and feels like velvet and even the texture of the pages are a pleasure to turn.

While going through much turmoil in my life these past few months “By The Mud Stove” has been my silver lining. The joy, the peace of mind and the family bond I experienced while reading this treasure filled my heart.

I can’t even begin to express my heartfelt feelings for Nani the steadfast grandmother and one of the main characters. I pray that more people could see the world through Nani’s eyes and heart. When I think of what an extraordinary woman she was tears come to my eyes.
How wonderful for Divya Tombran (the author) to experience so much of what the book portrays to be able to write about her life. I wish I could sit down with her and listen to her amazing family stories. Just like Indira (Nani’s granddaughter) and her dearest friend Francine did while Nani shared her extraordinary life stories.

For me to see how another part of our world lived and still lives is so heartfelt. Indira was such a remarkable character in the book. I loved watching her grow up through the joyful times and heartbreaking times of her life. Meeting the people that travelled through Indira’s life whether loving or hateful was a joy for me to experience. Such a profound way to live, such poverty, hardship, hunger and yet so much love from family and friends.

“By The Mud Stove” by Divya Tombran a gift I will always treasure...💕📚

[Sharon Huether · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many life lessons were learned by Indira by her grandmothers Mud stove.

Nani had Christian principals, which she practiced every day of her life. Life In Guyana was not an easy one. Each day Nani would milk the cow, gather eggs from the chickens and fish from the sea and other waters. She would sell her extra vegetables and fish in the local market.

Indira learned the gift of sharing from Nani. During Christmas dinner at her grandfathers,she shared some of her meal with a beggar, who was walking by . When her Grandfather saw this he invited the beggar man into his home to sit with the family and partake of their Christmas meal.

When it was time for Indira to marry, she had a Christian wedding and a part Hindu ceremony.
She had promised to care for Nani after she was married. Ravi her husband built a new room for Nani in her old house.

There was a time when Indira felt sad, because she could not conceive, like her friends had.
She asked to keep Francines new baby for just one night, which led to weeks then years.

Nani was well cared for and could enjoy family and friends for a long time.

I received this book from the author for my honest review.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fictional, biographical story of Indira and her maternal grandmother, Nani. In this novel Indira is five years old and an orphan. Her parents died in a car accident and Indira has come to live with her grandmother. Nani lives in a hut on stilts. It has no electricity or running water, and she cooks their meals on a wood-burning mud stove. Sweet memories and life lessons are taught around the mud stove. We watch Indira grow up, attend school and graduate and, eventually, marry. There is joy, laughter, ambition, jealousy and heartbreak, but mostly love. The warmth and support of family and friends, neighbors helping neighbors through the hard times, and sharing the joy and love of a good life.

Characters were well-rounded and their emotions felt genuine. The writing reflects Indira's maturity as she comes of age in this novel. The description of the setting (Rose Hill Village, Guyana) feels authentic. This reader could feel the heat rising from the road. The descriptions of the characters reflected the six, multicultural nationalities of Guyana. The Author's Notes at the beginning of the novel set the stage for the novel's content. I liked the Guyanese proverbs. Though I enjoyed the book, I did take off a star because of phrase repetitions and wordiness. Overall, the author wrote a story that touches the emotions of the reader.

Thank you to the author, Divya Tombran, for the signed gift of her book. The above review reflects my unbiased viewpoint of her novel.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following the stories of Indira, Francine, and some of their friends, this story depicts the multicultural Guyanese setting and offers a glimpse into both the traditional and more modern culture. Indira comes from a family with Indian/Hindu roots although her Nani converted to Christianity. The story follows the children to mate selection and the early years f marriage. While the book was interesting for its setting, the narrative bogged down in places. Better editing would make the novel a more appropriate size, eliminating unnecessary repetitiveness and making the novel flow better. I received an electronic copy through a GoodReads giveaway with the hopes of, but not the requirement of, a review.

[Gorgina Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Novel 'By The Mud Stove' has such a beautiful cover and intriguing title that I instantly wanted to read it without even glancing through the blurb. It was fascinating to read a book that is set in a really different country to where I live and knew very little of it's peoples and rich culture that is full of several unique customs and traditions. I was surprised to learn of the number of festivals that are celebrated in Guyana, mainly because of the prevalence of diverse religions and groups. From the first page I was drawn into the wonderful world and characters of Rose Hall Town, Guyana. The author made me fall in love with the main character Nani. I admire her fierce protectiveness of her granddaughter Indira, her warmth and compassion towards others. There are many twists and turns and unexpected events and surprises in the book that I won't attempt to go into here. The story is filled with love, loss, situations and issues all wrapped up in a strong foundation of love. What a great read!

[Andy Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book 'By the mud stove' is simple and yet capturing. None of the lavish or extravagant stuff. Judging this book as a work of fiction and not autobiographical, I will grade it as extremely well written. A beautiful story of ordinary people caught up in a web of love, ambition, humor and sadness. The book displays such a right balance. Set in the 60's, it focuses on the lives of a grandmother, her granddaughter and six other characters connected by friendship. The story immerses you into daily details of their lives and the author's unquestionable skill in drawing rich characterizations and beautifully imagined settings. Through these characters, the reader is swept into a multiethnic society in the little Town of Rose Hall. It is all here; love, family, heartbreaks and heart warming tenderness. The author allowed the story to blossom in it's own right, thus enhanced my enjoyment of it. In the story, there is a contemplation of what it means to seek happiness, an evaluation of the importance of love and family. The plot is a family drama, revolving around it's principle characters, Nani and her granddaughter Indira. Through the
characters, I had an intricate peek into a most fascinating period in Rose Hall Town, Guyana. It is a long book, but it is very engaging. I managed to read it in one stretch.

[Kathy Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read!! The book 'By The Mud Stove' is engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I finished the novel with great admiration and tender feelings towards the main character Nani. The love that Indira and Ravi shared in this tale was beautiful and yet without conflict and occasional sorrows as true love is. I liked the fact that the writer explained the meaning of the Guyanese Creole sayings which made it easier for me to understand. The book is well written with beautiful descriptions of the Guyanese people and their customs. Once you start reading this novel, you will be entangled in the lives of the amazing characters. I highly recommend this novel to everyone!


Kathy Walter.

[Jaime K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this in a goodreads giveaway.

This is a decent story about a Guyanese girl named Indira. It follows her life from when she was 5 and orphaned, living with her maternal grandmother Nani, through her marriage.

Tombran's author's note at the start gave a lot of good information about Guyana and the background for her story. The nostalgic aspects and juvenile feeling (I mean the latter in a good way) made me think that this would be similar to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I grew up with.

And, in a way, it is.

When Indira is young, the writing is very simple. At first this bothered me, but then I took a mental step back and read this as if it was for children. And the writing does get better during Indira's teenage years, and even more mature when she's an adult. But I almost quit about 35% through because the run-on sentences and repetitive nature (WE GET IT that Indira is Nani's pride and joy. Okay, okay, her paternal grandfather is Dr. Ramesh--we know it, she knows it, grandfather knows it.) grated on me. At that point, I'd have called this one-star.
I only kept going because I did read this and because there are only 5-star reviews. I feel very bad I'm not in their camp.
It bumped to a 2.5-star book halfway through.
By 80%, I acceded to a 3-star rating.

Poor grammar aside, Tombran offers great wisdom on friendship and love, and knows how to write emotions. She respects virginity but also shows risqué behaviour (sooo...IS this for juveniles [pre-teens]? Is it for adults? What is going on?), shows the need for communication, demonstrates family respect and issues...and community. Everything relies on community. There is love and loss, acerbic conversations and forgiving natures, affection and love, friendship and romance...
and when the tough parts of life hit, Tombran writes those issues well.

It's strange that Indira and her close friends remember conversations from kindergarten. It's weird that people do 180s in behaviour after a brief conversation (but that could be me coming from a society that's too independent and full of a lack of respect--America fails at interpersonal relationships like that).

So the childhood years had me rolling my eyes and wanting the book to end as I slogged through.
The teenage years was about 50/50 on good and slow parts.
The married years (yes, she's still a teen, but an adult in Guyanese eyes) ramped it up.

But if you've read this far because you're not sure if you should keep going....I will say you're not missing much of anything (I was most curious about Nani because she was the most interesting character from the start. If nothing else, I might have kept reading because of her). Tombran made me FEEL for these characters, but only time will tell how they stick with me. I don't ever plan on rereading this and I only kept reading because I won it.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting comparisons between class culture, racial background and religion. Guyana is a newly independent country and the citizens proud and also confused. They must find ways to bridge the old and the new without losing either one. Indira is the little girl in this story, living with grandmother Nani. Nami's house is of the old ways, no electricity, running water, and a mud stove to cook upon. This fascinates Indira as she learns to grow up morally by Nani's teachings. School goes for children until the have reached about 16 and passed their tests to graduate. Loved the village descriptions, neighbors and their peculiarities, traditions. Indira lives with Nani because her parents are dead. Her father's family is rich and well educated and maintain their aristocratic lifestyle. Nani lives in an unpainted hut on stilts; the bottom floor as it is called is mud and this is the place most meetings occur. Nani had a coconut fiber bed, one pillow, and mosquito netting and her faithful mud stove. Although the neighborhood is variously marginal housing or the "mansions " further away. Indira, Francene, Laliwa, Albert, Ling, and Alfonso go to the same school and are friends, they have different expectations by their family as to marriage plans, jobs. This story takes us from her early childhood into married life. Each of her friends have different outcomes and Indira must remember Nani's teachings. Quite a perspective from Indira's viewpoint although the narrative is in each main characters voice to show their own perspectives too. Good reading. Learned a lot about culture and tradition from book.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely story

It was interesting to read of a culture so very different to my own. I did not know how just how multicultural Guyana is. Generally speaking the characters are likeable, it was not always easy to see where, or rather when, the time frame shifted. The book starts out with the girls being 5 years old in the 60s, suddenly they are in high school and it is the 70s. When one young lady moved to Canada, it almost sounds like the 80s but is likely just the late 70s.

I particularly liked Nani. I was a little uncomfortable with the intimate descriptions of married life in particular with Albert speaking of the "heavenly delights" he was going to enjoy with his soon-to-be bride in front and to his soon-to-be father-in-law and also with things Ravi thought about near the end of the book. I think, in part, it was because the rest of the book is so innocent that bit was jarring and seemed out of place. The last section of the book, describing time spent with Coco and Nani was sweet but also a little confusing. I appreciated the whole circle of life/continuity of it but would have liked to have a little more info, like where was Indira, where was Francine, where did Coco live?

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book about a time and lifestyle in a country so different from my own. Altho, for me in the beginning it starts a bit slowly, I found that I was curious about these characters. And as time goes on, you develop such a fondness for the love for this little family, how they didn't have much in the way of material things, but they were always willing to share what they did have with friends and neighbors who were in need. It is very humbling, the friendship the girls have and the sacrifices they are willing to make for each other.

[Kelly Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

a coming of age story about a young girl in Guyana. Written in 3 parts, it begins when the protagonist is orphaned and age five. As she grows, so does the complexity of the writing and her insights.

I was uncomfortable reading this book, picturing a child in the 60s living so primitive. But as I went along, I began to see other aspects, including flexibility, , determination, and courage. highly recommend reading for middle/junior high multicultural studies.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of mixing cultures.

Enjoyed reading about the lives of Indira and Nani. It expanded my knowledge of Guyana in South America. The mix ture of cultures and how the blend was an eye opener. At time if one did not know the location of Guyana, one would think the location would be in the countries in west africa or India, as well as the Wesst Indies. A book for those interested in diverse cultures coming together.

[Patricia Mayne-Schlachtun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt somewhat confused near the end. It was just Nani and Coco. Where was Indira and her husband? What about Francine? Great book although it left many unanswered questions.

[carol]

Won as Goodreads Giveaway. I did not finish the book, so I won’t give it a rating. I found it a very simple narrative describing the daily life of the characters. I prefer more complicated storylines.

[Deestarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting story, the authors use of language is very skillful

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

By The Mud Stove

I loved following the story of Indira, Nani, Francine through their lives. It was very captivating. I loved every word that came off the page.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won a kindle copy from Goodreads. I was drawn in by the descriptive writing, even though at times it felt very wordy. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, and overall an enjoyable read.

[nypeapod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow read

i received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The story takes quite a while to get into reading. It is slow moving, but quaint story.