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East of the Sun
 
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East of the Sun (Paperback)

by Julia Gregson (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
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  • This item: East of the Sun by Julia Gregson

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    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
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Product details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Orion (12 Jun 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1409102513
  • ISBN-13: 978-1409102519
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 4,776 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"this engaging novel perfectly captures the last days of the Raj" (DAILY EXPRESS )

"What a gorgeous read. Exciting, romantic, unpredictable and funny. I didn't want it to end. You'll crave curry for weeks." (Tracey Ullman )

"The Orion staff gave this beautifully written book an overwhelming thumbs up, and it isn't hard to see why" (COUNTRY LIFE )

"a finely written story full of characters you can care about...highly descriptive and persuasively told" (THE LADY )

"a unique and fascinating historical novel" (PRIMA )

"For passion in an exotic landscape, check out Julia Gregson's East of the Sun" (Giles Foden CONDENAST TRAVELLER )

"Warm, charming, masterfully written and impossible to put down once begun" (AUSTRALIAN WOMENS WEEKLY )

"A richly imagined and thoroughly rewarding book" (NHS MAGAZINE )

"this novel is utterly engaging" (ASIAN AGE )

'Time, place and that pivotal moment in history are skilfully and engrossingly involved' (BEST )


Product Description

An utterly captivating story of three young British women in search of freedom and love in 1920s India

Synopsis

Autumn 1928. Three young women are on their way to India, each with a new life in mind. Rose, a beautiful but naïve bride-to-be, is anxious about leaving her family and marrying a man she hardly knows. Victoria, her bridesmaid couldn t be happier to get away from her overbearing mother, and is determined to find herself a husband. And Viva, their inexperienced chaperone, is in search of the India of her childhood, ghosts from the past and freedom. Each of them has their own reason for leaving their homeland but the hopes and secrets they carry can do little to prepare them for what lies ahead in India.
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Customer Reviews

68 Reviews
5 star:
 (29)
4 star:
 (16)
3 star:
 (8)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (11)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (68 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable picture of colonial India, 10 Sep 2008
By K. Huff (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have to admit, I picked up East of the Sun from Amazon UK on a sort of blind buy. It was recommended to me because I purchased The Forgotten Garden. Well, one thing turned into another late one night... and all of a sudden I found myself clicking "proceed to checkout." You know how it is.

I actually rather glad I made this impulse purchase. Set in 1928 and 1929, East of the Sun is the story of three women who go to India: Rose, a young woman going to get married; her best friend Tor, going to be her bridesmaid and hopeful that she'll find a husband herself; and Viva, a young woman accompanying them on their voyage in order to reclaim a trunk that once belonged to her parents. Also in her care is Guy Glover, an unstable sixteen-year-old, who's just been kicked out of boarding school and who quickly becomes a risk to Viva and her charges.

Once the women get to India, nothing is what they expected it to be. Rose's marriage is hardly a bed of roses; and, although the number of English men in India overwhelms the number of women, Tor can't quite get her act together in order to find a husband. As for Viva, her plans to pick up her trunk and leave India derail pretty quickly as Guy Glover's antics get out of hand.

The novel is not so much about India as it is about the British in India and the so-called "fishing fleet" of young women who went there to find husbands. The first third of the book is devoted to the voyage out to India (in first class) on the Kaiser-i-Hind, and I thought that part of the book was particularly engaging. The characters are all finely drawn, and I found myself rooting for each of them. It's a very lively and dramatic book, and I couldn't put it down. The story mostly belongs to Viva, but my favorite character above all was Tor--her personality was much more endearing than that of the other characters.' The only setback to this novel is the Guy Glover storyline, which kind of detracts from the story. In all, however, Julia Gregson does a wonderful job of capturing the last days of British colonization in India with a fine eye for detail.
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72 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beckons you in, 26 Jun 2008
By SJSmith (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This book is captivating. It is a slow unfurling read that can't be rushed. If you haven't been to India, Gregson's stimulating narrative is going to awaken your senses. If you have been, especially to the places described, a wonderful memory awaits. It's autumn 1928 and the Kaiser-i-Hind is waiting to set sail for Bombay a land promising the start of three very different lives for the three young women we follow on board.

Meet Rose, Victoria (Tor) and Viva. Rose is naïve and about to be married to man she hardly knows but is full of hope. Tor is happy to be away from her parents and her life and all she wants from her adventure is a husband of her own. Then there is Viva who isn't as old as Rose and Tor's family thinks she is yet still manages to secure a job as their chaperone. There are other significant characters along the way but these three women are the narrators, telling their story in their own way; learning about themselves and each other.

The book is fabulous, from beginning to end. Gregson introduces the reader to the three women in the beginning of the novel and the beginning of their adventure. Dialogue and narrative blend to give an enthralling story that is difficult to put down. I became quite involved in their ups and downs, willing them on with different parts of the lives, especially when they were making fools of themselves with the decisions they were making. I have a love of literature set in India and would have discovered this novel myself at some point but I was thrilled to see this as part of Richard & Judy's summer read. Having read 6 out of the 8 novels so far, I have found this one to be by far the best. One I will continually recommend.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched!, 8 Oct 2008
Having just read this, and found it fascinating as well as very enjoyable, it was interesting to come to the Amazon site and see what others thought.
Knowing something about the subject, I cannot agree with one reviewer, KA Roy, that it is incorrect to refer to people speaking Marathi in 1928 in Bombay. In fact, the majority of people in the area would have spoken Marathi, and neither is it incorrect to call someone Maharashtrian, as the regional political concept was already current in the 19th century.

I thought the author seemed to have gone to a great deal of trouble to present an accurate picture of India in the 20s and 30s, and the characters, both English and Indian, had a thoroughly authentic ring to them. This is a great read, and I would strongly recommend it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect!
I absolutely loved this book and have recommended it to many of my friends. Set in India in the late 1920s, it is the story of Viva, Rose and Tor - part of the "fishing fleet" of... Read more
Published 1 month ago by mrs p

5.0 out of 5 stars unpredictable and exciting
Having read some of the lower star reviews I was disappointed in some of the responses to the book. You shouldn't take this book as a historial reference to clonial India. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Book-lover

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings about this book
I found this book readable on the whole although I nearly gave up three quarters of the way through. Read more
Published 2 months ago by EO'C

4.0 out of 5 stars East of the Sun..
... Is a great read. The tonga's and rickshaw's described were exactly how it is. I would say Julia Gregson has done a marvellous job with this book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Blossom 786

5.0 out of 5 stars friends
The title says everything. A must for summer reading. Characters are delevoped througout the book.Facts mixed with fiction,Suitable for all ages
Published 4 months ago by Ele K. Manoli

4.0 out of 5 stars An Absorbing Summer Read
I enjoyed this book, which I found difficult to put down. I especially like the author's portrayal of the friendship among the three young English women, as it began on the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by F. S. L'hoir

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected gem.
Excellent read, especially if you've been to some of the places described. I wasn't expecting such a rewarding experience. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Z. Nichols

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Good
This was another of those books which I did not think I would get round to reading but when I did I enjoyed. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Campbell79

5.0 out of 5 stars A Perfect Read
I absolutely adored this book. It took me a week to read even though I could have read it in one sitting because although it was 'unputdownable', I forced my self to read it... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Penpen

5.0 out of 5 stars A enjoyable novel to read
East of the Sun by Julia Gregson is an enjoyable novel to read. It is beautifully and wonderfully narrated. Read more
Published 6 months ago by P. DATTA

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