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The Kashmir Shawl [Paperback]

Rosie Thomas
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (406 customer reviews)
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Book Description

1 Mar 2012

An epic story of wartime, family secrets and forbidden love, set against the stunning exotic backdrop of 1940s Kashmir.

Within one exotic land lie the secrets of a lifetime…
Newlywed Nerys Watkins leaves rural Wales for the first time to accompany her husband on a missionary posting to India. Deep in the exquisite heart of Kashmir lies the lakeside city of Srinagar, where the British live on carved wooden houseboats and dance, flirt and gossip as if there is no war.

But the battles draw closer, and life in Srinagar becomes less frivolous when the men are sent away to fight. Nerys is caught up in a dangerous friendship, and by the time she is reunited with her husband, the innocent Welsh bride has become a different woman.

Years later, when Mair Ellis clears out her father’s house, she finds an exquisite antique shawl, a lock of child’s hair wrapped within its folds. Tracing her grandparents’ roots back to Kashmir, Mair embarks on a quest that will change her life forever.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (1 Mar 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007285973
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007285976
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (406 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

‘A superbly researched and vivid evocation of wartime Kashmir and Ladakh’ Daily Mail

‘A spellbinding tale. Beautifully written, honest and compassionate…a delight from start to finish’
Daily Express

‘An epic tale…A complicated entanglement of family secrets, love during wartime and dangerous liaisons. For fans of Maggie O’Farrell’
Red

‘A superbly written novel, marvellously descriptive and especially evocative of the war years . . . a gorgeous treat’ Choice

‘Thomas’ portrayal of a young wife struggling to cope with life in wartime Kashmir, her husband’s indifference to her and her attraction to a charismatic mountaineer is beautifully written, touching and believable’ The Daily Express

About the Author

Rosie Thomas is the author of a number of celebrated novels, including the bestsellers Iris and Ruby, Constance and Lovers and Newcomers. A keen traveller, she has climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas, competed in the Peking to Paris car rally and travelled the Silk Road through Asia. More recently, she has spent time in Kashmir and Ladakh, researching this novel. She lives in London.


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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
261 of 266 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas 14 Aug 2011
Format:Paperback
Fans of Rosie Thomas will love this well researched novel, with its vibrant tastes of a bygone life in India, it's breathtaking descriptions evoking rich visual images of life in the heights of Kashmir, a rich valley spreading ahead, and the comparisons of parallel lives both in the Welsh mountains and the highlands of Switzerland. Yet within this background unfolds the story of a quest to discover the truth about the life of Mair's grandmother, the wife of a Welsh missionary, who 70 years previously had been called to a frugal life helping the poor in these northern regions of India, and in particular her quest to discover the story of the valuable, priceless Kashmir Shawl.

The two stories are intertwined throughout the book - the story of Mair's grandmother Nerys and of Mair's quest- her research through personal letters, use of technology and finally by following in her mother's footsteps and meeting locals in Kashmir who may be able to assist her. Slowly the pieces link together, times gone by when, during the war years a baby is born as the result of an adulterous affair, lives are tragically lost. Mair travels through three countries in two continents before she has unravelled her grandmother's story and can travel back to India to disclose what she has discovered and complete the circle.

This story is meticulous in its historical and geographical research and also reveals a tender story of first love, loyalty, bravery, treachery, determination and hope. It's a real page-turner.
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103 of 107 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars great novel to lose yourself in 11 Oct 2011
By elsie purdon TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I really enjoyed this book . Its one of those book's you can relax and sink into, curled up in an armchair or indeed anywhere.
Most of the story takes place in Kashmir . This part of the world has the Himalayas as the most stunning backdrop and is where both timelines in the novel unfold as we discover the reason why Mair's grandmother had the most beautiful and valuable shawl hidden away and no-one in the family knew anything about it.
Back in 1941 we meet Nerys (grandma) as she and her husband Evan run a mission and school in remote parts of northern India and bordering Tibet. Nery's life is about to change and she is the core of the book.

I found myself totally lost in their world and always felt jolted when the story moved to current times. I prefer the older time line, it was a romantic, fascinating time and I loved the little details of Srinagar life. More so the village of Kanihama where the shawl was made. the lives of those villagers became very real to me, we are also reading the beginnings of the troubles that are of course still going on. So its not all romantic, there is a good piece of real life too.
I really think that Rosie Thomas has done great research and created a world I could really believe in. Also I liked reading the three friends pulling together and showing the positive side of female friendship, in a time when women were seen as decorative but actually were as strong as steel.
The modern day timeline has its own dramas and is also interesting though my heart is till in the 1940"s.
A great read.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Predictable. 19 Oct 2012
By Hilary
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Two interweaving narratives, one set 70 years ago in India with the main protagonist, Welsh missionary wife, Nerys Watkins. The other, set in the present, tells the story of Mair, the grand daughter of Nerys.
Not at all difficult to follow and some of the descriptions capture, the sights, sounds and smells of India. BUT there were too many descriptions which did not enhance the story. I also found it difficult to relate to either of the two main characters. Nerys, seems to flit from almost puritanical wife to brazen lover and I couldn't fathom cicus performer Mair at all. The natures and personalities of Myrtle, Caroline and Rainer were depicted much more clearly.
Two thirds of the way through i was beginning to yawn, as there were far too many "coincidences" and the final outcome too predicatable.
I did finish the book but just wish the end had come a bit sooner!!
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85 of 93 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant! 8 Aug 2011
Format:Paperback
This is vintage Rosie Thomas and her best book since 'The Sun at Midnight'! In fact, it piqued my interest so much that I was even moved to google Kashmir to find out more about the area and to see pictures of the things and places that were described in the novel. A really cracking story about characters who became so real to me by the end of the book, that I almost want to keep in touch with them when I'd finished reading it - as is so often the case with Rosie Thomas's writing. I was torn between wanting to gobble this book up as quickly as possible and wanting to ration my reading in order to savour it for as long as possible, but, in actual fact, once I'd started it, I simply couldn't put it down. A really fantastic read and bonus points for enabling me to become much better informed about Kashmir, an area that is now on my travel wishlist!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars What a lovely story 22 Nov 2012
By Nicola TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Mair Ellis, clearing out her father's house after his death, discovers a Kashmir shawl amongst her late mother's things. She's never seen it before, but it's beautiful and is stored with a lock of hair. Mair is intrigued by these items and knows they must have come from her grandmother, Nerys Watkins. Nerys was in India during WWII when her husband was a missionary. Mair decides to travel to India to try and find out more about the shawl and her grandmother's life there.

I found this to be a lovely book. It's a dual time frame story, focusing on Mair's journey of discovery and Nery's life during her time in India. The author writes about the place so well and I found I was well able to imagine the surroundings in both the current day story and the older one. It's quite obvious that she's done plenty of research to make it as realistic a story as possible.

I loved the characterisations too, and I particularly liked how it all came together at the end with both the characters and the story. It was a particularly satisfying conclusion to a really good read. It's a long time since I read any Rosie Thomas books, but I have one or two others by her and I think I'm going to enjoy them!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars An Emotional Journey
I loved the way several personal stories were brought together as one. Great insight into colonial life without being too snobbish. Just a lovely read.
Published 1 day ago by Pigrit
4.0 out of 5 stars A taste of India
I thought that when this book arrived that I wouldn't enjoy it but I was mistaken! Although I would have liked to know how to pronounce the welsh name of one of the characters (a... Read more
Published 3 days ago by EJ01
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended reading, particularly on holiday
A well constructed story, well-researched and demonstrating great insight in human relationships. A lovely book. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Marijo
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
This is a wonderfully written book with amazingly descriptive text. I love a book which gets you right into the story on page one and this one certainly does. Read more
Published 13 days ago by ZBL
5.0 out of 5 stars A Book to pass on to girlfriends,
I became lost in a continent, wrapped up in the history and the landscape,nearly living the moments and having a tear along the way.
Published 16 days ago by Gillian Connor
5.0 out of 5 stars Rosie Thomas's Best
Of all the books by Rosie Thomas this is the one which really-
really seduced me! And, being myself an israeli, I decided, at
first, to throw it out by the window, if... Read more
Published 17 days ago by elisheva guggenheim
2.0 out of 5 stars Drawn out but vivid
Although the book is longer and perhaps more drawn out than it needs to be, I did like the vivid sights and aromas of India - not just those taken from a travel book but described... Read more
Published 20 days ago by BlackWidow56
5.0 out of 5 stars Real story
Wonderful read, set in India it's a really story, story ( if you know what I mean) about people in two different generations, it is very well written and a real page turner once... Read more
Published 20 days ago by J. Crossley
4.0 out of 5 stars A VERY GOOD READ
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. First Rosie Thomas book I have read but look forward to reading more of her work. Can recommend The Kashmir Shawl.
Published 22 days ago by Jeannie B
2.0 out of 5 stars Not for me
This book started out o.k. but did tend to drag on a bit it is ideal for readers who are into history of India I actually never finished it got bored .
Published 23 days ago by Jacqui Crutchfield
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