The Sleeping Dictionary

Starred review from July 1, 2013
Trapped by her past and uncertain of her future, the peasant girl Kamala's journey toward independencepersonal and politicalunfolds in this riveting historical novel. The award-winning author of the Rei Shimura mysteries turns to 1930s40s India, with the British in control of the colony as Gandhi and others fight for freedom. The setting gives new life to the familiar story of an orphan girl struggling to make her way in a cruel world. Clever Kamala is front and center throughout, as Massey builds her coming-of-age tale around India as it moves toward independence, effectively combining personal narrative with the grandeur of a sweeping historical epic. The characters are easily categorized, but deft storytelling prevents them from being predictable. The book is also notable for its detail-driven depiction of the limitations imposed by caste and colonization. The Sleeping Dictionary, an utterly engrossing tale of love, espionage, betrayal, and survival, is historical fiction at its best, accessible to all audiences. Recommend the novel to readers of Arundhati Roy and Bharati Mukherjee.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)