"The World We Found," by Thrity Umrigar

It is a common theme: the inseparable group of friends who have grown up together, or met at camp or in high school or in college. I always fall for this type of story. In Thrity Umrigar's novel, "The World We Found," the four friends met at their university in Bombay (before it was Mumbai) in the 1970s, 30 years before the main action in the novel. At college they were idealistic, fought political fights, loved, lost, and were always there for each other. OK, this is all familiar stuff, even a little formulaic, although in this case it is set in India, which provides some variety through the setting and cultural aspects. Since the four are mostly of the upper class, their lives are in some ways not so very different from those of the upper class around the world. But Umrigar (mostly) makes us care about these four women, and now 30 years later when one of them, now in America, is very ill and wants the other three to come visit, and to do so as soon as possible, various complications set in. There are secrets from the past and present that jeopardize this plan. The four friends, with some help from husbands and others, have to pull together to overcome obstacles. There are issues of social class, of religion, of gender restrictions, and of sexual identity threaded throughout the novel. I wouldn't recommend going way out of your way to read this novel, but, overall, I liked it; it was an enjoyable read.