Do Not Ask the River Her Name

by Sheela Tomy

English 328 pages 1 edition

‘Searing … This is a must-read’ – M. MUKUNDAN When an accident leaves her husband bedridden, Ruth leaves her home in search of a job to look after her family. From the highlands of Wayanad, she goes to the deserts of Riyadh and Dubai, and after many trials and tribulations, eventually arrives in Nazareth, Israel, where she finds work as a caregiver. Here, she experiences the historical Holy Land, beloved to many religions, up close-its culture, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the condition of the people of Palestine-and comes to terms with her own wounds of exodus. In her beguiling, transporting new novel, Sheela Tomy weaves together the struggles of several peoples under siege. And through them, she also tells of the indomitable river of love and humanity that flows across the boundaries drawn by nationhood and religion.