Polly lives in
suburban Britain in relative affluence, Kabita in the foothills of the Himalayas
in comparative poverty. When the car in which their husbands are travelling
plummets down a ravine the women’s lives become entwined.
Wishing to
understand her deceased husband’s love for the place Polly
journeys to Nepal; she is also armed with a gift of money for the bereaved
family.
Meanwhile,
due to her financial dependence on her deceased husband’s brother, and to
cultural attitudes both real and imagined, Kabita becomes ever more
isolated.
Can Polly’s gift
help to emancipate Kabita from the traditional beliefs of her culture, which
blames the death of her husband on her own bad karma?
I moved from Wiltshire to Warwickshire in the late 1980’s. It was then that I began writing; first as a hobby but later more seriously. The Affairs of Gods
and Men is my second novel, it was shortlisted for the Luke Bitmead Bursary in
2012.
The novel is
semi-auto-biographical. Although few of the events within the novel occurred as
written, Pauline and a Nepalese woman were widowed within days of each other;
and the book was written with the intention of any monetary gains going to the
Nepalese widow. The real story that inspired the writing of the novel is
explained on the inside cover.
Since the book was written, the
Nepalese widow and her family of four children and two elderly in laws have been
made homeless by the earthquake. Clearly
their need for financial help has greatly increased.
All of the proceeds of this novel
will be donated to Nepalese family.
Pauline
