Passion covered under mystery. Review on Heat And Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

This is the best novel ever I have read. the author has tried to portray the human passion in a very authentic way. in this novel there are two stories running parallel in two different periods. the first person narrative of the novel makes it realistic. initially we come across the narrator who wants to know about her grandmother Olivia. she wants to know about her life in detail and that is why she travels to India. when we turn few more pages of the novel we can find the character sketch of Olivia. she is very appealing but she is entrapped in the easy playfulness of a Nawab. he plays with her emotions as well as body. she becomes pregnant and she decides to abort the baby. this action of her leads to a scandal. lastly she has no option left so she goes to live in a place which is unknown. she feels alienated and helpless. in the climax we will find that the narrator is also facing same problem. she has also been impregnated and she is not happy with the situations around her life. she also wants to live in a place which is unknown. there is another character Harry who has been presented as weak and inactive by the author. he is homosexual and he is also used by the Nawab. overall this novel is very interesting and readers can enjoy it.