the nature of passion

The Nature of Passion by R. (Ruth) Prawer Jhabvala (Norton, 1957)

The Nature of Passion, Jhabvala’s second novel, is a thoroughly charming and very adroitly observed and written.  I bought it because I had read somewhere that it was reminiscent of Jane Austen, and it is, although it takes place in a very different place (India) and time (mid-twentieth-century).  

Lalaji runs a successful construction business in Delhi, and lives somewhat luxuriously with his (unnamed) wife, his tyrannical and tradition-bound widowed sister, his six children — 3 males and 3 females — and assorted servants.  His children are all pretty much settled, happily or unhappily married, except for his youngest son and daughter, who both want something different than their older siblings.  Nimi, Lalji’s beautiful and vivacious daughter, wants to get a college education and marry for love; Vidi, his son, wants to travel to Europe and then pursue a career in the arts.  All of these desires run contrary to the family’s and their culture’s strong tradition, which require arranged marriages and for sons to follow their fathers into business.

The book has a large cast of very well-observed and entertaining characters and Jhabvala  has an energetic and merry narrative sense.  Her writing is first-rate — clear and sensual.  A lovely and delightful book.