The Heart is a Shifting Sea audiobook

I loved this book. It's rare – and brilliant – to see a subject like marriage (and love, and heartache, and domestic disharmony) receive such a serious and considered journalistic treatment.

Rating 3.5/5 Full review to be up soon..

Also Posted on For The Love of Fictional Worlds Disclaimer: A physical copy was provided via Bloomsbury Indiain exchange for an honest review. The Thoughts, opinions & feelings expressed in the review are therefore, my own. Mumbai is the city of dreams; a city that never sleeps and the city that never stops – and I do not know if the author could have picked another city to be the foundation of the book that is all about the hopes and dreams of human beings!As soon as you start off the book, its easy to see the hold the city has on the author & the love that the author has given back to it!Love and Marriage in Mumbai talks about three different couples, in quite different stages of their relationship, their lives and their marriage – and weaving across their stories, are the different aspects of relationships that will endear themselves to you!Here’s the God’s honest truth – every aspect of love and marriage, relationships that you will, is something that you will yourself experience – if not now, then one day – that’s the universal truth of the words written on the pages.  But what sets this book apart from so many others about India is that there is no judgmental attitude towards the customs and traditions of our colourful culture that has been given its due and for that I am very thankful to the author.  For more reviews visit For The Love of Fictional Worlds :)Do come join us at For The Fictional Worlds Facebook Page | Twitter | Instagram  | Goodreads  | Amazon |

Thank you Edelweiss for my review copy of this book. The Heart Is A Shifting Sea follows 3 couples and their relationships throughout a period of over 10 years as Western culture begins colliding with Indian tradition. These couples embody how these cultural changes are affecting Indian culture and traditions in both the Hindu and Muslim religions. Maya and Veer married by choice but their relationship is often tested throughout the years by Veer's family, her need for independence and his love for another woman. Shahzad and Sabeena struggle with their inability to have children and changes taking place in Islam, which each interprets differently also causes problems in the family and their marriage.Ashok amd Parvati have an arranged marriage after he is too old and has not married for love and she has been married off to Ashok by her father after confessing her love for a Chrisitan boy. This intermingling of faiths is not permitted and over time and through many struggles this couple finds real love for one another. A fascinating look into not only the Indian way of life in different areas of the countryand also at relationships in general across different religions and cultures. These couples share their stories at different phases of their lives and marriages and share with us their secrets, hopes, desires, disappointments and triumphs through all the changes their lives and hearts have gone through over the years.

Excellent depiction of the social, religious, cultural and economic pressures facing India’s middle class. The approach of following three couples and overlaying geopolitical and religious context was a good one. I’d have preferred more history and context. But definitively recommended.

I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins. This work of non-fiction follows the marriages of three couples in today's Mumbai. Told in a narrative, novelistic style, this work of journalism presents three examples of modern day marriage in India. Although all three couples and their circumstances differ, this book provides an interesting look at the state of love, marriage, class, and religion in Indian today. Veer and Maya marry for love but are tested by Veer's workaholic personality and Maya's urge for independence. Shahzad and Sabeena are tested by their inability to have a child. And Ashok and Parvati are brought together by an arranged marriage but manage to find love in their partnership. The stories of the three couples is beautifully told. At times it was hard to remember that this was non-fiction, because Flock has written it in such a narrative and flowing way. The author presents the couples' stories without interruption or interjection, giving this an anthropological feel. Along with Flock, readers join the couples in their homes and observe their struggles. In doing so, the shifting culture of India is revealed, as traditional ways increasingly conflict with Western culture. The city of Mumbai is ever present in this novel; the smoke, crowded streets full of stray dogs and traffic, ever evolving apartment complexes, and bustling street markets are the backdrop of all the individuals presented in this book. Through the individuals presented in this book, the reader is able to gain a feel for the city itself and what it means to live in Mumbai from several perspectives. I was surprised that Flock provides no insight or reflections on her decade spent observing these three couples. She presents their stories and fairly tries to show all sides but does not comment or interject in any way. Although this does allow the reader to only observe and come to their own conclusions about what life and marriage is like in Mumbai, I would have appreciated at least an introductory or concluding section where the author gave insight into how she met the couples, what it was like being a part of their lives, and just generally gave some insight into how this book came about. The inside look these couples gave to the author was extraordinary and this book could not have happened without the author gaining their trust and spending significant time with them and I would have liked more discussion of that process. Additionally, the book is broken up into sections and at times, especially in the beginning of the book, it was difficult to keep up as the book jumped from one couple to another. In some ways, I would have liked to have one couple's whole story presented together before moving on to another, simply for clarity and understanding. This was a beautiful written portrait of married life in Mumbai from the perspective of six individuals. An insightful snapshot of life in a changing city filled with contradictions, as well as a meditation on the universal themes of love, marriage, and family.

Thank you Goodreads and Harperfor my advance reader copy.This nonfiction book follows the lives ofthree married couples in Indiaduring a time of great politicaland social change. Time setting isfrom 1983 to 2015.The reader is privy to the innermostthoughts and feelings of each of the husbands and wives. I was surprised at the openness and level of transparencyshown. Somehow I don't think most peoplewould reveal extramarital dalliancesand feelings of unrequited love sofreely! Definitely makes for veryinteresting reading.Elizabeth Flock is a reporter which reallyshows in her in depth and detailed writing.The reader gets a sense of the politics andand social upheaval taking place.I came away feeling I knew thesethree couples and their hopes and dreams.Definitely recommend for those interestedin relationships and learning more about India.

“The Heart Is A Shifting Sea” by author Elizabeth Flock, is a mesmerizing read. This non-fiction documentary book reads like a novel although it is the true story of three Indian couples who go through years of struggle as married partners. India is a country caught in the middle between the past and the present which is now strongly influenced by Western culture. Many people in India have fluid thoughts on sex both within married life and outside of married life. Pornography is rampant and easily found. Young women no longer want to play a subservient role to their husbands and yet it is a time-honored tradition that is hard to break. Indian culture still involves the bride moving in with the groom’s family. The films of Bollywood, which are highly romanticized, are not real life even though couples “think” that is what they should be living…like a romantic movie. I find Indian culture to be mysterious and enthralling. It is hard to comprehend when we live such a different lifestyle in America. This novel was a good read and an interesting story. The author wrote beautifully and tried to illustrate the conflicting emotions of married love in a repressed country. It was truly an amazing and insightful story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #book #books #bookstagram #bookeotm #indianwedding #theheartisashiftingsea #elizabethflock #bookworm #indianculture #arrangedmarriage #nonfiction #lindaleereads2019 @harpercollinsus #mumbai

Actually 3.5, but I've decided to rate the higher number rather than the lower.There was something a bit disconcerting about this book, and I'm not sure what. The author says that as a journalist, she is tracking the lives and marriages of these three couples in India. It reads like a novel, and I think I would have been far more comfortable with it if presented as a novel. Basically, it details how these couples come to grips with their marriages and situations over time. The effect of family, tradition, religion all plays a part as well as the different personalities involved. At first I found it difficult to keep track of the different couples, as each of them is addressed separately in different time periods. But I adjusted to their personalities and was better able to follow their stories as I progressed in the book. The story is set in Mumbai, and the author does a good job of capturing the setting, as well as contrasting it with the places where some of the characters began.

I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpse at marital issues in another culture, and learning how while much is different, those things that make us human interfere with us all in much the same way: sometimes it's hard to get pregnant, it's so easy to stray from your spouse, it's likely either man or woman will feel inadequate, strain on the marriage is likely whether or not you're resentful of the in-laws, and money is both difficult and easy to come by, depending on how you prioritize your family. It was a relief to get these stories of family from the 2nd most populace country in the world and I hope many others pick this up or other books like it so we can all wake up to the fact that we're all just people trying to do right by the people we love.

3.5 rounded up because of the amazing amount of research that went into this book, but almost too much in my opinion. Fascinating look at the marriages of 3 couples living in India; the current social and economic changes this country has experienced in the past decade; and how difficult it is to combine this with their Indian culture.

I enjoyed this book a great deal-it’s almost impossible to get inside a marriage the way that the author does, and she reports without judgment or bias. It did feel a little surface sometimes, but I can’t put my finger on what I’d want her to do differently. It may be that I’m holding her to an omniscient narrative standard that you can’t achieve in non-fiction, but it’s to the author’s credit that the storytelling is so rich that I’m looking at it more as a novel than as reportage.