The Kashmir Shawl: A Novel

By Rosie Thomas

On the eve of 1941, newlywed Nerys Watkins leaves rural Britain to accompany her husband on a missionary posting to the exotic city of Srinagar, India. But when he leaves to take on a complicated mission elsewhere, Nerys discovers a new world. Here, in the heart of Kashmir, the British dance, flirt, and gossip against the backdrop of war, and Neryssoon becomes caught up in a dangerous liaison. By the time she is reunited with her husband, she is a very different woman.

Years later, Nerys’s granddaughter Mair Ellis clears out her dead father’s house and finds an exquisite shawl. Wrapped in its folds is a lock of a child’s curly hair. With nothing else to go on, Mair decides to trace her grandparents’ roots back to Kashmir, embarking on a quest thatwill change her own life forever.

A sweeping multigenerational tale of marriage, isolation, and finding love in a magical place, The Kashmir Shawl is the inimitable Rosie Thomas at her very best.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Jan 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781468307184

Rosie Thomas

Rosie Thomas is the author of a number of celebrated novels, including the bestsellers The Kashmir Shawl, Iris and Ruby and Constance. Once she was established as a writer and her children were grown, she discovered a love of travelling and mountaineering. She has climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas, competed in the Peking to Paris car rally, spent time on a tiny Bulgarian research station in Antarctica and travelled the silk road through Asia. She lives in London.

Reviews for The Kashmir Shawl

[witchyrichy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't sure what to expect with The Kashmir Shawl. The reviews make it seem like a love it or hate it kind of book. I definitely fall on the love it side. I was a little worried about its billing as a romance but the story drew me in. The parallel narratives were easy to follow and the history of Kashmir was woven into the two stories. I finished it just as the news stories about Pakistan and India fighting over Kashmir came out. I felt like I understood the situation a bit better. As other reviewers have pointed out, there were coincidences and, one in particular, seemed a little extreme. But it made for a nice ending.

[kmajort · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was another that was difficult to put down. The story AND how it was told was riveting. Dual timelines that were not confusing, plot lines that were tidied up by the end, yet not formulaic.
Highly recommended by a friend/patron who is British - she read it while visiting home last summer, couldn't say enough about it.
Could make a good movie - and I don't usually say that.

[fross_22 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just so enjoyed this - what a good read. And excellent for anyone who likes genealogy

[gingercrinkle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Whilst I enjoyed the historical parts, somehow the modern day parts didn't ring true to me. The ending felt very contrived and almost unnecessary. 3 stars for the parts set in the 1940s.

[bookwoman247 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is made up of the dual stories of a current-day Welsh woman, Mair, and her grandmother, Nerys, who was a missionary india during the WWII era.When Maire discovers a beautiful shawl with a lock of hair that matches none of her family members, she travels to India to delve into her grandmother's history and to learn the significance of the shawl and to whom the hair belonged.I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thomas did a fantastic job of weaving many stories together, and each was interesting in itself.

[samantha100_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Kashmir Shawl, written by Rosie Thomas, opens with Mair Ellis and her siblings going through their deceased father's home in present day North Wales. The discovery of an exquisite Indian made shawl and an envelope containing a lock of hair ignites Mair's curiosity to uncover their history. How had they become part of her father's possessions? Nerys Watkins, Mair's grandmother, died before Mair was born. Nerys and her husband, Evan, had served as missionaries in India in the 1940's and Mair travels to India to learn what she can about their time there and, hopefully, the history of the shawl and the lock of hair.The story is told both in the present and the past, gracefully alternating between the voices of Mair and Nerys. While Mair tries to reconstruct Nerys's time in Srinigar the author gives the reader the treat of reading Nerys's accounting of her life. Even though Mair and Nerys share commonalities, they remain two distinctly different personalities. Each grapples with their own issues. I felt that the more Mair learned about Nerys, the more she began to understand herself.I found this to be a story worth telling. The author skillfully interweaves many different stories all the while captivating the reader. Life is given to a diverse group of interesting characters. History, mystery, great loves and losses as well as a carefully constructed story are the characteristics of this novel. I find myself hoping for a sequel. This is a memorable book and I recommend reading it.I received this book free of charge from Author Marketing Experts, Inc. and the opinions expressed are my own.

[meeniereads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It took until one half of this book to really take off IMHO. It then became a wonderful and "different" type story ofthree woman alone in Kasmir,India while two husbands were in World War two and the other a missionary off inremote parts.The shawl and a grand daughter 70 years later are the catalysts in this dense but quite well done story.

[alekee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a story Rosie Thomas was written, she had me walking with the Characters through the streets in India. I could almost smell the goats, as was described. We experience the life with the Raj, and the slums.The story begins with the death of her father, Mair finds a beautiful Kashmir Shawl among the belongings. She also finds an old envelope with some hair stored in it. Thus begins her quest for answers, and her trip to India.There are actually two stories told here, some of it we know but Mair never has all the answers. Mair's Grandmother Nerys and Grandfather Evan are missionaries to India, with WWII going on in 1941, we are about to experience life there. Nerys spends time with Myrtle, and Carolyn, you will enjoy the fun times they make out adversity.I really recommend this as a Historical read, so very interesting. Even when Mair goes there, there is fighting between the Hindu's and the Muslims. So very sad.Putting this combined story together is a real page turner, and even though the book is a bit long, it was a quick read.I received this book through The Bookreporter giveaway, and was not required to give a positive review.

[dubaireader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An historic saga set in Kashmir.It took me a little while to get into this book at first. Some of the descriptions were a bit dense and the swapping of time scales caused some initial confusion. However, once I had become familiar with the characters they started to feel like friends, particularly those from the 1940's time frame.The central 'character' is a very valuable, finely woven and intricately embroidered Kashmiri shawl, found by Mair while clearing out her parents' posessions after her father's death. Mair is between jobs, has inherited some money, and decides to journey to India with the shawl as an excuse - she wants to find out what she can about her grandmother's life as a missionary in India before and during the war.Interspersed between chapters about Mair's current day travels, is a much more interesting journey through the same country with Nerys Watkins and her missionary husband, Evan, and her two close friends, Myrtle McMinn and Caroline Bowen. This was the section that really grabbed me and the characters that stood out.Once Nerys reached Sringar in Kashmir in 1941, she found the days of the Raj in all their glory; houseboats, drinks at The Club and carefree parties. There was intrigue and gossip, excitement and fun, all more than a quiet missionary's wife from rural Wales had ever encountered. Although a little wary of the excesses, she becomes entwined in the life and falls in love with Sringar. A sequence of events ensues that leaves many open ends, and Mair's current day investigations reveal the answers to many unanswered questions - but should she complete the circle and tell those concerned, or keep her peace?A little unbelievable in parts but altogether an interesting, involving read from an excellent author.Also:A Simple Life 5*Every Woman Knows a Secret 4*

[nicx27 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mair Ellis, clearing out her father's house after his death, discovers a Kashmir shawl amongst her late mother's things. She's never seen it before, but it's beautiful and is stored with a lock of hair. Mair is intrigued by these items and knows they must have come from her grandmother, Nerys Watkins. Nerys was in India during WWII when her husband was a missionary. Mair decides to travel to India to try and find out more about the shawl and her grandmother's life there.I found this to be a lovely book. It's a dual time frame story, focusing on Mair's journey of discovery and Nery's life during her time in India. The author writes about the place so well and I found I was well able to imagine the surroundings in both the current day story and the older one. It's quite obvious that she's done plenty of research to make it as realistic a story as possible.I loved the characterisations too, and I particularly liked how it all came together at the end with both the characters and the story. It was a particularly satisfying conclusion to a really good read. It's a long time since I read any Rosie Thomas books, but I have one or two others by her and I think I'm going to enjoy them!

[nocto_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed this story that intertwines two generations of Welsh women in India. After the death of her father Mair goes to India with her grandmother Nerys' Kashmir shawl to see if she can find out about the shawl and her grandmother's life in Kashmir. Then the story also tells the story of Nerys' time in India as the wife of a missionary. For a little while I thought the stories were going to echo each other too closely but that didn't turn out to be right and I was glad the stories had their own twists and turns. I also had the expectation of a cheesy ending, which I was also happy to find was incorrect and the book had a very decent ending. I'll trust the author next time!

[cookiedemon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read a couple of Thomas' earlier books recently and found them to be somewhat lacking (`Celebration' being the prime example), so I approached this with a bit of trepidation. Happily, Rosie Thomas is definitely back on form with this excellent read which is a charming story of love, loss, war and family secrets.In this well researched book, we meet Mair, one of three children who has recently lost her father (and her mother some years earlier). Whilst clearing out his house ready to sell it, the siblings stumble across a beautiful shawl belonging to her late grandmother and Mair, full of wanderlust, decides to track down its origins- a quest that takes her from her native Wales to northern India. As the story unfolds, we learn about Mair's grandmothers past in 1940's India and her close friendships with two other woman and the secrets they share- as well as the real origins of the Kashmir shawl.Though some bits of this book seemed a little bit predictable, particularly some of the romantic entanglements- that did not detract from my enjoyment of it one little bit. The characters became real as this story was unravelled, particularly Mair and the spunky Myrtle, who I really admired and was a real highlight of the book for me. At a time when some women were perceived as shrinking violets, she really stood out for her bravery and headstrong attitude. Initially I wasn't too fond of Nerys, thinking she was a bit of a wet blanket, but she soon managed to change my mind. All in all, I did find the 1940's timeline to be a bit more intriguing than the present day, given the romantic aspects as well as what was occurring in history during that time, some of the bits with Mair were a little bit slow going at first.It is clear Thomas has really researched into the past which makes this novel wholly believable and compelling. India both past and present is brought vividly to life through its sights, sounds and smells. I have never been to the country but this book has piqued my interest in the region of Srinagar most definitely, in a way Thomas also managed to bring Cairo to life in `Iris and Ruby,' one of her earlier novels which I also loved.Do yourself a favour: if you haven't tried a Rosie Thomas book before, give this one a go. *This review also appears on Amazon.co.uk*

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I remain unconvinced by this. It is one of those twin generational stories, following Nerys' journey to and in Kashmir in the 40s and then that of her grand daughter Mair. When they are clearing their father's house, they uncover an exquisite kashmir shawl and a lock of hair. The shawl belonged to their grandmother, who they barely knew. The shawl sets Mair off an a journey to find its source. And so the parallel narrative begins, but it is clear that the reader knows more than Mair does. I found it difficult to comprehend that you could know so little of your own family, as Mair seems to do. And then hare off half way round the world without asking anyone locally what they might have known about the story. All a bit on the far fetched side. I felt that the way the two narratives were made to mirror each other was rather contrived. OK is the best I can do

[lizasarusrex · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a story of a grandmother and a granddaughter who travel the same roads, but in different time period. Mair finds a shawl made of kashmir, and a lock of hair, in her fathers belongings after he passes away. Curiosity grabs a hold of Mair causing her search back to where it came from. She knows that her grandparents were Welsh missionaries in India before and during World War II, so she packs up and sets out for India. The beginning of this book is a bit misguided. I am not sure what the author wants me to think, since there was an abundance of descriptive words. Eventually the author changed the writing style and I found it flowed much easier. The book begins to move back and forth between Mair and her grandmother, Nerys. Nerys experiencing and living the life as a privileged wife in the British Raj. Once the author starts writing about India, you are taken on a ride that will overwhelm all five senses. Each descriptive word helps you to understand how everything must have smelled, tasted, sounded, and felt like. It wasn't until the author made the connection between grandmother and granddaughter, that I found myself completely interested in the book. Up until this point, I didn't dislike or like the book, I was basically neutral about it. I loved how the author was able to interweave the stories to all come together almost as one. There was a great sense of adventure and romance in both lives of Nerys and Mair. Overall I would give this book a 4/5. I neglected one point for the confusion and jumble in the beginning of the book that originally made it hard to get into the book.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

British people in India before independence have provided lots of fodder for literature but this book proves that the well has not run dry. It was truly interesting to see this time and place through the eyes of mostly women.Mair discovers a beautifully woven shawl among the items in her father's house as she and her siblings clean out the house after the father's death. Mair knew that her grandmother and grandfather had been missionaries in India but not much else. The shawl, along with the lock of hair enfolded in it, intrigued Mair and she decided to go to India to see what she could find out about her grandparents. Most of the story centres around Nerys Watkins, Mair's grandmother. Nerys met two other Englishwomen in Srinigar and the three women developed a strong friendship. One of those women had an affair with an Indian prince and bore a child. Mair must determine which woman and what happened to the child in order to complete the story of the shawl.I thought the author did a magnificent job of describing the countryside and evoking the smells and sounds of India. I truly felt like I was there. The storyline was a little too pat for my complete enjoyment but it was still compelling. A very good read.

[kiwifortyniner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have read Rosie Thomas before and found her to be a good storyteller. This one concerns a beautiful shawl that Mair finds when she is cleaning up the house after the death of her father. With the shawl is a lock of hair. Mair feels driven to investigate and find out more of the history of the shawl and the life of her grandparents who went from Wales to be missionaries in India. Rosie Thomas deftly weaves together two stories, the story of Mair's grandparents Evan and Nerys, and Mair's story as she travels to India to learn more of the shawl's history and how her grandmother came to possess it. It is a very absorbing read that kept me interested right to the end.

[greatbookescapes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a lovely book. A story that marries young a women of present day with her Grandmother. Nerys Watkins a missionary wife spends time in India with other English wives during the 2nd World War. Estranged from her husband due to winter weather in the mountains, she enjoys relationships with two women and a Magician/Mountaineer who will become entwined in illusions that would become a secret part of their lives. The Granddaughter, Mair travels to India to find the history behind a mysterious Kashmir shawl and finds that the answers are not easy to unravel.

A good read that I recommend.

[picardyrose · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Nice enough. The plucky heroine faces many tribulations, yet -- spoiler alert! -- finds happiness in the end. That is one very sturdy shawl.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set amid the harsh beauty of the Himalayas and the lush Kashmir Valley, The Kashmir Shawl by Rose Thomas spans decades in a dual story-line of two Welsh woman. Nerys Watkins has accompanied her missionary husband to India during the 1940’s and, in modern times, her granddaughter Mair is trying to learn more about her grandmother by tracing the source of a family heirloom, a beautiful Kashmir shawl. It took me a little time to get into the rhythm of this book due to the jumping back and forth between the two story-lines but eventually the exotic setting and the interesting plot as well as the characters themselves drew me into the book. The two women were strong and independent and both story-lines were interesting. I found the descriptions of the lifestyles, particularly that of the British in 1940’s India as the British Raj was entering it’s final days quite fascinating. The Kashmir Shawl is a romantic epic that mostly works in it’s effort to tell of love won and lost. I felt required to stretch my imagination over a couple of things, but the strength of the writing and the research, not to mention the romance, infidelities and scandals, ultimately won me over.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

2.5**

When her father dies, Mair discovers an exquisite shawl among her parents’ belongings. Neither Mair nor her siblings have ever seen the shawl and can’t imagine what it means. But they remember that their maternal grandparents had been missionaries in northern India and surmise it was brought back by their grandmother. Even more intriguing they find a lock of a child’s hair wrapped in the shawl. Mair decides to go to Kashmir to try to find the origins of this work and how her grandparents might have come to acquire such a valuable artifact.

Thomas weaves two stories together into a romantic epic: Mair’s search for the origins of the shawl (as well as a search for her own future), and the historical story of her grandparents, particularly her grandmother’s experiences in 1940s Kashmir. I found the historical story much more interesting, if a bit melodramatic.

I have to admit that I was intrigued by the mystery as much as Mair and her siblings were. Having cleaned out my parents’ home and found innumerable things that we have no clue as to their origins, I can easily understand how someone could get wrapped up in trying to find the story behind something so obviously valuable as the shawl Mair finds. But …. I had a hard time reconciling Mair’s just up and taking off to India – for MONTHS – to find the origins of the shawl. And I didn’t really believe the incredible coincidences that Thomas uses to end this story.

Still, I did get caught up in the story of Nerys, Rainer, Myrtle and Caroline (1940s Kashmir). And Thomas did a fine job of setting the scene, bringing to life the adventure and romanticism of the exotic locale and different culture. But I didn’t really enjoy the melodramatic elements and felt that the author was trying too hard. Did Mair have to have a background as a circus performer? Did Rainer have to be a magician? Additionally, I really disliked Caroline; she was weak and naïve, and alternately hysterical and practically catatonic.

So while portions of the historical story captured my attention, on the whole I think this is a below average novel.

[sewolf0310 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mair, her brother, Dylan, and sister, Eirlys , had lost their mother years ago, but when their father passed away, it was time to let go. The house they had grown up in was to be sold, and all their possessions needed to be distributed. Eirlys and Dylan had a more traditional life, married, children, but Mair’s was a bit more adventurous, even joining the circus for a bit. Because of Mair’s single lifestyle, they decided that a delicate shawl, a photograph and a lock of hair should go to Mair, but no one knew how they came to be.Having no one with any family knowledge she could ask, Mair decided to go to India and research what she could.Years earlier, in the years of World War II, a woman named Nerys married a missionary man, Evan, and moved to India. Not regretting her decision, she found what a different and difficult lifestyle it was. She did make a few close friends and their life and adventures are what you will read about.Mair discovers that Nerys was her grandmother and found a few people she could talk to and learn more her grandmother, about the shawl and the photograph.The majority of the story is written through the life of Nerys, but in between the life of Mairs will have it’s part. This is not a short story, this is an in-depth and detailed novel, along the lines of Gone With the Wind. You will read all about the characters in the story and their families and friends, relating to each one along the way. You will read in great detail all about where they traveled. The beautiful landscape of India, the poverty, the people, their hard work ethics and traditional family values, the difficulty in traveling with the winter snows. The characters will show you what love, friendship and trust mean. The story will show you one woman’s quest to find the family history of what her grandmother’s life was like. Very easy to follow, but very detailed, although I don’t think the story would have the same effect if the details were omitted.

[tina1969_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A lifetime of secrets woven into the finest of silks. Newlyweds Nerys and Evan Watkins leave Wales behind them to take up a missionary posting in India, in the 1930s. In the Kashmir lakeside town of Srinagar -- home to the British, rosewood houseboats and the Club -- Nerys gets caught up in a world of dancing and gossip, which is a million miles from her life as a preacher's wife. With her husband away on mission work in the snow-capped Himalayas, she is inexorably drawn to the enigmatic German mountaineer, Rainer Stamm. As the beating drums of war draw nearer, the women who are left behind in Srinagar form an extraordinary bond. But by the time the men return life has changed beyond measure for all of them. Years later, when Mair Ellis clears out her father's house, she finds an exquisite antique shawl. Wrapped within it is a lock of child's hair. Tracing her grandparents' roots back to India and Kashmir, Mair attempts to unlock the secrets of the past -- a journey that will change her life forever.My Thoughts:I can see that there are a lot of positive reviews with this book, but for me it just didn’t work. I can’t put my finger on exactley what it was. I did find the book rather flat. I couldn’t feel any emotion from the characters and felt they were like cardboard cut outs. I was enjoying for a while the story of Nerys and would have liked to have felt her emotions if her story ws told in the first person rather than the third. Mair’s tale I wasn’t bothered about at all.I felt at times that the book was too descriptive and felt I was reading a guide to India.I felt the story was turning predictable and as I haven’t actually finished the book as I have given up I am guessing what the outcome would have been. When I go to book group next week then I suspect my predictions may have been correct. At the moment there isn’t enough for me to pick up the book so it remains unfinished.

[juniperjungle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’ve read a few of Rosie Thomas’ books and always enjoyed them. When I heard that her new book had some Welsh involvement I was pretty confidant that I’d enjoy this one too and I was right.

There are two key plot lines within the book, there is the story of Mair who is trying to trace her grandparents’ story and discover where this beautiful shawl came from, and there is the story of her grandparents, Nerys and Evan Watkins, and their time in India as missionaries. The narrative moves back and forward between these two plotlines fairly seamlessly, I quite often find that when there are two plotlines in this way there is one that I’m more interested in – I couldn’t pick a favourite out of these two.

I really liked the character of Mair, she developed so much throughout the book. I found her struggle with her identity interesting to read, and the slow realisation of who she was and where she belonged worked well for me. I loved that she was quite unconventional, the fact she did actually run off and join the circus as a teenager made me take to her instantly.

The group of ladies, from the historical sections of the book were all wonderful, particularly Nerys. I loved the way they balanced each other out, and gave a real insight into life for British women in Kashmir at the time. For me the way that they were all developed was one of the real strengths of the book.

Wales doesn’t appear that much in the book, but when it did it felt very genuine and made me feel all warm and comfy. The descriptions of Kashmir were really well done, I felt like I was transported both geographically and historically. This is one of the reasons I love fiction set in other times and / or places – I love the opportunity to travel via a book.

I really enjoyed this book, I’ve seen other reviews suggesting it was a little long but I loved the fact I could fall head first into it and get completely lost in it. This book definitely gets the thumbs up from me.