The Mission House

This is a quiet novel that slowly ramps up a sense of impending doom. Hilary Byrd left the UK after things went sidewise for him- his story slowly, and somewhat incompletely, trickles out over the course of the novel. He thought India would be the place for him but was overwhelmed until one day he heard of a small town in the hills- and that's where the story is set. He moves into a mission house vacated for the time being by a Canadian missionary and shares his time with the Padre and Priscilla, a young orphan with physical differences. And with Jamshed, who drives him about town. The Padre's announcement that he wants to find a husband for Priscilla sets Byrd into motion. What he doesn't know - nor does Padre- is that Priscilla has a relationship with Ravi, Jamshed's nephew who wants to be a country western singer. These are terrific characters, each of whom shares their perspective. Davies does a good job with Byrd, in particular, as he sways back and forth. The ending didn't work for me (it felt inconsistent although there are hints along the way that this could happen) (no spoilers) but that doesn't mean I enjoyed the novel any less. I was a fan of West and this one cemented her in my thoughts as an author I'll look for again. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. Excellent read.

The Mission House is a small, lovely story with both delicate humor and heartbreak, both gentleness and violence, both keen perception and misunderstanding between its characters.

Set in a remote outpost of the former British Empire in 21st-century India, the book's cast includes a British man recovering from a breakdown; an elderly Indian who is a Protestant priest; his young housekeeper who is an eager student and has a defining physical handicap; a self-educated rickshaw driver, and his nephew, who is enamored of America's country and western music.

What is brilliant about the book are 1) the mastery of the setting, in the cool highlands of India; 2) the tapestry of interactions woven between the five main characters. Each is highly intelligent and curious about the others. Each has pronounced views about religious faith, and 3) the transcendent writing style, where the craft was simply invisible, wedded to the story line.

Priscilla, the housekeeper, summarizes her "much ado about nothing" attitude toward religion: "They were all of them, it seemed to her -- the Mormon boys and the Hindu temples and St. Peters and all the rest of them -- the same, like so many shops or market stalls or street traders, all of them hustling for business, all trying to make themselves more appealing than the last one or the next one."

I loved this book. I loved that the politics were so subtle.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for an advance readers copy.

Courtesy of NetGalley, I received the ARC of The Mission House by Carys Davies. This is a captivating story of an Englishman fleeing his life in the UK, feeling depressed with his situation, unlucky and unloved, and his journey to post colonial India. He eventually perceives that he has discovered his life's purpose while living with the local Padre and his adopted daughter, travelling about the area with a trusted driver.. In "reality", everyone has a different direction in this fractured world. Told with simplicity and eloquence, this is story of observations, opportunities, and connections.

When Hilary Byrd escapes his library, his sister, his home in England to travel to India, he is unprepared for its noisiness, heat and strangeness. He escapes to Ooty, a hill station refuge, and the Mission House.

What Hilary cannot escape are the religious and political tensions of India, and while he tries to remain an outsider and a tourist, the people around him draw him into their lives.

This is a slow moving book, with a disconcerting ending. Although I enjoyed the writing, the characters and the setting, I was left unsatisfied by the finish.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The quick, slapdash confusing, unrealistic ' turn' in book's ending ruinsan engaging and discriptive narrative. I've read many reviews of this book over many sources and no one can explain the ending.

First, why did Jamshed lock up Byrd and make him miss train? It seems so he could have a better ' goodbye' and bring Byrd parting tokens before the next train leaves? Utterly ridiculous. (You even see the author struggling with the why of this farfetched gesture in her prose.) And moving forward : Jamshed's and Byrd's relationship is unclear-- some homoerotica that is just undeveloped so reader isn't sure? And did Byrd die? Or did Jamshed and Byrd leave India together? Notice that Jamshed isn't speaking to police after the breakin and attack. So Jamshed nor Byrd are around. Byrd's packed bag is left at door. What's the suggestion?: He left without bag? ( Not that we know where he went. Or with whom. Nor any developed implication of immediate future-- after all this fanfare and high drama with his departure from Mission House.)

The ending just fell apart. And quickly and ridiculously so. ( Bad guys show up full force end of book-- I mention in afterthought here. But that's another loose, quick, undeveloped happenstance in the scheme of this story.)

In saying all this-- such a bad book closing-- I was engaged with the novel up to the very bad ending. I'm kind of surprised it flew under the radar of an editor and publisher.

I would love for someone to justfiably explain the ending, if even possible.