While the Gods Were Sleeping

August 15, 2014
In her debut, memoirist and anthropologist Enslin writes of her experiences marrying a high-caste Brahman man, giving birth and living with his family on the central plains of Nepal. While earning her doctorate from Stanford University, the author altered her course after meeting Pramod, a student from Nepal. Originally slated to study African culture for her thesis, she changed her focus to India so that she and Pramod could conduct their anthropology fieldwork together. They briefly visited Nepal to meet his family and then returned to the United States to marry and finish their coursework. After her unexpected pregnancy constrained her fieldwork, Enslin shifted her focus to Nepali women's political movements. She lived with her in-laws off and on for the next eight years, and cultural differences became tantamount as she was exposed to caste distinctions. Aama, Pramod's mother, became a central figure in the author's life, telling stories, creating songs, learning to read, mediating disputes and almost running for political office. She smoothed Enslin's transition into the family and her new homeland. The author opens a window on a multigenerational rural family, showing how outside tensions and upheaval affect them. With an anthropologist's eye, she describes weddings, childbirth and women's gatherings. Her observations have been honed by years of daily chores and family intimacy, and she conveys the difficulties in fitting into her husband's home and adapting to Nepali culture while earning a doctorate and preparing for the birth of her son. "I remembered my research filtered through a haze of poor planning, pregnancy, sleeplessness, and mild postpartum depression," she writes. The author also includes a helpful glossary of Nepali words at the end of the book. An insider's view of the struggles inherent in any attempt to straddle different cultures.

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2014

Anthropologist Enslin met her Nepali husband, Pramod, in the 1980s when they were both students at Stanford University. The book begins with their son's birth in Nepal, an event that immediately illustrates the vast differences between life in Nepal and the United States. Since the author was studying cultural anthropology, she decided to use her family life and experience as her research. Pramod was from a Brahman family, which further enabled Enslin to conduct in-depth investigations since Brahman is the highest caste. Despite appealing descriptions ("Like beads off a cheap necklace the ramshackle buildings lined the muddy highway"), Enslin's writing is sometimes disjointed, difficult to follow, and even crude. But it is fascinating to hear about life in this less well-known country. Most moving is the influence the author, her husband, and his family had on the local women, inspiring them to stand up for their rights (including not being abused by their husbands). The women eventually succeeded in creating their own space where they could meet for discussion, education, and simply to get away from home. VERDICT There are few books about Nepal, and this is a solid choice (despite its shortcomings) for a look at a relatively closed society.--Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.