Romance: The Splendor of Silence

I hardly had time to read this week, let alone write about what I’m reading. So, with this spare moment, I tried to think of, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, any romantic books I would recommend.

I’m not a reader of romances, per se. But, I found romance, though high-school romance, in the Twilight series and Traveling Pants series. There’s romance in plenty of Chick Lit-type books, though it’s mostly cliché. But, when I think of romance, the books that really demonstrated love – all parts of love - were all three books by Indu Sundaresan: The Twentieth Wife, The Feast of Roses and The Splendor of Silence.

I’ve posted previously about The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses, a story and its sequel about the Indian Queen Mehrunnisa and her love for her husband the Emperor, set in 17th- and 18th-century India.

The Splendor of Silence, which is instead set in the 1940s, is about the love between a U.S. Army Captain and the daughter of an Indian politico. Their love is brief, very brief, but it produces something wonderful. The story of the couple’s love, pretty much forbidden, is heartwarming and heart breaking all at the same time. The book is told mostly through flashbacks, and tells of beauty, courage and romance. I saw this book on my shelf the other day and I want to read it all over again. While it's not a love story that's typical - we can't all have four-day, love-at-first-sight, forbidden love affairs, and everyday love is good too - it's still magical and I got swept up in it. And that's my definition of a good romance novel.

End note: While many may think Valentine’s Day is a holiday made up by Hallmark as a way to sell more cards, I think it’s wonderful. In times like these, when we’re unsure of what the future may hold and we’re stressing out, it never hurts to take a moment and celebrate the love you have for those around you. And if Feb. 14 causes us to do that, then more power to cupid.

What are your favorite romance stories - true or fictional?

Twilight series

An article in today's local paper (and I'm sure in every other paper in the country, too) focuses on the love for the Twilight series. However, this article takes the twist of why adult women, not teenagers, love these books. If you want to know why I fell in love with them, too, read this article. I can totally relate. Some highlights:

Julie Price is 35 and single and loves them "because they remind you of being young again, of how intense your feelings are when you're a teenager. It makes your heart race."

Price also voiced a common refrain among Twilight's older readers: She had never before read a vampire story, only to find herself hooked. "There's something very appealing about the culture of the vampire," she said. "They're so beautiful and untouchable. And how Edward is overcoming his vices, his natural tendencies, makes him even more exciting. He could kill her, but he loves her."

And:

Stacey Erickson, an Eagan mother of three and Twilight Mom, at age 35, has found herself head-over-heels in love with -- well, love. Meyers, she said, "just captures that feeling of having such a crush on some boy, that if he ever even brushed against you, you would shiver."

I was talking with my friend Em about these books yesterday and I mentioned that another reason I love them is because in the first three books, despite their utter infatuation with each other, Bella and Edward have abstained. I think this is a very important message to send the teenage audience (and probably makes moms very happy). Author Meyer is religious (she's Mormon, doesn't work on Sundays, etc) and has said in interviews that she was a very good girl when she was growing up. I definitely appreciate her drive to keep these two apart physically. While I also love the Traveling Pants series, I couldn't quite get onboard with a few of those girls having sex in high school. These books prove that teenage girls (and even women) don't need to read about sex to enjoy a book. Romance comes is all shapes and forms, and oftentimes it's about much more than the bedroom.