Honor

Honor (2022) by Thrity Umrigar is a realistic fiction novel that follows journalist Smita Agarwal, who returns to India after two decades away. Smita investigates the case and trial verdict of Meena, a Hindu woman whose two brothers tried to burn her to death for marrying a Muslim man. Her coverage is complicated by her growing friendship with Mohan, a successful IT executive. Told through a third-person perspective punctuated by Meena’s first-person monologues, the novel explores themes of Izzat (Honor) and Patriarchy in the Indian Subcontinent, Family Dynamics and Secrets, Personal Redemption and Reunification, and Old India/New India.

Author and journalist Thrity Umrigar’s works span from her debut novel Bombay Time (2001) to The Museum of Failures (2023). In addition to her 10 novels, she has also published a memoir and four children’s books. Overall, her works explore the intersection of race, class, and privilege and—with the exception of Everybody’s Son: A Novel (2017)—are connected to the Indian subcontinent. Umrigar is the winner of several writing awards such as the Cleveland Arts Prize, the Seth Rosenberg prize, and a Lambda Literary award. Honor was also the Reese’s Book Club pick for January 2022.

This guide references the hardcover Algonquin Books 2022 version of the text.

Content Warning: Honor mentions anti-gay bias and ableism and depicts misogyny, racism, religious discrimination, sexual assault of children, violence (including burning and stoning), and murder.

Plot Summary

Honor is divided into four sections, called “books.” It opens with a fictional article by journalist Shannon Carpenter about Meena, a young woman burned by her two brothers, Govind and Arvind, for marrying a Muslim man. However, it is bookended by protagonist Smita Agarwal, a fellow journalist. Smita is at the airport, having been summoned from her vacation in the Maldives to Mumbai by an injured Shannon. Shannon wants her to take over covering Meena’s trial. Mohan, Shannon’s friend and a successful IT executive, accompanies Smita to the village. He and Smita do not get along, in large part because she has avoided her former home of India for 20 years. Based in New York, she travels to cover women’s issues for her newspaper. With her sharp eye, she compares memories of past and present Mumbai to life in New York. When Smita finds herself in her former neighborhood, she reluctantly decides to visit a former neighbor, a close friend of her mother. The visit turns unpleasant, and the older woman throws her out of the apartment.

Shannon’s translator, Nandini, is supposed to accompany Smita to Meena’s village, but her animosity and desire to tend the injured Shannon force Mohan to replace Nandini. Smita learns more about Meena’s situation by reading Shannon’s articles and speaking with female lawyer Anjali. Meena’s injuries include a severely burned face. Smita lies to her father about being in Mumbai and becomes emotional when Mohan frames India as her homeland. She and Mohan visit Meena in the Muslim village where she lives with her cold mother-in-law and daughter, Abru. They also visit the Hindu village where Rupal Bhosle, the head of the village council, and Meena’s brothers live—both parties being responsible for Meena’s injuries and her husband, Abdul’s, death. Before arriving in the village, they establish a base at a small hotel in a nearby town. It is in the hotel that Smita has her first experience of culture shock and feels she has traveled 50 years back in time. Despite being educated, she is reduced to a woman, someone who requires a man, Mohan, to check her into the hotel and secure her beer. He warns her that the villages will feel like traveling 200 years back in time.

Smita visits Meena to interview her about Abdul and the trial. During these interviews, she begins comparing their lives, realizing her privilege. Meena’s monologues reveal her love affair with Abdul, whom she met at a local factory. She and her sister, Rahda, disobeyed their eldest brother to take factory jobs, violating the conservative, patriarchal beliefs of their Hindu village. When she told her brother of her romance with Abdul, she was forced to walk on hot coals. This gave Meena the courage to elope with Abdul. However, when she informed her brothers of her pregnancy, they “reclaimed” their family’s honor by burning down the couple’s hut, killing Abdul, and injuring Meena. She was contacted by lawyer Anjali and encouraged to sue her brothers for her husband’s murder.

While Smita and Mohan await the thrice-delayed trial verdict, they visit his family home—a mansion. Mohan has begun to see India through Smita’s eyes, as well as those of Meena and other women. This causes him to constantly apologize to Smita for India. During interviews, he softens Meena’s mother-in-law through conversation and gifts. Smita also meets Rupal and Meena’s brothers, who believe their violence was justified. Nepotism and corrupt local authorities keep them safe from arrest and guarantee their innocence in the trial. Smita is confronted by Mohan, who knows she is keeping a secret: She reveals that she was born Muslim and that her family was forced to convert to Hinduism by a mob. This is why her family emigrated to America and why she has mixed feelings about India. This reveal brings the pair closer together.

Even though Smita has a premonition about Meena’s safety, she arrives at her hut too late to save her from mob violence. Meena’s mother-in-law and daughter, Abru, hide in fields, and the dying Meena asks Smita to take Abru to America. Smita and Mohan receive custody from Abru’s grandmother, and though Smita is quick to say she is responsible for Abru, she plans on leaving Mohan and Abru for America. While waiting to board a plane, Smita meets a child named Meena and realizes she cannot leave Mohan and Abru and that she is ready to begin a new life in India. The novel ends with the deceased Meena’s monologue, which explains the meaning of her daughter’s name (“honor”).