A lovely book, well researched and offering a real flavour of Kashmir, both in the present day, and back in the wartime years of the 1940s. There are 2 time frames here. The present day, when Mair from the Welsh valleys conceives the wish to vist the part of Kashmir where her grandparents were missionarie; and the story from the war years, when Nerys and her husband participate in long-gone ways of life as members of the British community there. Mair's involvement in her grandmother's past, her increasing desire to unpick the mysteries surrounding aspects of Nery's life, are always believable, the coincidences never far-fetched. These are characters to believe in, a story-line to relish, and a tale to become absorbed in over several winter evenings. ( )

rabck from rubyrebel; Set in both present day Wales & Kashmir sections of India and as British expats in 1940s India. While cleaning out her late fathers/grandparents house, she finds a picture of 3 laughing girls, a gorgeous shawl and a lock of hair. She decides to head off to that section of India, where her grandparents were missionaries to she if she can find the maker of the distinct shawl. Most of the story is set in the 1940s, where Mair's grandmother, newly wed Nerys Watkins is left behind in Sringar, when her husband heads out to remote villages to preach the gospel. She's befriended by Myrtle and Caroline. Nerys takes up with Rainer Stamm, a Swiss mountaineer, and Caroline takes up with Ravi Singh. But Caroline's affair leaves her pregnant and the friends in a conundrum. Mair finds an elderly blind Caroline in India, but can she piece together the pieces of what happened to the baby? ( )

A bit slow to start with but once I was quarter way into it I thoroughly enjoyed it
The book is atmospheric and gives you a real flavour of India ( )

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. ( )

I had a difficult time getting into this story. It just did not hold my interest. ( )