This work of his­tor­i­cal fic­tion is a page-turn­er with an ele­ment of mys­tery. Begin­ning in 1937 Bom­bay and mov­ing to Istan­bul, Prague, and Flo­rence, it fol­lows Sona, a half Indi­an, half British young nurse liv­ing with her beloved seam­stress moth­er in a tiny apartment. 

Sona works the night shift and enjoys car­ing for her patients. She has a close rela­tion­ship with an old­er patient, Dr. Stod­dard, who is a kind and gen­er­ous father fig­ure. When Mira Novak, a well-known artist, is admit­ted to the ward, she brings a streak of inde­pen­dent ener­gy with her. Eas­i­ly able to charm her young doc­tor, Amit Mishra, Mira also makes a strong impres­sion on Sona, who shares her back­ground. In just six short days, Mira becomes con­fi­dante and men­tor to Sona, as she opens up Sona’s mind to her bohemi­an lifestyle with­in the world of artists. Mira encour­ages Sona to improve her self-esteem and become more dar­ing and confident. 

Unex­pect­ed tragedies hit the ward and Sona’s per­son­al life. Sona is an easy scape­goat due to the prej­u­dices held by the colo­nial­ist British towards the native Indi­an pop­u­la­tion seek­ing an inde­pen­dent future. Though Dr. Mishra and Dr. Stod­dard stand by Sona, she is quick­ly dismissed. 

Sona takes on an unex­pect­ed mis­sion to deliv­er three spe­cial paint­ings to close friends of Mira. Sona tack­les the unknown, fol­low­ing a new path with only few clues and some finan­cial and moral sup­port. She yearns to dis­cov­er more about Mira while fig­ur­ing out how to clear her own name and fight self-doubt. Sona’s per­se­ver­ance shines as she tack­les chal­lenges and ven­tures forward. 

Six Days in Bom­bay is about strong women and friend­ship, fac­ing one’s fears, and accept­ing help and enjoy­ing love when it presents itself. This stand-alone nov­el fol­lows a series of three well loved books about the life expe­ri­ences of women in India and as emi­grants: The Hen­na Artist, The Secret Keep­er of Jaipur and The Per­fumist of Paris. All are high­ly recommended.