There Is Room For You Book

What initially attracted me to this book was India as a setting and the contrasts of modern India, pre-war/pre-Partitian India, and 1970's Maine. I also was attracted to the contrasts of a mother and daughter's voices across geographical and chronological space. Anna's story occurs in 1992, where she attempts to uncover her mother's past while mourning her father through her mother's writings, written during her youth in Calcutta. Rose's, the mother, story takes place in 1940's India, which is still part of imperial Britain's rule. Rose's story shows the the divisions in Indian society during British imperialism, including the racism that takes place between Britons and Indians. The novel also touches on Rose's father works as a scientist employed by the British government. Her father seems to fault her with her mother's death, which takes a toll on their relationship. Rose's relationship is strongest with her "nanny," who is a native Indian from a small village loveless marriage and several children who are left with their father. Despite their close relationship, Rose betrays her in predictable manner, which devoids Rose's life of any female or maternal figure while she is in India. Rose's story continues on somewhat predictably.
Anna's journey through India helped her discover India for herself, and not through her mother's footsteps. I was disappointed by her story, as she takes on a romantic friendship, with an American who has taken up residence in India, hoping to do some good through his medical work, which took away from the focus of her story. Also, she becomes too engrained in Indian culture and seeks to "save" part of Indian culture, which was not requested nor necessary to her character development. She seeks to be a savior, to Indiana child, where millions remain without her help. The idea that "there is room for us, all of us," only concerns the Western characters in this novel, as the Indian characters and bystanders who take part in this novel are not provided with room, but are forced to live within a caste system that has little flexibility even in the modern world.
I was left wondering if this book would present India differently if not written by Anna who is a WASP, but an Indian coming back to India, or perhaps a descendent of an Indian citizen living during the raj.