The description attracted me to this book, it was first published in 1993.

Somlata marries into an aristocratic, but cash poor Bengali family, who still have noble aspirations and therefore do not understand the concept of earning a living. To live, they sell off their assets, but even this income source is now in jeopardy. The family lives traditionally in a large house, according to hierarchy. When the matriarch dies, something has to change.

Somlata discovers Roshomoyee's body, and also her ghost, and a quirky tale of strange occurrences, superstition and change begin. Somlata is effectively the conduit for the ghost's wishes, and this empowers her and makes her a feared by some members of her new family. Her actions directed by the deceased Aunt bring the family to its lowest ebb, but her sense of empowerment grows and she becomes the key to their survival.

Three generations of women are featured; Roshomoyee, the aunt by marriage who was married and widowed very young, and feels she has been robbed of her rightful life, Somlata, who is bright and brave, and with a little ghostly help, changes all their lives for the better. Boshon is Somlata's daughter, who believes in herself and her rights, and is not afraid to push against the family's patriarch model. Interestingly Roshomoyee's ghost diminishes when Somlata has her daughter?

The story is short but packed with detail, cultural references and family drama, it is humorous in parts and poignant in others. The style takes a little getting used to but it is an interesting story of tradition and female empowerment.

I received a copy of this book from John Murrays via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A ghost story with a difference. Somlata marries into a rich family who are all a bit lazy, their wealth is disappearing, but they refuse to work as it is beneath them. She comes across the body of her Aunt-in-law, who is living upstairs in the large house that the extended family live in. From then on, she is haunted by her. The first act of the Aunt is to get her to take her jewellry box and hide it. She uses the contents to open a shop and enlists the (reluctant at first) help of the family to try to change the family fortunes.
It is a very short book and fairly compelling at first but less so towards the end, this may be more to do with the translation than anything else. Has a message about the strength of women in changing times. I enjoyed it overall.
*Thanks to netgalley for a copy in exchange for honest opions.*

What a strange tale this is. Somlata comes from a poor family and marries a man called Chakor. His family live in a huge house and his aunt lives there in by all accounts the best rooms. She dies suddenly and appears to Somlata as a ghost and orders her to hide her jewellery to prevent the family selling it. The Aunt appears to Somlata throughout the book and Somlata is also convinced that her only child is the aunt incarnate.

This is not a book I would have picked up if I saw it on the shelf but after I read the description I was intrigued. The writer/translator captures the scene perfectly and you can sense the fear that the other family members have of Somlata. She is in fact a formidable woman who transforms the family finances.

This is a story of three generations of women who are dealing with the ever changing world and the impact it has on their culture. I'm glad I picked it.

What a little treasure of a read , a mix of ghost story and folk tale. Confusing to keep track of family characters but once into the rhythm it’s very enjoyable. Quick to read and leads the mind to ponder on the problem of secrets within families.

I read this book as an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is the story, a fairly short one, of three generations of women in a Bengali family. I enjoyed reading it, but as some of the characters were given their family titles rather than their names at times I found it a little confusing.
The story is of a woman who marries into a traditional and previously well to do family who are now living on their rapidly declining family wealth. In traditional fashion, all of the family live in one house each with their own area. The family are in awe /fear of an elderly aunt who was married as a child of 7 and widowed 5 years later and has lived a life of seclusion, alone, ever since. After her death. this aunt haunts the main character making life difficult for her. The story tells of how she deals with this and turns things around over her own life time. An interesting and unexpected read, a little rushed at time and I was somehow surprised to realise that it was written by a man.
I enjoyed it.

As I'm easily confused by extended families, it would be easy to put my confusion over this book down to the intricacies of the family the main protagonist marries into. But I fear that it's actually down to the structure of the book, which shifts abruptly from one set of people to another, then back again, without any clarity of the relationship between them. I'm not entirely sure what we gain from the adventure we switch to, since it could easily be handled later in the book when that character appears again. That way the shift between names/titles and nicknames wouldn't be as much of a memory test for the reader.

I was disappointed that the undead aunt didn't play any part later in the book, except as a memory. Maybe I was hoping for more.

It's a nice story, with plenty of colour and family intrigue. Other readers will probably enjoy it more.

A pleasant read.. an amusing and interesting insight. Some words I wasn’t sure about at first but I was able to ask someone who knew.

Beautifully tender and slyly witty, this is a lovingly crafted story that I wished had been much, much longer. My book of the month

A very interesting premise to the book, and a short, quick read.

However, it was very rushed, and in my opinion, could have been made a little longer, to actually develop some of these strong women characters withing the three generations explored within it.

And I was left a little confused at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This is actually a very short novella, or longish short story which I believe would have benefited from being longer. It works in terms of subverting some of the stereotypical assumptions about women in Bengali society. So the main characters are all strong females, the relationship between Lata and her mother-in-law is very warm and positive. Lata and her husband have mutual love and respect for each other.
The plot is essentially a ghost story but there is no real resolution.
I enjoyed the read and would read more by the author but did not feel satisfied at the end.
Thanks to the publisher via Net Galley for a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.

A bit of mixed feelings, I guess. A promising start but overall it didn't impress me.
Firstly is very short and while it covers 3 generations, everything's rushed and there's not enough depth to satisfy. Secondly I've found it a bit simplistic and permeated by odd happenings hard to explain in real life.
That being said, it is an enjoyable read, full of interesting female characters.

Really quite odd but I quite liked it. It's quirky and it leaves a lot of questions, but it's an entertaining read. And for a novella there's a lot going on. You start with Somolata a new bride who is trying to persuade the family that she's married into that they cannot continue to live off the proceeds of selling of their ancestral lands and their family gold. And then you move on to Boshon, who may or may not be the reincarnation of a widowed child bride.

There's a lot to think about and lots of detail about everyday life in post-Independence India and I would read more from this author.

This is quite an entertaining read, but fortunately for this reader, it is quite short, as it is also somewhat confusing. The different family titles given to the various family members mean it isn’t always clear who a character is talking to, or describing. It is certainly different to anything else I have read recently.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy.

What a fascinating book! I simply couldn’t put it down. Loved it. The story is of a young girl from an honourable but very poor family who marries into an aristocratic but impoverished family. Amongst a myriad of family members is the aunt who wouldn’t die. Bitter and angry and vengeful she does physically die but her ghost plagues Lata the girl. Lata saves the family from destitution by opening shops before having a baby girl who looks just like the aunt who would die.

It is a joy to read because not only is it lightly written and easy flowing but also the story is so unexpected. A good summer read.

Can totally relate to this book(not the story line exactly) it had a good story and It was a very quick read. Not too straining but worth a read!

It wasnt the easiest read, but nevertheless quite fascinating.
Such differences between rich and poor, between old and young. Somlata marries into what looks like a wealthy family but finds that they are privileged layabouts. She takes them on, turns the fortunes round, but all the time has the ghost of the ''Aunt who wouldnt die' at her back.
It is a male orientated world that she walks in, with little encouragement from others.
Thank you for a review copy.

This is a short but fabulously entertaining read about women from different generations providing a thought provoking picture of their lives, culture, social change, family, and patriarchy. The smart and shrewd 18 year old Somlata marries into what her impoverished family believed is an upstanding, reputable and wealthy Bengali family, the Mitras. Only this turns out to be far from the truth, with the men unwilling to engage in work, believing it is beneath them. The family has kept up appearances by living off family gold and the sale of their lands but this is no longer a viable option. When a bitterly resentful aunt dies in odd circumstances, she is rather reluctant to move on and returns to haunt Somlata as a ghost, wreaking havoc in the process, whilst imparting her 'advice' to Somlata. In the narrative there is a mysterious jewellery box, and a entrepreneurial Somlata, displaying the virtues of hard work that drives the much needed change that the family is desperately crying out for. Somlata's daughter, Boshon, is the picture of the modern woman, independent and fiercely determined. A brilliant read, beautifully written that takes in the harrowing horrors of the past, including child brides and more and how things have changed as we can observe with Boshon. Many thanks to John Murray Press for an ARC.

** spoiler alert ** Short and sweet,with some amusing moments,mostly due to the dead aunt in the title.
Not a huge amount else to say about it.

This is a short but very engaging read about three generations of women from the same family and their struggles with patriarchy in a Bengali community. Somlata marries into, what her family believe is, a wealthy family but they are actually living off the sale of their gold and land. The astute Somlata resolves the family’s predicament with her head for business and no fear of risk-taking. Roshomoyee is Somlata’s aunt. She was married and widowed at a very young age and is very bitter about the direction her life has taken. Boshon is Somlata’s daughter and she is independent and rebellious.

When Roshomoyee dies, in mysterious circumstances, her ghost gifts her gold to Somlata and her ghostly presences continues to interfere in Somlata’s life until Boshon is born. It is clear that we should assume that Boshon is the reincarnation of Roshomoyee, who now has the chance to live the life she had longed for.

This was a quirky, quick and very entertaining read. The characters are charming, humorous and interesting. The story is great fun and testament to three strong women.

Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure that I understood all the subtle nuances of this book - they use titles for family members rather than names - but it didn't matter. The story is wonderful. A story of love and loss down the generations. The aunt was a child widow - never really had a life, married at 7 widowed at 12, who could expect her to be sweet tempered?

Loved it.

This was a free andvance review copy, the review is my own and honest.