This is the author’s debut novel, and it introduces us to the stories of Janani and Nila. Janani, a mother in 1992 India, is forced to endure the heartbreaking loss of her daughters due to societal and cultural pressures. Meanwhile, Nila, living in Sydney in 2019, uncovers her family’s painful past while on a trip to Madurai.

When I first read the blurb, I was hesitant to pick up the book, as it delves into some very heavy themes. However, since it was a buddy read, I thought it would be a good choice to discuss with the group later.

The story alternates between two timelines—1990s India and 2019—and allows readers to follow the main characters as they navigate their lives and the difficult decisions they make.
Initially, I found myself captivated by the narrative, particularly in the first half of the book. However, as the story progressed, I felt it became somewhat predictable, and the suspense that had initially drawn me in started to dissipate. Unfortunately, the momentum slowed down considerably for me, and I found myself less engaged.

One of my main critiques was that Nila’s character felt underdeveloped. Despite being a key figure in the story, I struggled to connect with her, and her journey didn’t feel as emotionally resonant as I had hoped. I think her character could have been written with more depth to make her feel more compelling.

As a native Tamil speaker, I also had a minor issue with the use of Tamil terms in the book. For instance, the protagonist refers to her mother-in-law as ‘mamiyar,’ which is the literal translation of mother-in-law. While technically correct, this isn’t how Tamil speakers typically address their mother-in-law. It's a small detail, but a simple check with a native speaker could have helped avoid such awkward phrasing. Additionally, the translation of Tamil words throughout the book felt somewhat lacking in effort. While the glossary at the end was helpful, I felt the use of the language could have been more authentic. I can’t comment much on the Malayalam usage, as I’m not a native speaker, but I did appreciate the glossary.

Apart from that, I was quite interested in learning about Janani’s mother-in-law. There was a pivotal turning point regarding her backstory that piqued my interest, but it was unfortunately resolved in just one or two sentences, which felt underwhelming. I was expecting more depth and exploration of this character, especially given the weight of the moment. I guess instead of Sanjay’s pov, the addition of her MIL’s pov would have better.

Overall, this book had a lot of potential and tackled important social issues, including patriarchal practices, the complex relationship between mothers and daughters-in-law, domestic violence, and female infanticide. However, I felt that these themes weren’t explored as deeply as they could have been. The writing, in particular, could have been stronger, and I think the book would have benefitted from a more nuanced exploration of its themes.

Given my mixed feelings about the book, I’m not sure I’d wholeheartedly recommend it. I found myself skimming through parts of the story after the first half, and I think readers should approach the book with caution. While it raises important issues, it ultimately fell short of my expectations.

It took me a month or so to process this book. Especially bc my Nana died as I was reading it and it was pretty strange since my real life followed the plot line in many ways. It was sooo heavily packed with feminist themes I don't know where to start:

The book is split between two timelines. Madurai in 1992 and Sydney in 2019. In the past we learn about the main characters mother and her experiences of being unable to have a son. While in the present day timeline we learn about the main characters experience going to her parent's home country and meeting her family, learning more about herself, her culture and family secrets.

A thread that holds the story that is packed full of grief and loss together, is love! Romantic (including a queer storyline) love, a mother's love for her children and family love. The book is so rich in examples of love it makes reading about such a heavy topic not so hard.

I learnt a lot about the caste/class system from this book as well as what is like to be a woman in Madurai. Overall I really liked this book and the main characters in it!

Thanks a lot to NetGalley UK for this Review copy <3

Absolutely fabulous read, Didn't want to stop reading to eat. Loved it! So well written, Quite difficult to read as a woman but these types of books are always my favourite. Being able to learn about other cultures. I would love to read this again for the first time.

Such a harrowing and difficult read but so beautifully written I felt like I was there and experiencing the food and sounds of India. A story everyone should know more about made slightly easier alongside a totally believable love story and interesting combination of contemporary and almost contemporary time periods. That all of this was happening in the 1990s and beyond makes it all the harder to take in.

Quite a long book with lots of new words, this proved to be a distraction for me and the two time lines were not easy.
Books main character is Janani, after a happy childhood she is married to Darsham and lives with him and her Mother. Vandhana is the Mother-in-law, she treats Janani very badly and often strikes her. Because of the poverty in India people want sons so they are not burdened with having to pay a dowry for daughters. Janani gives birth to Lavaniki and is allowed to keep her, this is followed by the birth of two more daughters who are taken from her and disposed of.
Janani falls pregnant again and hopes for a son but Vandhana senses that it is a girl and tries varies ways to get rid of the baby. Janani works for a very kind family, their son Sanjay is her childhood friend and they are still close. Lavaniki is a very happy child and everyone loves her, she gets run over and dies one day while out with her Mother. Janani can not forgive herself, she talks to Sanjay who is sympathetic, her friend Shuba helps her with a plan to keep her baby but that does not go as expected.
The second time line takes place in Australia, Nila is unhappy and knows her Mother has something to hide, she is very protective of her and her Brother Rohan. The family decide to go to India to attend her Grandfathers funeral, he was always a distant man, but they go and meet their family. Whilst together long held secrets are shared.

This story is told by a dual timeline and perspectives.
It is heart wrenching in places. The writing style was a little disappointing

Unfortunately, despite the many ace reviews this book has had, I was unable to connect to the story so sadly had to mark as dnf.

A devastating insight into the callous and cruel treatment of many women in India. Giving birth to girls brings not only shame and contempt, but the babies are then forcibly removed and murdered.
With the backdrop of this harrowing culture we learn of one woman’s extraordinary strength and courage to keep her baby safe.
A very powerful and educational novel - thankfully most of us have no experience of this sort of life and it is shocking in its existence in the 21st century. A book that will stay with me for a long time after closing the last page. A must read.

This book features strong female characters and emotional storylines. However, I found the pacing of the story a bit clunky and also struggled to follow all of the characters and their names.

The story didn't stick with me personally but it's certainly a harrowing read on an important topic.

Thanks: Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

I haven't been this moved by a book for a long time. The underlying theme was a sad and shocking reality which was told beautifully from the perspective of Janani the protagonist. She has negotiated a difficult life in a man's world and her struggles shape her character throughout.

Though the time lapse is told in the first person, from the POV of Nila, I found her character underdeveloped and a bit of a distraction. The juxtaposition of Janani against an "entitled" Nila was powerful.

The writer makes excellent use of imagery throughout which was really immersive. The references to food left me craving dosa and idly in almost every reading session.

I would, and have recommended this book to others. A harrowing and excellent novel despite bringing me to tears.

Absolutely loved this book about women in rural India, not something I am overly familiar with. Women are considered a financial burden and a woman who keeps having daughters not sons are seen as a failure. A difficult read at times but thoroughly enjoyable. This is a debut book but I'll be looking out for more.

"The Daughters of Madurai" captivates with its rich plot, blending family dynamics and cultural intricacies. The author crafts a compelling narrative, immersing readers in the vibrant tapestry of Madurai's heritage while exploring the complex lives of the daughters. A must-read that seamlessly weaves tradition and modernity, showcasing the author's skillful storytelling.

Janani has always kept details of her family and life in India a secret, such that Nila desperately wants to find out the truth. When they hear that her grandfather is seriously ill, a trip to India is planned. But when the facts about Janani are laid bare, Nila discovers why life has been so secretive and realises the reasons why her mother is as she is.

I started reading the Daughters of Madurai unsure of what I was going to find, but was quickly hooked. At times it is quite a hard read, with unbelievable events taking place, I even had to resort to checking the internet to satisfy myself that this could genuinely be happening in the late 1990s! The pain and suffering that women like Janani would have endured is monstrous and hard to understand. Rajasree Variyar has skilfully woven together a fascinating and enthralling tale, switching between events in the then and now in a way that works well. The story flows and comes alive on every page.

A fantastic, if occasionally harrowing, read.

Moving, heartbreaking and beautiful. I loved this courageous woman's story and the lives of women in rural India where female are not seen as gift but a financial burden.
It's not lighthearted or easy read at times but so powerful. A must read.

A heart breaking story of the poor mother seen as a failure as she keeps producing daughters instead of a son. When Nila's grandfather falls ill a long kept secret is about to change their lives forever. A totally relevant topic but written a bit too simplistically for my taste.

This is an incredibly powerful story and I was astonished this was a debut. Our main character is Janani, a woman from a poor background living with her husband, mother in law and young daughter. We’re in the early 1990s, in a society that only values boys when Janani only gives birth to girls. I was emotionally devastated when every girl she gives birth too is snatched away from her and murdered. She’s told that she was allowed to keep her eldest daughter, but they definitely see her inability to produce a son as an affront to them. It weakens her husband’s status in their society and she has no worth at all. It was amazing to see this woman somehow keep her sense of self and the strength to keep pushing for her daughter to have a future. Then we move forward to 2019 and a girl called Nila. She has a family, but she is keeping secrets and so are her family. It is only when they take a trip to Madurai that these secrets come to the surface. Nila’s life is going to change for ever.

With different timelines and perspectives, we get a slow drip feed of information that intrigues you and kept me reading. I loved the focus on the roles of women, showing there are still issues in present day society trying to balance duty, family and individual dreams. The imagery is spellbinding and the settings are so vivid I felt I was there watching the story unfold. There are deeply harrowing parts and others that are more hopeful. The themes and different storylines are beautifully woven together, showing a lot of skill for a debut. I found it empowering, it took me into a different place where women’s lives were so much harder, yet women endured and created change. The book cover is exquisite.

When a book starts with the line “A girl is a burden. A girl is a curse” then you know that what will follow may not be easy reading. The Daughters of Madurai may not be the type of book I predominantly read but it will most likely be one I remember for quite some time. Going between Madurai in 1992 and Sydney in 2019 we follow the lives of Janani and Nila, lives that could not be more different from one another.
Janani has a hard life, working as a cleaner for a family even when pregnant, she is classed as worthless even by her mother-in-law as she fails to produce sons only daughters. Whist she is allowed to keep her first born, her other children are taken from her at birth and although we do not know exactly what happens to them we do know that they do not survive. They are girls and classed as worthless, just a financial burden. Despite this Janani still manages to find things to smile about and live for. Her childhood friend Sanjay becomes a rock for her to lean on despite the trouble it may cause for both of them and if it was not for him and his mother I really think that she would have not survived.
Nila has a good life, yet she is scared to tell her parents how she feels and also believes that they are hiding a lot about her past. When she goes with them to Madurai to visit her ailing grandfather, she pushes to know more about her family, but she is definitely not prepared for what she finds as her mother finally faces the ghosts of the people she had tried to put behind her.
This is a beautifully written book that does not shy away from showing the realities of life in India with their beliefs against a more modern way of living where girls have a more equal footing and not seen as worthless. You can feel on every page the heartbreak of both Janani and her friend as they are forced to give up their children with no say in what happens to them and understand the courage they have in standing up to those that bully them and keep them down. What you also see is that the smallest actions can have the greatest impact and that there is always hope and that from this an inner strength can be found to overcome even the harshest of tragedies. Despite some of the subject matter in this book there is something about it that carries you through right to the end and I would recommend anyone to pick it up and experience the emotional ride.

A heart-breaking story about a courageous woman who manages to rise above her horrific fate as young woman in rural India in the 1990s. Here, girls are a burden and a curse, and it’s common practice for newborn daughters to be killed. This gently-told yet tragic story moves between Janani’s life in Madurai in 1992, and the present, in which her child tries to piece together the past her mother never talks about. This beautifully written story is awash with sensory experiences of Madurai – the sounds, smells and colours – and encompasses abject cruelty, the caste system, forbidden love and acceptance. Despite its very difficult subject matter, it is a joy to read. I just wish the glossary had been at the beginning of the book (I only discovered it when I finished reading) it would have helped my understanding of all the Indian terms, which I had to figure out as I went.

A story of Janani, a story of loss and infanticide in India in the 1990s.
The story of Nila in 2019 travelling to India with her family and learning the truth of her start in life.
But mostly this is a story of Women’s strength and the love between a mother and her daughter.
I thought this book would be good and I wasn’t disappointed.
Thank you to #NetGalley for a copy of this amazing book

I really enjoyed this book. It gave an insight into the culture in India when girls are born and the struggles and burdens they have on their families.