This is the kind of novel that you read and that really lingers with you. There is so much to unpack here but its best to go in cold really as that will unleash the magic this novel has to offer. I can't recommend this enough for the writing, the atmosphere and the feeling that it generates.

Incredible story about a way of life which is, at the same time, both unreal and totally realistic. Told with great empathy, this is a sad and brutal tale yet with always the sense of hope that it will eventually turn out okay in years to come.

The beautiful cover grabbed my attention, the description had me requesting immediately and crossing everything that I got approved. And I am so glad I did - one of my favourite books of the year so far!

This book had me absolutely sobbing on several occasions, and any book that can melt my heart in that way deserves all the praise in the world.

We have dual timelines, and three different perspectives. The way they all weave together is seamless.

The 1992/3 chapters start in relation to time before and after conception, and we have a snippet of a developing pregnancy. Even those few lines at the start of each section are powerful and filled with love.

I won't spoil anything for you but this book takes you on a journey and we face some huge topics. All are handled powerfully but sensitively. Even the 2019 Sydney chapters have difficult issues around love, family and duty. As you can expect from the title, the role of women in society is a dominant theme in this book, and there are some equally strong characters who tell their stories.

The imagery is gorgeous and you can fully see all the scenes taking place, with wonderful descriptions for all the senses.

I just want to hold this phenomenal book forever, or place it on a shelf next to my bed so I can look at it and remind myself of it (sadly it was an ebook so I will try to rectify this soon!)

There are parts that are harrowing, other parts that are bittersweet, but it is empowering, impactful and such an important read.

P.S. I've read some reviews saying there are a lot of relations making it complicated. I didn't find this at all, and for anyone who did, there is a glossary at the back.

Many thanks to the publishing team for my digital copy for review.
I was really excited to read this book and It exceeded my expectations.
The dual timeline was much needed for this plot and is expanded the story and gave us better understanding of the thread. The relationships were complex as were some characters but we followed them on an emotional and challenging journey which led to the present.
The story touched on a few hard subject matters which did make it a hard read but it was well written that you gained some understanding and then able to go off and read some backstory online.
A profound story that the author has done a fab job in writing and relaying.

This is such a profound story that I must admit I’m struggling a little on what to say. Bearing in mind the theme behind the book, it seems insensitive to say I enjoyed it, but I did. The writing draws you into the story and doesn’t let go. There’s so much atmosphere conveyed, it’s almost like watching a film. The smells, the descriptions of some of the foods, the overbearing heat of Madurai, the village life. Yet the author doesn’t often explain anything of the culture, certainly not in an obvious way and I liked that about it. It is like going on a journey to India and learning about the culture while you are there, almost becoming a part of the life of Janani. When I reached the end there’s a glossary for all the different Indian terms for clothes, relatives etc, which at first I thought, oh if only I’d known that was there it would have made it so much easier. But thinking back I’m glad I had to work things out for myself, it made the book all the more authentic. As I think back to different scenes, a week after finishing the book, I don’t just have a recollection of the story, I see images of the streets, the houses, and the people that the writing conjured up in my mind, a sign of excellent story telling I think.

It isn’t an easy read and can be incredibly emotional in places, it does after all, cover infanticide and your heart goes out to poor Janani with what she goes through. Luckily many of the characters are kind, sympathetic and generous with their understanding and care which helps to lift the story from being too grave. The book is set in two time periods, one of which is 1992 in India. Janani’s family are from the lower caste and it was surprising to learn that they lived more or less in abject poverty in what we consider to have been modern times. In contrast Nila’s story is set in 2019, she lives in Australia. She also has troubles of her own but of a more contemporary nature. she is fearful that her own family might not be accepting of who she is.

An absolutely engrossing book, which I was sorry to reach the end of, but with a gratifying conclusion nevertheless.

**Will be added to my blog on or close to publication date**

This is a hauntingly beautiful read. The author draws you in and one can almost feel, see and smell where the characters live. The characters are vivid and strong. One is transported to a different time and place. A beautiful, heartfelt story, beautifully written.

Oh my goodness. If I could give this book 6 stars out of 5 I would.
I learned so much about Indian village culture and traditions as well as feeling as if the character took me on their journey with them and although I thought I knew then end of the story, I really didn’t.
The book was uplifting and heartbreaking in equal measure and I am sure that this is one that I will carry with me for quite some time.
Highly recommended.

A beautifully written moving novel set in India in 1993 and 2019. Even as recently as 1993 girls in some Indian societies were not wanted and girl babies were killed either before or after birth.

In 2019 Nila, living in Australia with her Indian parents and brother has her own problem; trying to get the courage to tell her parents that she loves another woman. Before she can tell them, the family is summoned urgently to India where Nila’s grandfather is dying. In India Nila meets other relations and learns for the first time of her parents’ lives in India before she was born

I Read this in one sitting. At first it seemed a bit dystopian and far-fetched but then I went down a rabbit hole into researching selective abortion and infanticide in poorer areas of India and was horrified to see just how close to the truth the situation of these characters actually is.

The two storylines sit together really seamlessly and each lends to the other, coming together with a very moving conclusion. Absolutely heart-breaking in parts and utterly gripping throughout. At a mid-point in the book, a tragedy occurs which had me moved to tears for the full second half, willing there to be a glimmer of hope for Janani. This is a book I will most definitely re-read and recommend to as many people as I can. I really look forward to other titles by this author!

Daughters are worthless but boys are wanted.
This book made me grateful that my three daughters were born in the UK and I never had to face the horrific ordeal mothers can face
This story weaves together two time lines in Australia and India. It's a story of a mother's love and a refusal to give up her daughter, whatever the cost

I have to admit to shedding many a tear as I read this beautifully written book set both in Madurai and Australia.
As someone who learnt recently that I had an Indian great great grandmother who appears to have been written out of history, I can now understand why it is so hard to find any proof of her existence.
This story centres around a family where the mother was made to feel a failure (and experienced violence) for every girl she gave birth to. It is hard to believe that baby girls were actually killed by their families but it is equally hard to put yourself in the shoes of a family so poor that they could not afford a girl for whom a dowry would have to be found.
This story is set partly in the present day and partly in the 1990s.
In this story the young mother of a different caste from her childhood boy friend who was educated and had choices in life, meets up with him after tragedy hits her and the story becomes in part, a love story.
Tradition, family, gender, female friendship are all themes that run through this powerful book.I
Thank you NetGalley! A book for my book group.

What a beautiful read.

The daughters of Madhurai is a powerful story about the myriad of struggles of multiple generations of women in a single family from India.. This is the story about Janani and her struggles as an Indian women from a low caste, we see her heartbreaking journey to finding love, motherhood and attempt to find acceptance from her new family.

The story also heavily covers the phenomenon in India in which female newborns are considered worthless and burdensome leading them to often be killed or given away. Janani was not always able to protect her daughters from this fate but when she did she changed her destiny as well as her daughter Nila’s.

Nila has struggles of her own, a young Indian woman living in Sydney who knows nothing about where she comes from and is trying to come to terms with her sexuality, she knows she has a long journey ahead of her.

Despite this being such a heavy story exploring powerful topics there are absolute sparks of joy to be found throughout. An absolute must read!

I really enjoyed this book, it follows the story of Janani in rural India, it also follows the story of Nila who lives in Australia and her visit back to India when her fathers dad was dying.

At first I wasn’t too sure how the two characters would entwine, I had some kind of idea but wasn’t completely sure.

The story had me feeling sad for poor Janani and her sufferings but also slightly hopeful that things would one day change for her. The only part that I found pointless and a bit disappointing was Nila and the love of her life, it just didn’t fit in the storyline but maybe could of been incorporated into the storyline a bit better.

Overall this book had me hooked from the beginning!

I loved this book. I felt drawn to the characters and the tragic story of what can happen to girls born in India. Often they are seen as a burden to families who must provide a dowry for them and marry them off and so many don't survive. They are literally murdered, even before they are born and some tragically at birth. The story spans Janani's story in the early 1990's which begins in India and then Nila's story in present day Australia. Nila is aware that Janani has secrets but doesn't know exactly what until they return to India as a family when her paternal grandfather is dying. Nila also has a secret and it is not until close to the end of their visit that both women are able to confront their demons. Massive thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the preview copy

Set over a dual timeline of 1992 in Madurai and 2019 in Australia, the earlier story is told by Janani and the latter by her daughter Nila.

The prologue was so powerful and insightful and set the tone for the whole book.

My heart went out to the young women of India, forced into loveless arranged marriages at an early age and seen as useless in their community if they did not produce sons. Daughters were seen as burdens and it was heartbreaking to read how they were taken from their mothers, never to be seen again.

A wonderful debut by Rajasree Variyar, who brings India to life with its smells, colour and culture. With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - particularly with the different time lines. The characters are well depicted and believable. It was also an education for me in what women were going through in a different country while I lived a life with taken for granted freedom in England. I would definitely like to read more by Rajasree Variyar.

Daughters of Madurai by Rajasree Variyar

Thank you Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC ebook for an unbiased review.

This is a debut novel, and it was one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Female Infanticide and all the obstacles and traditions that it brings including dowry, is the basis of this book.
This is a subject that I personally haven't seen written about an awful lot, so I was extremely interested to see how it was covered. While not a true historical aspect, we still have the generations gap to contemporary day in how the book is presented.

There is no doubt that this book could have been far more despairing and depressing, and there were certainly some heart wrenching, heavy moments, but it was also full of hope, courage and the bond between a mother and their daughters.
It wasn't as heavy to read as some books of a similar genre I've read, and it didn't diminish anything for me. If anything, I think that while more depth at times can help a book like this, here I felt it would've minimised the overall messages and premise of the book. It would also be a great book to gift to someone who might usually find this sort of thing too depressing or too serious to read. It wasn't sugar-coated either. It had a balance that I think benefitted it more than detracted.

The ultimate feelings I came away from this book have meant I have thought of it a few times since finishing, and I will certainly enjoy this once it is released, and have no hesitation to gift it out to others.

I will also certainly be interested in further books by Rajasree Variyar.

5/5 stars 🌟

The Daughters of Madurai is a brilliant and moving debut from Rajasree Variyar. It follows the story of mother Janani, raised in Madurai, and her daughter, Nila, later raised in Australia. When the family travel back to Madurai, Nila learns the truth of her origins and her mother’s fight to protect her.

The way Variyar writes with cultural and emotional authenticity is a testament to her skill. Especially for readers who may not be familiar with the themes. I definitely learnt a lot, especially where traditional Madurai terms are used that span different languages. Unfortunately, as I was reading a digital proof, I only discovered the glossary at the end. This did not stop me from enjoying the story and deducing context from what was being said. I would definitely recommend making use of the glossary so you can deduce full meaning. Common words are repeated relatively regularly so it shouldn’t take too much flicking back.

I would definitely recommend this book. It is well-written, emotional and educational. I look forward to seeing what the author produces next

Fantastic book. This was a really interesting well thought out book. The relationships between the characters were complex and interesting. I loved seeing how opinions and ideas changed through the generations.

Wow! This dual timeline tale is unbelievable - or it would be if the phenomenon of ‘girls are worth less than boys’ wasn’t still happening around the world. This one reminded me a bit of Homegoing for the generational touch but in its own right was a brilliant read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

I found this absolutely beautiful. Brilliantly constructed characters that do the critical topic the book focuses on justice.