The Daughters of Madurai

I didn't know what to expect from this book, the premise sounded so good and books that are set in India have always intrigued me bacause I know so little about the country and its culture. However, this book was so much better than I expected it to be.
The writing was astonishingly good and the characters were so well developed. I loved it,

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The book is a the story of the practice of female foetus and baby killings in southern India, how it affects women more broadly, and how it traumatises an entire family (as well society as a whole). It is told via the life of Janani in two time periods - in the early 90s she is a young bride who keeps having girls, only for those to be taken away from her, while in the late 2010s it is her own daughter who seeks understanding of her mother, and embarks on a journey to the past. The two timelines beautifully coalesce - as the story in the 90s progresses forward, the one in the 2010s moves back. In some ways it remind me of family sagas, such as Pachinko, The Picture Bride, and even the Wild Swans. In other ways, it's also a story of India, reminding me of The God of Small Things, a Suitable Boy, and, perhaps most of all, of A Fine Balance. In yet other ways - it's unique, in taking up the topic of parenting and dealing with it with such care and love that I've not yet experienced anywhere else.

This is a very hard review for me to write. It is perhaps the most beautiful (and I choose that word carefully) book I read in many years. It tells a story of an unspeakable tragedy in a gentle and warm way. It brings to life south India, with its colours, foods, smells, family, and socio-economic issues. It gives life to one of the more fragile but strong characters I've encountered in fiction in many years, and makes her (Janani) feel like someone you know and never want to stop knowing. It is also a story of hope and how some people, regardless of their background and history, can be just good people, who care, and love, and it is also a story of the impact small acts of kindness might have. More than anything, this is one of those books that will stay with me for years and decades to come. I feel it imprinted on my emotions and in my memory already now. It doesn't feel like a story I read - it rather feels like an experience I've lived through. I feel I'm a slightly different person for reading it - a better person, and I think the impact will just continue to grow over time.

My one practical comment here is that I found myself, suddenly, about halfway through the book, crying, and I didn't stop for many minutes after the book ended. Maybe it's because I'm a parent myself, maybe it's because of the universal message this book sends to all parents of all children - I don't know.

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 🌟