Book Info
Name of Book : The Daughters of Madurai
Author : Rajasree Variyar
Publisher : Orion
Publication Date : 27 April 2023
No. of Pages : 376
Format : DRC
Why did I choose the book ?
I read The Daughters of Madurai by Rajasree Variyar as a part of buddy read on Instagram.
Where to get the book ?
The Daughters of Madurai by Rajasree Variyar is available on Amazon :
Author Introduction
Rajasree was born in Bangalore, India, moved to Australia at the ripe age of six months, and grew up in sunny Sydney. She completed a Bachelor of Arts and Commerce double degree, with an eclectic and enjoyable mix of studies in classical archaeology, international relations, finance and Indonesian. This was followed by a degree in Psychology.
She’s been a Londoner for the last eight years, juggling a career in insurance with writing. In 2020, she completed her MA Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia (hopefully her last degree). Her short stories have been long-listed for the Brick Lane Bookshop SS competition and won second prize in Shooter Literary Magazine's SS competition.
The Daughters of Madurai, her first novel, was short-listed for Hachette UK's Mo Siewcherran prize.
Rajasree lives in London with her husband, daughter and Irish Doodle. In her spare time, she reads compulsively in most genres, travels as much as possible and runs marathons in interesting places. She's currently working on her second novel and trying not to get distracted by ideas for her third.
Blurb
Madurai, 1992. A young mother in a poor family, Janani is told she is useless if she can't produce a son - or worse, bears daughters. They let her keep her first baby girl, but the rest are taken away as soon as they are born - murdered before they have a chance to live. The fate of her children has never been in her hands. But Janani can't forget the daughters she was never allowed to love.
Sydney, 2019. Nila has a secret, one she's been keeping from her parents for far too long. Before she can say anything, her grandfather in India falls ill and she agrees to join her parents on a trip to Madurai - the first in over ten years. Growing up in Australia, Nila knows very little about where she or her family came from, or who they left behind. What she's about to learn will change her forever...
My Opinion
The Daughters of Madurai by Rajasree Variyar is contemporary fiction raising its voice on a social issue that has been prevalent for ages in India. It reflects all the pain and humiliation of a mother who gives birth to a girl child. The book shows how insensitive people can be when it comes to selfishness. For ages, a girl child has been declared a bad omen. As a woman myself, it sounds painful when people worship a woman deity but not a real woman. The plot is nice, and two timelines are going side by side. But I was more than halfway into the book, and I was waiting for the two timelines to coincide. At some points, events are being dragged unnecessarily.
The characters needed more depth and color. I wanted to read more about the characters than the events. Also, I could not emotionally connect with them. I had great hopes for the book. I could only give it 3 stars.
Ratings
- Characters ------------------ ⭐⭐⭐
- Atmosphere ---------------- ⭐⭐⭐
- Writing Style -------------- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Plot ------------------------- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Intrigue -------------------- ⭐⭐⭐
- Logic ---------------------- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Enjoyment ---------------- ⭐⭐⭐
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