From Publishers Weekly
The second novel from Suri (The Death of Vishnu) follows Meera Sawhney from her unhappy 1950s marriage to aspiring singer Dev Arora through to her own son's coming-of-age. After an impulsive act forces Meera's marriage at 17, her complex, controlling father decries her tying herself (and, by extension, her family) to the provincial, lower-class Aroras. Meera soon finds herself pulled in different directions by her in-laws' religious orthodoxy, her father's progressivism (which doesn't run deep), her husband's self-pitying alcoholism and her own resentment. She finds salvation in the birth of a son, Ashvin; mother love, which Suri describes in intensely physical terms, gives her life passion and purpose, and overwhelms her adult relationships. But as India modernizes, Meera senses that Ashvin, and she herself, must live their own lives. Suri renders Meera's perspective marvelously, especially in small particulars (such as Meera's deliberations around the cutting of Ashvin's hair) and in the perils and conflicts Meera faces in her relationships with men. He also takes a close look at Hindu practices and charts the rise of religious nationalism in the years following Gandhi's death. Suri's vivid portrait of a woman in post-independence India engages timeless themes of self-determination.
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From AudioFile
In the 1950s, Meera is pushed into a marriage that takes her from the wealthy upper-class household she grew up in. She finds herself part of an orthodox lower-class family living a hand-to-mouth existence in the provinces. Her husband is a self-pitying alcoholic, so she focuses on motherhood, becoming immersed in the life of her young son, upon whom she dotes. Josephine Bailey's narration is tight and restrained, a style that is consistent with the constraints of Meera's life. Similarly, Bailey's pace is deliberate and steady, except during the story's few momentous events. In those moments, Bailey is true to Meera's character, giving depth to her passion but holding it in check. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
by Manil Suri
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
by Preeta Samarasan
by Padma Viswanathan
