Customer Reviews

Secret Daughter

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is truly one of the best books I have read in a long time, and one I will recommend widely. I find that most books I enjoy fall into one of two categories: either they have a compelling, well-paced story that keeps me very engaged and looking forward to the next time I read; or they are beautifully written and keep me thinking about the issues raised for a long time afterwards. It is rare for a book to do both, but this one manages to do so.

On the surface, this is the story of a child born in terrible circumstances, the twist of fate that changes her life, and her adolescent search for self that creates ripples with the people who surround her. Yet there are many more layers to this novel. There is great complexity in the relationships between parent and child, and husband and wife, making them both realistic and heartbreaking. There are the questions of class, education, gender and culture in our globalized society, so beautifully illustrated through two seemingly opposite families. The characters are imperfect, but they all learn and grow through their experiences.

The author's style is one of simple, elegant prose. There is no melodrama here (though that would be easy to do with this story): each and every emotional reaction garnered from the reader (and there are many) is thoughtfully-crafted and deserved. To me, it was as compelling and vivid as The Kite Runner, but better written. I found it similar in style to Jhumpa Lahiri's books, but with a more interesting plot.

The ending is beautiful, satisfying and unexpected. I had tears in my eyes for the last several chapters. Even though this book is geared towards women, I encouraged my husband to read it, which he did, straight through one weekend, and loved it. I plan to share it with both my parents and my children, and I know it will make a great discussion for my book club. Highly recommended.

Every once in a while I want to read something other than chick lit and am always thrilled when I randomly pick up something wonderful. This novel wasn't recommended to us by anyone, rather, I liked the premise of the story, loved the cover and discovered while reading it that I loved the book as well! This beautiful story hooked me from the beginning and I've thought about long since finishing. It would make a wonderful Mother's Day gift for any of you stumped on what to get your book-loving moms.

In a remote village in India, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl, but living in a culture that favours boys, she is forced to give her up in order to save her life. Meanwhile, an American doctor, Somer, has found out she cannot bear children and she and her husband make the decision to adopt a child from his native country. They fall in love with the beautiful girl in the photo with the gold flecked eyes and bring her to America to raise, while Kavita's thoughts for the daughter she had to give away never diminish. Told from multiple perspectives and alternating between the two families and the daughter that binds them, this story weaves a rich tapestry of a mothers love regardless of circumstance.

There were multiple directions I thought this book might take and it didn't even stray close to any of them, so the lack of predictability was nice, so much so that I found myself feeling lost for a brief time in the 2nd half of the book, unsure where it was headed, but that only lasted a short time. This read wasn't the roller coaster ride I was expecting it to be, but much more subtle and when I came to the end and realized why things were happening the way they were, I was mesmerized by how powerful the story ended up being without my even realizing it.

This is a beautifully written novel with just enough description to be able to picture the setting without being overwhelmed with detail and the contrast between - the Two India's - was richly portrayed. The emotion of the characters was palpable and the Indian terms sprinkled throughout gave it a feeling of authenticity. They didn't intrude on the story however and I only noticed the glossary when I was almost finished the book, but never felt I needed it. Shilpi Somaya Gowda's writing is powerful, her prose beautiful, and the end result an emotional read as evidenced by my tears during the final chapters of this novel.

Secret Daughter is a powerful and thought provoking story about love, family, identity, hope, and above all else, a mother's love. Buy this for your mother for Mother's Day. It is truly the most powerful book about mothers I have ever read.

The story synopsis for "Secret Daughter" immediately captured my attention, and I eagerly bought this book looking forward to a satisfying read.

The begining was riveting and sucked me completely into the tale. But, as it progressed I found the author's back and forth jumping between characters very annoying. This writing technique can be successful, but the reader is just settling back into one of the characters lives when Gowder finishes that snippet and switches again - sometimes a character has only 2 pages!

Shilpi Somaya Gowda writes well (I think this is her first book), and the story is a good one which needs telling, but personally I would have enjoyed the book more if she had stayed with each character longer and given us more depth before switching to another part of the story.

I wanted to like this book. I have a fondness for novels of India, but Secret Daughter has too many agendas, some of which are overindulged. The fact that Indians have more than a strong preference for boys is not a secret, nor is it just an Indian phenomenon. That adopted children often feel abandoned despite loving adoptive parents is almost cliche. The story of a child adopted to a different country/culture by an interracial couple is interesting and pertinent today; unfortunately, that story gets lost in all the other stuff, some of which seems completely random (e.g. entire chapters are spent on grandparents' deaths, who we, the readers, don't know or care about, and it reveals nothing about the other characters). When each chapter's heading includes the place, date and character name, it is not surprising that the writing is journalistic, flat. No nuance or subtlety. There is very little character development except for the biological mother but she gets lost in the second half of the book when the daughter is grown. While the daughter gets a lot of page time, she is more of a device to expose the problems in India than a fully fleshed out character. Unsatisfactory. I found myself wanting to finish this book quickly. Unfortunately, the ending was not worth my slogging.

A moving and thought-provoking novel.

This story takes place in a remote Indian village. On the eve of the monsoons, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl who is not wanted by her husband, Jasu. He takes the baby, disappears for a couple of hours and returns without her. Kavita does not know what he has done. A couple of years later, Kavita again gives birth to a daughter whom she decides this time her husband will not take from her. She secretly makes plans with her sister Rupa to walk miles and miles to another village to leave her baby daughter at an orphanage with the hope she will be adopted and have a good life. The baby girl has the most beautiful "gold" coloured eyes, just like Kavita.

A couple of years later, Kavita again gives birth but this time to a boy Vijay whom her husband Jasu adores but he turns out to be a huge disappointment.

In America, Somer and Krishnan, both doctors can't seem to conceive. After a few brutually upsetting miscarriages, they decide to adopt a baby from Krishnan's home country of India. Somer is American but the waiting lists here are much too long. They travel half-way around the world to pick up their new baby daughter, the one with the most beautiful "gold" coloured eyes!

The novel interweaves the stories of Kavita, Somer, and the child that binds both of their destinies. Each chapter flips between Kavita and Somer which I love.

The characters are beautifully developed, the story well-written and you won't want this one to end. I'm keeping this in my permanent collection along with Rohinton Mistry's "A Fine Balance".

I would love to see Ms. Gowda write a sequel to this!!!! I need to know how Asha/Usha fares in the rest of her life and all of Krishnan's relatives and especially Kavita, Jasu and Vijay.

Loved this book!! Grasped me from start to finish. Like taking a vacation and learning a new culture all at once. Would definitely recommend this one!

Thinking of how to describe this outstanding work of fiction, I had these impressions come up: unpretentious in style, economical with words, emotionally succinct, completely credible, wonderfully phased, culturally accurate, and thoughtfully lucid.

This is story of how five people mature in twenty-five years to discover and acknowledge in their deeper selves the importance of spouses, parents and relatives in the process of developing a joyful life's journey. The stories are heart-warmingly generous and perceptively forgiving. Gowda's book is wonderfully crafted from beginning to end. By its conclusion readers will feel companionate with her characters, without reason to scold, reprimand or begrudge any. Some, like me, will shed a tear for Universal Love demonstrating Its own reciprocal reward for those--of any culture--who have the humility to receive Its welcoming grace. If I made a list of the twenty five best novels, out of more than a thousand I have read, this book would be one of them. It is always encouraging (after sixty decades of reading) to find a book by a new author that can equal or surpass the excellence of others discovered in the long ago past.

I was bored and had nothing to read so I picked up my wife's book...... and couldn't put it down. although the book centers around 3-4 women and motherhood, I did not find it girlie. it was fresh and a bit eductional as the story, for the most part, takes place in rural and urban india (san francisco too). the daughter of a poor rural indian woman is given up for adoption and is reaised by americans. she grows up yearning to find her birth mother. in the end, she realizes that her adoption was a blessing since her life was filled with richness and opportunity. during the course of the story her adopted and birth mothers as well as her adopted grandmother also experience journeys.

This book is heart-warming and moving. It really puts a different perspective on life and definitely gives you insight into the Indian culture.

While I thought the sections about the Americans was pretty flat, the parts exploring India and their culture were eye opening and inspiring.