These Our Bodies, Possessed by Light - Dharini Bhaskar

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

This was also the first book I've ready by Dharini Bhaskar. It's also another oohhh pretty cover type books. I didn't really have any expectations when I picked it up. 

Dharini Bhaskar takes us through a family saga, juxtaposing relationships, marriage, and failed marriages between Deeya, the main character, her mother, and her grandmother. The patterns that repeat are visible and beg a question I often ask myself - are relationships hereditary because of the baggage we carry. While I still haven't reached a solid answer myself, it's always fun to find novels that pose the same question because I always have something else to think about. There's poetry woven in throughout the chapters which I enjoyed. 

There's not really a huge plot arc in this book. It's more of a journey through life and how relationships continue to affect people long after the events happen. With that, it is slow going sometimes, but if you stop to consider what the author is trying to get you to think about, it's actually quite interesting if you're interested in this type of thing.

Read it.

~Becky~

No Trespassing - Brinda Narayan

Fiction

Verdict: Meh

This is the first book I've ready by Brinda Narayan.  The book follows the upward shooting trajectory of a middle class family aiming to fit in with the hoi polloi of Bangalore. They move into a weird, super exclusive, gated community. They never quite fit in and eventually start noticing weird neurological symptoms in their children. Vedika, the main character, brings this up in the community and is quickly hushed as no one wants to admit anything is wrong with their children. Vedika's son dies in mysterious circumstances and she sets out to untangle why. She ends up on a wild chase far into the past, including her own parents and weird clowns. The novel winds up with a disappointing reveal that the neurological symptoms were caused by lead and it was actually a bizarre plot from a tragic incident happening in Vedika's childhood far away.  

While there are breadcrumbs dropped through the book about the past, it seems like a stretch when the author finally reveals, with great relish, the revenge plot. Vedika's main characteristic is neurosis and the rest of the characters fall flat as well. I believe the dynamics between Vedika and her husband are meant to make them seem relateable, but they just end up being irritating because they are so common place. Death of a child makes couple fight, the husband always believes his wife is reading more into everything than she should, we don't have much to connect over anymore because he works so much. It's trope city. 

There's also a weird obsession about social status, being middle class, and how glamourous and dangerous climbing the social ladder can be. The author insists upon obsessively comparing middle class upbringing with being rich. At the end of the novel, I couldn't help but have this super weird feeling that the ultimate point of the novel was a moral lesson about not reaching above your grasp....which again is an overused concept and disappointing.

It's a decently written novel and to be honest, I didn't see the revenge plot coming. Unfortunately, this is ruined by generic writing and a heavy reliance on too many tropes. Read it if you need a time pass for a Saturday afternoon and can deal with what I mentioned.

~Becky~

Imaginary Homelands - Salman Rushdie

 NonFiction

Verdict: Read it

No readers, we are not done fangirling about Salman Rushdie.  I suspect I will never be done with that.  This book was picked up merely because Rushdie's name was on the cover. It turned out to be a bit different than I expected, but that's one of the joys (or risks, depends on perspective) of how I buy books. Imaginary Homelands is a collection of essays/book reviews that Salman Rushdie has written about other books. It was both difficult and fantastic at the same time. But then again readers, what else is to be expected of Salmon Rushdie?

Exploring into Rushdie's mind is always a fun adventure, and this was a different trip than going through one of his novels. We get to see not only what I am sure is a partial reading list from Rushdie, we also get to see what impresses him and what doesn't; the forces and authors who shaped him as an author. This is an exciting exercise for me, especially when the author is one I admire and is intelligent.

That being said, not all of the essays are easy to read (surprise surprise!) and some are boring. This actually made me mildly amused as it gives us a glimpse into Rushdie as a person. If you know anything about Rushdie, he is unapologetic about his opinions, even when they aren't popular and he sometimes comes off as extremely arrogant. This shines through in his writing of the essays as well.

I think my favorite essay in this collection has to do with Umberto Eco and Focault's Pendulum. Rushdie slaughtered it, saying it was over objectified and unnecessarily boring and odd. This was one book that my ex husband always glorified as being one of the pinnacles of intelligence if you could read and understand. We will of course not discuss his intellectual snobbery nor love of unnecessarily complicated things here. I of course had to try to tackle it. Yes readers, I am one of those. I also, of course, got bored out of my gourd and just figured I was punching way above my weight limit and just wasn't that smart. Reading what Salman Rushdie said put a huge smile on my face. 

My second favorite essay(s) was the response at the end of the book to criticism and backlash to Satanic Verses. Satanic Verses was my intro to Rushdie (and what a hell of an introduction!) and I have a special place in my heart for that novel. I've since read it 3 times and am still finding things to understand about it. Reading about Rushdie's purpose and mindset reading has helped me understand the novel further, which I definitely appreciate. I'm now inclined to read it again. 

Rushdie challenges people's views of many things and while it may be a frustrating endeavour to read him and understand all his intelligence and subtext, for a serious reader, these are good things rather than bad. Understanding the amazing writer's influences can help us become better writers ourselves and have better context to the world as readers.

Read it!

~Becky~

Own It - Aparna Jain

NonFiction

Verdict: Meh

Feminism takes on many flavors, often depending on where in the world it's being defined. India of course has it's own brand of feminism. It's quite different than what I am used to coming from the US.

Aparna Jain has met and talked with many women on women's issues, from home makers to high flyers in the corporate world. What she's taken away from these conversations is what's in this book.

I admired Aparna Jain's ability to admit that women do have extra struggle here for simple things. She does not just get up on a soap box and scream that things must change either. The goal of the book, from my humble interpretation, is to help women identify these blockers and help to get around them by giving practical advice. The conversations she has and the stories that are shared are no doubt interesting, and I think most women would find comfort in discovering that many are in the same boat. 

Unfortunately, Jain's approach, practical as it is, once again places the burden on women to take care of the problem. There was a particularly catty discussion on women flirting in the workplace where someone mentioned a "Lakshman Rekha" that women should not cross. I'm not sure if Jain used this to highlight the disgustingly patriarchal attitudes that women are still capable of displaying, but it was disappointing to say the least to see in her book. What was even more distressing was that there was no other commentary after that. That bomb was left to sit, unaddressed.

Aparnaa Jain has raised the issue of women empowerment and equality in Indian society. Unfortunately, she sits to the sidelines and acts as an impartial thought provoker rather than adding her own voice. As a woman in India, this is disappointing and and empowers gender discrimination. If women are not willing to stand for each other and insist on change, then change will not happen. Simply opening the conversation and presenting it as an issue that people themselves need to weigh in on is doing an injustice to how deeply entrenched and disturbing this inequality is. I admire that she raised the issue and did her homework talking to various people, but the rest was underwhelming.

~Becky~

In the Name of Honor - Mukhtar Mai

 NonFiction

Verdict: Read It

I had hear of Mukhtar Mai before in name, but not in situation. I tend to like biographies/self biographies, so I picked this up.

The story is horrifying heard from her point of view. It also underlines a huge mindset and atrocity bomb that India and Pakistan continue to foster with an almost loving persistence. Class and gender wars are not a thing of the past unfortunately. 

Mukhtar Mai is gang raped as a "punishment" for her younger brother flirting with a powerful family's sister. In reality, it's an attempted land grab due to the inability of a rich powerful family to see "lower class" people hold land. It's heartbreaking and incredibly not that uncommon. 

What is uncommon however, is Mukhtar Mai's response to it. After taking time to process her trauma, she decided that she would stand for what she thought was right and say no. She takes us through the process of dealing with corrupt police and courts and in the end, still not getting justice. Again, incredibly common. Still bound and determined to rise, Mukhtar Mai opens a school with funds that came in from concerned parties. 

If you understand anything about Class and Gender wars in India and Pakistan, you understand how remarkable Mukhtar Mai's response is. It's unheard of, and it's phenomenal. She is an inspiration to many women, myself included, and has done her part to make the world one she wants to live in.

Mukhtar Mai isn't educated. She isn't a great story teller or writer and it's obvious that he words are filtered through writers. She circles back around often and jumps time lines telling her story, but with all she's suffered and achieved, she's entitled to tell her story however she wishes to.

Please read this book. It will give you a new perspective on feminism and basic human rights. It will inspire you that a woman discarded the typical reaction to a humiliation of this type (suicide in her part of the world) and rose far above that to help others and be a light. The only way to combat these type of horrifying incidents is to continue to promote awareness of it being unacceptable and punishable in society. The only way to deal with police taking advantage of uneducated, shamed women in an immoral manner is to keep bringing these instances to light and seeing through the punishments. The only way to deal with courts taking soft line stances on Class, Gender, and Economic wars are to shine a huge spotlight on them and continue pressuring the courts as well to step into the 21st century and stop pandering. The only way to ensure that women are not continuing to be trapped in darkness and illiteracy is to make education for girls a priority and a valued thing. Mukhtar Mai has led the way in however she could.

Read it!

~Becky~

The Ground Beneath Her Feet - Salman Rushdie

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

Yes, yes, I have a thing for Salman Rushdie. Or rather Salman Rushdie's books. He seems like rather a prick but I forgive him on account of genius. 

This was a novel that I got from the library, didn't get around to reading, and had to regretfully return. Fortunately on my last trip to the bookstore, I found a copy. Now when Salman Rushdie gets to writing, the man gets to writing. This isn't a short novel, and I'll admit, it drags a bit as Rushdie weaves his magic and gets around slowly to his point.

The novel is about a love triangle between the narrator and two famous singers, who he happens to have grown up. Rushdie takes his time going into the backgrounds of the characters and families. Vina Aspara, the central focus of the novel, and she's got a complicated background. The story slowly wanders through their growing up, becoming famous, and ending in tragic and mysterious circumstances.

Underneath it all, it's a love story, even though it's a super unconventional one. Vina also is a hell of a heroine, though she's also a super unconventional one. The story does wander off into weird territory at the end.  As with all Rushdie works, there are things going on underneath what he's saying. In this instance, I can't figure out what he is saying in this one, but that's not surprising.

What I can say is that Rushdie's interpretation of a love story and a heroine make it worth reading.  Plus, it's Salman Rushdie. It's worth reading.

Read it!

~Becky~