Tomb of Sand: Geetanjali Shree

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

This is one of those large books. The ones that take forever to read. At least it took me quite a while relatively. I was about a third of the way through before my interest was well and truely hooked too.I believe this was a bookstore find and the first I have read by Geetanjali Shree.

Long, but worth it. It's a 2022 Booker Prize winner, which usually means worth reading. This is another flavor of the partition literature that ranges from amazing to awful in India. I enjoyed the novel. It's also a bit of a soft-peddaled manifesto. The mother is done listening to other people and is going to do what she would like. Not in a hurtful way, but in an "I Need to do this" way. It examines intergenerational assumptions and turns some of them upside down.

I enjoyed the protagonist a lot. I enjoyed cheering for me and while she wasn't perfect, she was human, relateable, and I wanted her to achieve what she set out to do. That's a pretty brilliant win for an author. I feel that selling the main character is half the battle of getting someone to read your book. Take it on vacation, take the time to read some daily, but do read this - well worth it.

Read it!

~Becky~

Three Women in a Single-Room House: K. Srilata

Poetry

Verdict: Read it!

I haven't read anything by K. Srilata before and I'm so glad I picked this up. I either love or hate poetry, depending on the subject matter and how it's done. This was so beautiful in its simplicity. 

It's a very short book with a series of poems about living with other women. I wouldn't say it's generic, but as a woman, it was very relatable. The theme is overall whistful and the author covers a variety of topics. I will definitely read it again.

Read it!

~Becky~

The Blue Scarf - Anu Singh Choudhary

 Fiction

Verdict: Read It (5/5)

Overview:

This small and cute book was recommended in the newspaper.

Anu Singh Choudhary has put together a collection of stories that highlight the experiences of women. I'm always a sucker for reading those and this didn't disappoint.

What I Enjoyed:

The stories were short, but invested in. The experiences were both unique to different parts of India and similar to women everywhere. 

What I Disliked:

There wasn't anything I didn't care for in this book.

Summary:

Small, easily digestible, and telling of what it means to be a woman. Grab your tea, sit in a sunny corner, and enjoy womanhood. Read it!

 

~Becky~

A Burning - Megha Majumdar

Fiction

Verdict: Read it!

I'm sure its a coincidence, but 2 Majumdar authors in a row. The tone of this novel was worlds apart from the previous one I discussed. We start with a girl who has seen a horrific hate crime while happening to be in the vicinity. She criticises the police in a fit of adolescent rage. She is publicly blamed for being a spy, put in jail, and finally executed.

While you never find out if the main character was actually involved in terrorist activities, she is portrayed as young, innocent, and genuinely in the wrong place at the wrong time. The story line bounces around between her own experiences, the public perception, the perception of a teacher she once had, a transgender person whom the main character was teaching, and the media. In small and large ways, every one of these populations has betrayed her and contributed to her death in the end, though she was innocent. 

The public simply needed a scapegoat, her old teacher was after political power and the politicians requried her to be that scapegoat, the transgender person tried but valued her own life and career in the end, and the media used her and twisted her words for their own gain. It's a heavy read because you know she's innocent, yet somehow you know she will pay the price anyway in the end. It's a pretty heavy damnation of the mob mentality and personal gain mentality that can arrise in a overpopulated, competetive society. You learn that the main character was poor and oppressed growing up, has a father who can't work due to no fault of his own, and are left with the distinct impression that due to her poverty and previous opression, her fate is inevitable. God save me from the dark clouds hanging above Indian authors' heads! But after living here for so long....It's not impossible for chains of events to happen like this. 

There aren't many positive books with transgender folks, and I felt like the author tried to portray that character in a positive light, though they end up being a human and making a selfish choice. That person's ability to help was also probably impaired because of her identity as well. Difficult read but worth it.

~Becky~

Prey - Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Non Fiction

Verdict: Read it!

This was an interesting one. I had heard of Ayaan Hirsi Ali before, but not that much. I haven't read anything else written by her. This book exposes some of the issues that Europe is facing due to migration of people of Middle Eastern/Islamic descent. It's pretty common for people now to be "Woke" enough to deny that cultural exportation and migration affect anything. People are people, we should be accepting. 

I'm not sure I buy into that theory, especially after moving to India. I know that certain contained places in Europe have had some very unfortunate problems arise (like France) but not the extent of the issue or how migration is culturally changing Europe itself. This was shocking. I think many people just assume that migrants immerse themselves in the new culture and assimilate. Ayaan Hirsi Ali's premise is that they don't. And they export attitudes and actions that are harmful to the local culture. 

As a woman immigrant to a European country, Ayaan Hirsi Ali has a unique perspective on the topic and I felt did a great job of critically thinking about the issue rather than giving an emotional reaction. I would have not expected someone like her to admit the inherent problems of something that has benefitted her. But she is clear from the start her obligation is to society and women, not enabling problematic behaviors.

What I liked most about this book was that I never felt that it was simply the Author's opinions or premises that were being put forward. She has backed up here thesis with solid research and facts, in addition to coloquial examples. This book in particular has focused primarily on women and the negative effects it has had on society's view of women. The women migrants themselves often time contribute to these problems. 

Immigration and cultural footprints are a difficult subject to dive into and have become highly politicized. It's hard to know the right solution and even governments grapple long and hard on how to be both fair and protect the local population. I'd recommend this to read because it's a  world issue that people should be aware of - especially women. 

Read it!

~Becky~

The Begum and the Dastan - Tarana Husain Khan

Fiction

Verdict: Not worth it.

There's a certain genre of book that focuses on people's obsession with Muslim women and their oppression. It used to fascinate me because it was exotic, but now just kind of grosses me out. That's my general feeling about this book.  I understand that historically (and this is a historical novel) women had no agency and were abused in many cases. I don't see any value in glorifying this or continuing to write novels whose whole point is to cater to this fetish.

I'm not going to go through a synopsis or my reaction to any of it because I feel I would just be furthering the validation and glorification of what happened. 

Not recommended.

~Becky~

The Violence in our Bones - Neera Chandhoke

Non-Fiction

Verdict: Read it

I picked up this book because the subject matter has been something I've been turning over in my head for a long time. I hadn't heard of Neera Chandhoke before.

As an outsider here, there are some themes that continually make themselves visible. Violence is one of them. The older I get, the more puzzled I get that I didn't see the inherent violence in the United States where I grew up as well, but perhaps age just opens eyes. India has it's own way of viewing and manifesting violence. The country is so large and the chaos so much that it's both expected and often passed of as inavoidable. A fatalistic societal outlook and the numbers affected and their composition versus the body of people in India make violence an accepted fact. 

The author spends some time in history books as the country was formed and born. Often times, history explains the present, and I agree that India is no different than anywhere else. She addresses violence against women, communal violence, Kashmir, the North East, and Maoists. These are all specific manifestations of a broader mindset. Most of the cases of violence you find fall under one of these headings, though not all. 

I rather wish Neera Chandhoke would have addressed some of the societal attitudes and history that has resulted in the culture of violence as an accepted characteristic. I feel it would have helped in the understanding of why these manifestations, and many other occurances of violence, happen regularly in India. 

That being said, this is a subject that it would be impossible to encompass in one book. The subject matter was laid out in a organized, cogent, supported manner, which is always a joy to read.  I've said many times that India's inherent difficulties are extemely difficult, if not impossible, to improve. This is one such area. However, calling out the violence is the first step to slowly moving the needle towards violence being unacceptable as a societal attitude. 

Not a long or complicated read, but do take the time to contemplate what the author is saying and how many people simply accept the state of things as inevitable. 

Read it!

~Becky~

Women Dreaming - Salma

Read it

Fiction

Women dreaming is quite an interesting read. It's been a long time since I have read an author who is so blunt (without romance or lament) about the condition of women - in this case Muslim Women in India. It's a novel, so fiction, but I could relate to the characters so well, I felt like this could be the case in any Muslim home in India.

Salma's characters aren't stereotypical. Her main character leaves her husband after he takes a second wife. Her sister in law was rejected and sent home from a marriage after her husband was not able to have sex thus she was rejected as being barren (he most likely was gay). Her mother is lost in an angry sad world where she needs to cry and shout about everything. Her husband is so angry that she stood up for herself, he takes it upon himself to make the rest of her life hell by separating her from her children. 

All of this takes place in a village. It could be any village - the small mindedness and judgmental nature are universal. The author also takes pains to demonstrate how self righteous, religious people (in this case a man) are much more interested in controlling and limiting women rather than in the actual religion. It's a refreshing honesty. Salma's main character isn't a heroine. She falls into a pit of despair and dissociation. Yet you can't help admiring her for making her own decision and living her own life in spite of so many obstacles. And you feel sorry for her because even after she does, she's not able to find happiness or even peace. The children can't decide who to support or put up with because both houses become toxic. The author also takes pains to point out how shackling one generation of women makes it's way down other generations as well. Women themselves encourage these limitations because they don't know or can't imagine any other way.

It's a sad novel, but a reality for many women and helped me appreciate exactly how my separation could have gone. I hope those who need inspiration to get out of intolerable situations read it and take hope from the main character and see the importance of finding happiness after life changes and things don't work out how you hoped or expected.

Read it.

~Becky~

Half a Million and Rising - Anirudha Dutta

Non-Fiction

Read it

I haven't ready anything previously be Anirudh Dutta, but with a title and subject matter as this book has, I was very interested in what he has to say.

Violence against women, social attitudes, and change are big topics for any country. India is a country where these topics are bigger than most. But they need to be addressed on a continual basis and Dutta attempts to do just that.

Most people remember the Nirbhaya case that happened in 2012. It was horrific and happened right after I moved to India. That case has created a pre and post Nirbhaya environment in people's thinking about sexual assault, rape, and respecting women. One would think that with all the coverage this case got, people and the government would have been galvanized into action. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. It has opened up awareness of a broad scale struggle between those who wish to drag India into a modern mindset, and those who continue to employ brutal methods to continue suppressing development, modernity and women.

Sexual assault and atrocities don't spring out of nowhere. Dutta gets to the heart of the matter by identifying some of the long-standing underpinning ideas that contribute to the negative attitudes and disrespect for women. Dutta sets out to understand if the condition of women is at all improving by measuring some metrics and connecting with both the young women in different settings and communities and their mothers to see what has changed.

I absolutely think that Dutta's objective is important, and needs to be done. Unless the social attitudes that have created such a dire circumstance for women change, they will continue to suffer. He also delves into some of the different NGO's that are involved with raising women and why they are necessary.

Dutta's thesis is hopeful. He does make a very good point that the social attitudes are indeed changing, and that the younger generation of women is indeed aiming higher and feeling freer than ever. However, it seems a bit too simplistic to me. I understand that this topic is huge, and to factor in every single metric for change would result in an epic no one would write, none the less read, I think this gives a false sense of hope and optimism.

The harsh truth, is that while life is changing for some women, and some women feel freer and more empowered, overall attitudes and the level of conservatism has not swung as far as Dutta would like to portray. Not only have assaults and sexual violations increased in visibility for the public in the last few years, the response to these events continues to be disgustingly lukewarm and ineffective. India has miles and miles to go in order just to stop these tragic events for women, leave alone see and treat them as equal to men.

Read this for it's hopeful tone. It's a well researched and written book, but don't be fooled by false hopes. 

~Becky~ 

Jasoda - Kiran Nagarkar

 Fiction

Read it

I've read a few other novels by Kiran Nagarkar and I am very much a fan. This novel was quite a bit shorter than God's Little Soldier (Whew!) and quite different in content than either of the other two novels I have read. The brilliance of this book is that the main character, Jasoda, could be any one of the millions of poor women in India with little choice in who they are married off to, making due with far too little, and having very few choices.

The book opens, strikingly, with Jasoda committing female infanticide. Its quite shocking. We learn later that family pressure is the major factor, but each time it happens, it is shocking. Jasoda is married to a do nothing man who is obsessed with toadying up to a local erstwhile prince in the hopes that someday it will pay off and he will be rewarded. This leaves Jasoda to manage the house, their sons, and her mother in law. As the water situation in their village becomes dire, Jasoda takes her 2 sons and mother in law and walk until they reach a train station, much like the rest of the village. They travel to Bombay to make a go of it. Being chased off by the pavement mafia and later raped by the "landlord" for their section of pavement, Jasoda learns how to be inventive and make a living for her and her sons. She finds herself pregnant again and her sons end up going out to work begging and sorting garbage. To say the least, Jasoda and her children do not have it easy.

One son finds a patron who helps him get educated, another son gets lost and never reappears, the third son comes and goes like the wind, the fourth son is born with disabilities due to a difficult deliver. The youngest child, the only daughter Jasoda allows to live, is pampered and spoiled and taken care of her whole life. Jasoda becomes successful running a snack cart and invents new dishes. 

After a while, she hears that people have started returning to the village and that development is under way. She also packs up the children who would come with her and heads back to the village. While they were gone, her husband murders the prince and takes his place and bizarrely becomes an oil baron. He re-marries in order to get a male heir. Jasoda's husband finds them a room in another village before disappearing once more. Jasoda again picks up the pieces and opens her own food cart. She becomes so successful that she opens a few restaurants. Jasoda's husband reappears randomly and declares that he is going to stay in their flat. She puts up with him for a while before arranging for him to have a fatal accident when he tries to sell the restaurants out from under her.

Jasoda's pluck, grit, and ingenuity is a tribute to women with shitty husbands everywhere who don't have anyone else to depend on. She's not an incredibly complex character, but readers are definitely able to identify with her. 

Read it!

~Becky~