This year, I resolved to read more books by Indian authors as I don't do it much. I'm so glad that I picked up this book because it is a hidden gem. IThis year, I resolved to read more books by Indian authors as I don't do it much. I'm so glad that I picked up this book because it is a hidden gem. It's poignantly rich and despairing writing left a mark on me.
Set in the rural area of post-colonial South India, "Nectar in a Sieve" is a story about Rukhmani, an old woman who reminiscences about her life. At the age of 12, she gets married to a tenant farmer. We follow her journey as she struggles to eke out a living on land amid threats of droughts, heavy monsoon, and starvation.
To say this book was beautiful would be an understatement. In the beginning, the writing has a childlike innocence and wonder as Rukhmani begins her new life. But as her life gets tough, it gets subdued by a melancholy voice that is trying its best to survive but is helpless against the odds.
This book accurately captures the essence of a farmer's life, showing the trials and tribulations they face while living from hand to mouth and sometimes starving till the next season. It also shows the patriarchal traditions still alive like child marriage, dowry, desire for sons. I don't think much has changed since then in that regard.
There's another character, a white doctor who helps these people but constantly chides them for being submissive. But we see that those who fight back suffer and lose what they already had. It shows the powerlessness of the poor against the rich. When one has limited means, the only thought that takes precedence is how to survive and we see this by the way the characters bend in the circumstances.
All in all, this is a must-read novel.
P.S. If you read this edition, please don't read the intro because it gives away a lot of spoilers!
P.P.S. I joined bookstagram just a few months ago so I'd really appreciate it if you checked it out! :D
'Being Reshma’ is an incredibly powerful and eye-opening account of the life of Reshma Qureshi, an acid attack survivor who’s now a model, a vlogger, 'Being Reshma’ is an incredibly powerful and eye-opening account of the life of Reshma Qureshi, an acid attack survivor who’s now a model, a vlogger, and an anti-acid activist.
I did not know about Reshma before I came across this book but I’m glad I got to read her story. It was really hard for me to get through this book as it was heart-wrenching but it was also beautiful and motivating.
In our world, where the future is unreservedly considered to be as grim as the past (if not more), we obsessively linger over the happier times.
Reshma was born and raised in a chawl in Mumbai where she lived with her parents and four siblings. Reshma, the youngest of the five children, was quirky and adventurous, a bit of a trouble-maker who had tiny dreams of her own.
Due to personal and financial issues, she had to move to Mau Aima, a small village in Uttar Pradesh with her sisters and mother. Her sister got married but came back home due to her mistreatment. Reshma was attacked as a means to get back at her sister.
This is where Reshma’s life changed forever. She explains in painful detail all the difficulties she had to face while getting treated after the incident. The refusal of people to offer help, apathetic policeman, poor facilities, and victim-blaming society made her life extremely difficult.
But, she also came across some amazing people who showed her kindness. With the help of politicians, philanthropists, and numerous other helpful people, she was able to get treated in a good hospital and underwent numerous surgeries on her face.
Through Ria Singh, she was introduced to Make Love Not Scars. She became the face of # EndAcidSale campaign that went viral and got a massive success. She started speaking up, giving interviews on the news channels and in 2016, she became the first acid-attack survivor to walk the ramp of New York fashion show.
All I did was survive and that made all the difference.
This memoir was written by Reshma with the help of Tania Singh who is the CEO of Make love Not Scars NGO as Reshma is not proficient in English. I realized I was not really ready to read this memoir. The fact that it’s based on a true incident made it all the more agonizing.
It was a detailed, first-hand account of a survivor that I had never read before. I used to hear stories in the news but it was very moving to know it from the actual person. The first half of the book is about her life before the incident and the next half is about her life after it.
I was extremely appalled and enraged at the way things turned out for her. The unfairness and helplessness of her position and the way she was treated was jarring. The crimes that are committed against women are atrocious and they keep happening all the time.
I’m glad that NGO’s like MLNS exist and they are putting a lot of efforts to help the survivors. I wish for a time when women are not seen as a property but as a living, breathing human beings who have a right to exist and have freedom and they’re respected for their choices. I hope the criminals receive strict punishment for their despicable crimes.
I was grotesque, even for hospital standards. Where did I belong if not there? I wanted to ask, but I hadn’t spoken in weeks, even though my mind was bleeding out words that were clotting in my mouth.
I was struck by Reshma’s willpower and the way she refused to give in to the circumstances. She worked through her trauma and accepted her fate and instead of hiding, she took ownership of her life and managed to turn her situation into something positive.
This story is not just about pain but it’s about conquering that pain and finding the inner voice to speak out about things that matter the most. It’s about acceptance and recognizing that there’s something bigger to look forward to and work for.
Reshma is an incredible and inspiring woman; she’s all the more beautiful because she’s a survivor and a fighter. I believe her voice and her story should be heard. I highly recommend reading this book and supporting Reshma....more
The story takes place in an isolated village Mano Majra where people from different religions like Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims co-exist in Read on blog
The story takes place in an isolated village Mano Majra where people from different religions like Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims co-exist in peace. The village stands as a symbol of ignorance and peace until the harmony is threatened by an incident which raises suspicion, chaos, and animosity that ensues from the rift created among different communities.
The story is told from the point of view of three major characters: Jagga, an infamous robber, Hukum Chand, a magistrate who’s responsible for the peace in the village and Iqbal, a political activist and a mysterious identity who visits the village with a purpose of triggering proletariat revolution.
Despite having a slow pace, the book is very engaging. The scenic descriptions and the depiction of the daily lives of the people in the book are so vivid and detailed, it feels like I was present there and experiencing things myself.
I loved the use of symbolism to depict the events happening in the village. The disruption of the day-to-day activities like the train schedule shows the disruption of the rhythm of their daily lives.
The author, at various places, criticizes the different aspects of society like people’s moral codes, religious beliefs, inequality, corrupt practices, and points out the hypocrisy of the people. The situation in the village shows how easy it is to manipulate people on religious grounds.
Since they abused and beat him without anger or hate, they were not human beings with names. They were only denominations one tried to get the better of. If one failed, it was just bad luck.
The ending just brought tears to my eyes. The author neatly depicts the complexity of human nature and points out the difference between one’s beliefs and actions. The book stays relevant even now as things haven’t changed much in today’s age. It’s a beautiful book worth reading....more
Norwegian Wood begins with Toru Watanabe, a 37 year old man traveling to Hamburg. After hearing the 'Norwegian Wood' by Beatles, he is overcome with nNorwegian Wood begins with Toru Watanabe, a 37 year old man traveling to Hamburg. After hearing the 'Norwegian Wood' by Beatles, he is overcome with nostalgia and begins musing about his teenage years.
At the age of 17, Kizuki, his best friend, decides to end his life leaving behind Toru and his girlfriend, Naoko, broken. Toru and Naoko bond after his death and Toru tries to offer emotional support to Naoko, falling in love with her in the process. But the death of Kizuki, whom Naoko loved ever since they were kids, sends her life in a downward spiral as she tries to come to terms with the incident. Her breakdown leads to her admission in a sanatorium.
Toru joins the University while keeping in touch with Naoko. He visits her occasionally, holding out hope for her recovery in hopes of starting a relationship with her. During his visit, he meets a musician Reiko and the three of them bond. Meanwhile, as life gets tough to deal with, Toru isolates himself from the world. He ends up meeting Midori who’s a fierce, independent and carefree girl. He is drawn to her and ends up falling in love with her.
Toru struggles with his feelings for Naoko while she struggles to deal with the death of Kizuki. Toru is torn between the two girls in his life. He tries his best to help Naoko get better while she keeps slipping away. Naoko represents the dark side, the hopelessness, and pain while Midori exhibits light side; she's a warm and soothing presence in the despairing life of Toru. His complex relationship with both the girls is depicted beautifully.
The writing was simply beautiful. The narration was very intimate and vivid. It drew me in right from the start and made me feel all sorts of emotions that the protagonist was going through. The author used the instances from his own life during student days which gives it an autobiographical feel, but that was not his intention. It’s not just a love story, though there are references to love throughout the novel. It’s a coming of age story with themes such as life and death, communication, isolation, mental illness, politics etc.
I loved all the characters. They were realistic and perfectly flawed which made me fall in love with them. I found Midori, Storm Trooper, Nagasawa and Reiko especially interesting. There are so many beautiful lines in this book that moved me while reading. Also, there are a lot of graphic adult scenes. I felt kind of weird about the last scene between Toru and Reiko, but it didn’t change my overall opinion about the story.
I enjoyed this book immensely. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes a nice coming-of-age story....more
‘The God of Small Things’ is one of those novels I’ve mixed opinions about. To be honest, it was a little difficult to get through this book but in th‘The God of Small Things’ is one of those novels I’ve mixed opinions about. To be honest, it was a little difficult to get through this book but in the end, it was really worth it! It revolves around the life of Ipe family living in the beautiful village of Ayemenem in Kerala. It begins when the twins Rahel and Estha are reunited in Ayemenem. The story switches back and forth between two different timelines beginning in 1993 and going all the way in the past when they were 7 years old.
Both of them are still haunted by an incident that happened long ago. The narrative then switches to the 1960s, when the twins were younger, where we learn about the things that led up to the tragic event that changed their lives in a major way. Through the switching narratives, we learn about the background of the Ipe family and things from their perspective. We also learn about the cultural and political climate of Kerala in the past.
First of all, I found the writing in this book absolutely enchanting and poignant in a very subtle way. I liked how the picturesque landscape of the village was described in minute details, even the minor details of objects were put in there, which was fascinating. The backstories of the people were told concisely which managed to capture the essence of the characters. The book has this kind of gloomy ambiance and a lot of foreshadowing is done which makes you want to keep on reading.
However, I had a bit of trouble following the events as the timelines just switch abruptly and the writing in the book feels too obscure sometimes. I mean I took my time reading the book, but there were many times I wanted to just give up. But I’m glad I didn’t do that as this is the kind of book that sticks with you for a long time. I think that’s the beauty of it, the language is so peculiar and heart-rending. The book talks about the loss of innocence and the ‘Love Laws’ that govern who should be loved, how and how much. The pain and the suffering of the people really broke my heart.
“…the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don’t deceive you with thrills and trick endings. They don’t surprise you with the unforeseen. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your lover’s skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don’t. In the way that although you know that one day you will die, you live as though you won’t. In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn’t. And yet you want to know again. That is their mystery and their magic.”
The book talks about the political climate of Kerala in the ’60s where there was a rise of communism and the caste system was already banned by the law. But socially, it was still prevalent as the oppressive system was somehow so embedded in people’s mind that it was impossible to get rid of the prejudice that people felt. The Untouchables were still unacceptable and expendable. This mentality made the innocent people born in a different cast into victims of their own fate. It’s sad to see that this is something that still exists in India, not in a major way but that mindset definitely isn’t gone socially. We also see the unfair treatment that the women received in society.
Towards the end of the book, an event takes place that can be called controversial. I don’t want to give too much away but I think the topic was handled very well. I was able to understand the situation and the misery of the people. Also, we see that no matter how messed up the Big Things are, the Small Things are the ones that really matter in the grand scheme of things, the things that keep you going; but maybe those Small Things can also eventually add up to create a huge impact over the lives of people. This book really made me feel the loss and grief that the characters felt.
All in all, it’s a great book that shows the ugly face of society. It has a really pretty cover and I’d love to re-read again after I forget the plot! I was amazed to know that this book was the author’s debut novel and she won an award for that. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re a patient reader. Otherwise, it’s a fine book worth reading.
All this, and much more, she had accepted, for, after all, living does mean accepting the loss of one joy after another, not even joys in her case,All this, and much more, she had accepted, for, after all, living does mean accepting the loss of one joy after another, not even joys in her case, mere possibilities of improvement.
'Signs and symbols' is about an old couple on their way to meet their son who’s in a sanatorium due to a rare mental illness known as ‘Referential mania’, in which the patient imagines that everything happening around him is a veiled reference to his personality and existence.
It wasn’t that impressive to me when I read it for the first time. But, after reading it multiple times with its analysis, I think I can appreciate the story.
You have to pay closer attention to the signs and symbols mentioned in the story in order to interpret and learn about the characters. It’s brilliantly written and it captures the suffering and hopelessness of the boy and his parents.
The story points to the defencelessness of the characters in the face of affliction and misery and in spite of that, the hope of the parents that things will turn around someday. The ending is open to interpretation....more
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