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While THE DAUGHTERS OF MADURAI explores the harrowing issue of female infanticide, it’s also a universal story about the bond between mothers and daughters, the strength of women, the power of love in overcoming all obstacles --- and the secrets we must keep to protect the ones we hold dear.
Keeping Nila’s secret but giving her no other individualized personality traits beyond curiosity about her mother’s life seriously undercut the novel. Why have Nila present at all if Janani’s is the only story you’re telling? Nila should have been, at the very least, a contrast to Janani. She’s set up to be one. She’s a largely independent woman with her own job and whose life doesn’t have to revolve around men or babies. Why not dig into her deeper to better show the life Janani was able to give her? Why not let the reader know upfront that Nila is queer so that the contrast and comparisons between her life and Janani’s first forced traditional marriage and second frowned upon love match are more emphasized? Janani had been unable to conceive a boy in a town where baby girls were considered useless and a drain on the household’s already struggling budget. Her mother-in-law was a spiteful and hard-hearted woman who spared no sympathy for Janani’s plight. She saw it as a failure that Janani was unable to provide her with a grandson.
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Firstly, I must appreciate the subject the author chose for her debut book. There are countless stories of women who ran away from home with nothing except their daughter(s). And of those who fought tooth and nail to keep their little girls alive. Even today, the discrimination is evident. This one revolves around Australia and India - alternating in each chapter between Madurai of the 90s and Sydney of 2019. It isn't easy to write two contrasting scenarios. In this context, the author was impressive. I felt that the story could have elaborated certain areas, like, Janani's marriage, her move to Australia with her new family and the society's stiff opposition to her decisions. The story also has Shubha, a dear friend to Janani, another victim of dowry and male-child preference. I wish these were also talked about. Or may be, the author wanted to keep it simple. That was my only problem throughout, with this book. It is too simple even in the most shattering scenes.
When there are two timelines and one of them is in first person, we automatically expect to know more about that character’s feelings. In this book however, we know more about Janani than Nila. Nila’s arc is very underwhelming, and her emotional trajectory seems more surface level. The contemporary timeline is too simplistic and brushes aside any scene where there was a scope for deeper introspection of the characters. I was pleased to have the opportunity to read this with Methley Book Club. Thank you to the Reading Agency and Orion publishers for the books.The main plot of the story is woven around the gruesome tradition of selective feticide and infanticide of the girl child along with the cruelties and the misery of the victimized wives of domestic abuse. The Daughters of Madurai is, as the name suggests, fundamentally a story about mothers and daughters. Structurally, it alternates between the past and the present, introducing us to Nila, a 25 year old physiotherapist living in Sydney in 2019, and Janani, a 22 year old cleaner living in Madurai in 1993. It reminded me of the bitterness of women caught in and even perpetuating an interminable cycle of patriarchy and misogyny. And how different and better a woman’s life can be with the support of other women. It made me think about the big ways and the little ways that sexism happens. And it made me feel very strongly that I will do everything to make sure to protect the women I know from it as best I can. Sydney, 2019. Nila has a secret, one she’s been keeping from her parents for too long. Before she can say anything, her grandfather in India falls ill, so she agrees to join her parents on a trip to Madurai. Nila knows little about where her family came from or who they left behind. What she’s about to learn will change her forever. Janani’s character growth is interesting, especially in the past timeline. She isn’t shown as perfect, but as someone who knows her limits and tries to push them to the fullest. I also liked the author’s choice of name for her. ‘Janani’ means ‘mother’ in Sanskrit, so it feels like an apt name for a character whose entire identity stems from her ability to be a mother to sons while all she pines for is her lost daughters. Even Shubha and Kamala were good characters. I wish there had been more of them in the book.
Let me preface this review by saying I'm not Indian, Indian Australian, or in any way related to the diaspora. Rosh is, and left a very informative review.Madurai, 1992. A young mother in a poor family, Janani is told she is useless if she can't produce a son--or worse, if she bears daughters. They let her keep her first baby girl, but the rest are taken away as soon as they are born, and murdered. But Janani can't forget the daughters she was never allowed to love . . .
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