I’m posting the review under this edition with a brown cover, conveniently ignoring that what I actually read was a flowery pink atrocity. I would have never picked it up myself but I actually reserved it at the library because I liked the title. The pink cover with flowers is the new edition by nons other than Faber, recently responsible for the sacrilegious cover of the anniversary edition of The Bell Jar (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...). If you have read other books about the struggle of Indian women and you’re not deeply interested in the subject, you can probably skip this one. Although, if you haven’t, this would be a good choice for a start. It mostly concerns itself with peculiar family dynamics, little wars, tiny power struggles – pretty much anything that’s left to women who don’t have any other outlet through which they could express themselves or gain a sense of accomplishment. To spice things up Manju Kapur included the political background (the story takes place before and around Partition) and even tries to create some parallels between the micro and macrocosm. While I really appreciate the effort, I can’t say those bits were woven in seamlessly. They did often feel like newspaper cuttings pasted in. The book tells the story of Virmati and is partly narrated by her daughter who is trying to learn more about her mother. Therefore there is a lot of fore-shadowing and we pretty much know where the story is going and how it is going to end. I can’t help but feel it would’ve been a more engaging read if we didn’t know Virmati’s fate from the get go.As it is revealed at the very beginning, I can also tell you that young Virmati ends up marrying the Professor and becoming his second wife. This antagonizes her own family, as well as the first wife obviously. Initially, I empathised with the Professor – here is a man who went to study in Oxford, came back and had to marry an illiterate woman the family had chosen for him. He had already been infected with the Western balderdash or romantic love and partnership, so who could blame him for falling hard and deep for a young and bright Virmati. But soon it becomes apparent that the Professor is a weak man, who prefers to have a cake and eat it too, and also it is not really a partner he is looking for. True to his nickname, he is actually looking for a student. Someone who would listen and learn, someone he could mould according to his vision but someone who would never exercise their independent reasoning skills. In the end it was maybe his first wife who ended being the smarter one by refusing to learn to read or care for anything he tried to teach her, she stood her ground and stuck to what she thought was important, be it cooking and astrology.
What do You think about Difficult Daughters (2009)?
Difficult Daughters is a novel that sweeps you into a world where a young modern girl struggles against traditional values to forge a fulfilling life for herself. With strong dreams to be educated, Virmati falls in love with her new neighbor, an already married professor. Despite the struggles of her family to keep them apart, Virmati sacrifices everything so she can be with her beloved in their scandalous relationship. Her family turns against her and she finds herself alone, trying to hold her head high against societal normals. The story takes place in 1947 during a tumultuous period in India's history. Poignantly written and absorbing, I could not help but become absorbed and enchanted with a heroine who will risk all to be true to herself and forge a better path for women in her country. The plight of women trapped in stringent cultural norms is a strong theme throughout this lush novel. It is no surprise that this novel has won the prestigious Commonwealth Writer's Prize. My only concern was there was an overabundance of Indian words describing clothing and various items for which no glossary was provided, and which pulled me out of the story. This was especially evident in the earlier chapters and faded gradually as the story progressed. Despite this, readers should persevere, for the story is truly engaging and worth reading. Definitely recommended.
—Mirella
I met Madhu Kapur before I read her first book. Her book, like her speaks like a voice of a daughter. Exasperated, frustrated, tired. It's a story about acceptance & for love from another. Virmati wanted her mother to love and appreciate her and she accepted a version of it with her choice of Hari. Her tolerance of her circumstances with the backdrop of gaining an education made her even more isolated in her family & to her peers. She wanted to be traditional but she lacked courage to be really liberal. In the end, the narrator wanted the memory of Virmati to leave her. This journey into the past was meant for us to understand, appreciate & let it go. An important lesson to learn when dealing with relationships with one's mother. Her story is a real one, one familiarly faced by many girls from traditional homes who are bound by duty yet yearn to be seen for themselves, as unique individuals.
—Vidhya Nair
Very thought-provoking; V is fighting her hardest against tradition and doing what her family expects of her as she matures, but finds out that sometimes, when you get what you wish for, it still doesn't turn out quite as you thought it would. The roles and attitudes of men and women in Indian society are pretty unequivocally portrayed throughout the novel, and to my Western eyes the Professor's incredibly selfish behaviour, attitudes and complete lack of empathy towards V and his wife are breath-taking. But accepted as the norm because that was the norm then. V is an incredibly brave protagonist, but not only do men fail to help her out in going against tradition, the women in her life actively embrace traditional values and use them to keep her 'in her place' (with them) and rarely stop to consider there could be another way of doing things. Stifling, but very good reading.
—The Book
