The Daughters of Madurai

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While exploring the phenomenon of female infanticide, the story sensitively underlines the indomitable strength of women and the beautiful bond that mothers and daughters share. It also brings out the enigma of love and how it helps to defeat the obstacles in life. There is no doubt that this book could have been far more despairing and depressing, and there were certainly some heart wrenching, heavy moments, but it was also full of hope, courage and the bond between a mother and their daughters. Nila doesn't remember her life before they moved to Australia, and her parents never talk about their past. So when she joins her parents on a trip to their hometown, Madurai, she hopes she'll finally uncover the truth. Especially as Nila seeks acceptance for a secret of her own... First and foremost, I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

A temple city in lush southern India, Madurai is bustling with pilgrims and steeped in history and tradition. Yet not all traditions should be upheld… Debutant novelist Rajasree Variyar writes the story of a mother — belonging to a poor Kallar family, the landless community infamous for female infanticide — who is constantly reminded that she is worthless if she bears daughters. The Daughters of Madurai opens with the line: “A girl is a burden, a girl is a curse”; and it hits a raw nerve. Just like the innumerable newspaper reports on Usilampatti’s social malady that undervalues women and their reproductive rights. It compelled the author to tell devastating stories about families. The book leaves a trail of heart-wrenching, endearing, hopeful and powerful emotions in the reader’s mind. Nila’s desire for individuation battles it out with her need to belong, told in a manner that’s relatable and compelling. Deeper still is the story of the love we have for the women who gave us life and for the children we give life to. The Daughters of Madurai is a mother-daughter love story. It also gives an alarming insight into female infanticide and misogyny, as well as the strength and fortitude necessary to be a woman and a mother.It is a family saga replete with suspense, drama, love, trauma, sorrow, courage and success. The secrets women keep and must keep to protect the ones they love makes for a complex plot that also bursts with the colours, sounds and scents of India spanning three decades. Madurai, 1992. A young mother in a poor family, Janani is told she is useless if she can’t produce a son – or worse, bears daughters. They let her keep her first baby girl, but the rest are taken away as soon as they are born – murdered before they have a chance to live. The fate of her children has never been in her hands. But Janani can’t forget the daughters she was never allowed to love.

A temple city in lush southern India, Madurai is bustling with pilgrims and steeped in history and tradition. Yet not all traditions should be upheld... This is a subject that I personally haven't seen written about an awful lot, so I was extremely interested to see how it was covered. While not a true historical aspect, we still have the generations gap to contemporary day in how the book is presented. Heartbreaking, emotional and thought-provoking... I will think about this story for a long time' ALIYA ALI-AFZALAs a low-caste cleaner for a wealthy family, Janani’s duty has always been quiet obedience. Even at home, her mother-in-law’s word is law. Janani has never dared to dream of a different life. But now, she has something she’ll do anything to protect… even if it means losing everything she’s ever known. It is a poignant work set in 1992, a haunting reminder of a time when young mothers in Usilampatti were consumed by fear of losing their daughters in the womb or immediately after birth.