The Daughters of Madurai

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Heartbreaking, emotional and thought-provoking… I will think about this story for a long time’ ALIYA ALI-AFZAL 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… Female Infanticide and all the obstacles and traditions that it brings including dowry, is the basis of this book. 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. 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...

Heartrending but ultimately hopeful, this richly evocative and spellbinding book will touch your soul' VERONICA HENRY 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. 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...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.

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. As 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. 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. 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. As 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.Heartrending but ultimately hopeful, this richly evocative and spellbinding book will touch your soul’ VERONICA HENRY It wasn't as heavy to read as some books of a similar genre I've read, and it didn't diminish anything for me. If anything, I think that while more depth at times can help a book like this, here I felt it would've minimised the overall messages and premise of the book. It would also be a great book to gift to someone who might usually find this sort of thing too depressing or too serious to read. It wasn't sugar-coated either. It had a balance that I think benefitted it more than detracted. 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.