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Why add Sanjay’s POV when he does nothing that could not be accomplished by Janani’s? In a novel about mothers and daughters, it feels cleaner to keep it to two perspectives, that of the mother and her loving daughter. Not to mention that Sanjay’s voice widens the gulf between the two sides of the story. It feels like Janani and Nila’s stories should be roughly equal, but in practice we know everything about Janani and nothing about Nila. And yet it is Janani’s story that is presented as the mystery, not Nila’s. Nila spends the novel desperately trying to learn her mother’s story, a goal that feels less pressing when the reader already knows it. On the flip side, the linguistic hoops Rajasree Variyar goes through to keep Nila’s secret is frankly mindboggling. 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 can’t afford. They let her keep her first baby girl but the rest are taken away as soon as they are born. The fate of her children has never been in her hands. But Janani can’t forget the daughters who weren’t allowed to live. Heartrending but ultimately hopeful, this richly evocative and spellbinding book will touch your soul’ VERONICA HENRY JANANI KNEW, THE MINUTE THE MIDWIFE PLACED her naked, squalling, soft-as-silk daughter in her arms, that she couldn’t lose this one. An image came to her mind, burying a bundle gone cold and still in the dirt by the young coconut palm. Her hands drew the hated little body closer. Tiny limbs moved in fitful pumps as Janani looked down into a face as round and purple as a mangosteen. The baby’s mouth shifted over the swollen skin of her breast, and her plaintive wail died as she found the nipple and began to feed. Her minute fingers rested against the skin over Janani’s heart.” The Daughters of Madurai is a captivating and riveting debut from an unforgettable new voice.”—Louise O’Neill, author of Asking for It
The positive aspect of the book is the bold topic, especially for a debut novel. Set in two timelines that span the decades from 1993 to 2019, the story is about young mother Janani who is not allowed to raise the babies she births after her first one because they are girls and her husband and mil want only boys. Humiliated and oppressed by societal norms that mean she cannot defy the injustice, Janani feels stifled.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.
Wow what an emotional rollercoaster! This book gripped me with its poignant story and I sobbed multiple times' I liked the bond of friendship Janani shares with fellow sufferer Shuba and the way they help and encourage each other but I found myself wanting more about Janani's journey to a different country after her second marriage. This is only hinted at but we never get to see what happened. This book focuses on the heart-wrenching practice of female infanticide; although illgeal in India since 1961, traditions persists and the practice continues in rural, isolated areas where such laws can not be enforced. The dowry system is a financial burden to the bride’s family and obviously more daughters equals more dowries or “gifts” to the grooms’ families. Instead of surrendering children to adoption; there are religious beliefs that advocate parental obligations to decide the fate of their children, rather than passing the decision to others. Janani is a bright second-born daughter born to impoverished son-less parents. Following the norms of society, at a young age, she is forced into a loveless marriage to an abusive husband and vile mother-in-law. Steeped in ignorance, the blame of the child’s sex is seemingly (and incorrectly) placed on the mother/wife. Janani is forced into multiple pregnancies in an effort to produce a son. In a patriarchal system that shuns divorce (especially those initiated by the wife), female advocacy (returning home is a shameful act that would humiliate her parents), and financial independence (her husband collects her earnings as a cleaner); Janani has few options. This story offers a fairly predictable outcome - but a bit too unrealistic in a practical sense; however, I went along with it for the sake of the story.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. 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. In spite of all the advancements and the progress humanity has managed to achieve, keeping the girls safe and mothers happy is a dream yet to become a reality in most parts of this tiny earth. Many have failed to take proper action against sexual exploitation and oppression of women and to ensure their right for education, freedom, and safety. This book is a welcome step in the right direction to see that dream come true. For a better tomorrow for the women on this earth read this book. As a father of two loving daughters, I myself hope, pray, and demand this change. Heartrending but ultimately hopeful, this richly evocative and spellbinding book will touch your soul.”—Veronica Henry, author of How to Find Love in a Bookshop You knew that Janani had made it out of India at the beginning of the book, you wanted to read about how she got there.
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. Thought eh story is mainly about some women from Madurai -Kadambavanam, it appeals to all daughters of the world. While Janani is the protagonist of the story, for me Sanjay is indeed the silent hero. The ultimate feelings I came away from this book have meant I have thought of it a few times since finishing, and I will certainly enjoy this once it is released, and have no hesitation to gift it out to others. 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 am not of Indian descent so I had so many words to look up and was very challenged trying to keep straight the character’s names, food names and terms of endearment. I don’t mind looking up words when I’m trying to understand another culture but between the jumping time line, challenging character names, and just sad, heartbreaking treatment of women I just had to push myself to finish this book. I wouldn’t have bothered if I wasn’t reading for book club.
This book has two POVs. Janani lives in Madurai in 1992. Nila lives in Sydney in 2019. I guessed the connection long before it was mentioned, but as in other books with two POVs, one was clearly the winner for me. Janani's story captivated me from the first. Nila grew on me. The Daughters of Madurai by Rajasree Variyar is published with Orion Books and is described as a ‘heart-wrenching, thought-provoking book club debut’. Inspired by the horrific stories of female infanticide, Rajasree Variyar spent time at grass-roots level with a charity in Madurai. This charity was working to eliminate this barbaric act by educating and empowering the local community from a young age. After her experiences there, Rajasree Variyar took what she had witnessed first hand and created this emotive debut that highlights a mother’s heart-breaking fight for her unborn daughter. Recommended for readers looking for an evocative, clear-eyed family saga set in India and for fans of Alka Joshi’s The Henna Artistand Sue Monk Kidd’s The Book of Longings.” — Library Journal 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 . . . Absolutely beautiful. Brilliantly constructed characters that do the critical topic the book focuses on justice'
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