The Daughters of Madurai

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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… Heartbreaking, emotional and thought-provoking... I will think about this story for a long time' ALIYA ALI-AFZAL 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. 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.

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... Usilampatti of the 90s and Sydney of 2019 are two parallel stories that are connected and finally merge at the end revealing many truths while keeping the suspense alive. In Usilampatti, a young mother, Janani, is faced with desperate choices and will do anything to save her unborn daughter; Nila in Sydney keeps a secret from her parents till she embarks on a life-changing journey to Madurai and discovers more details about her family and how she was saved. 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. Female Infanticide and all the obstacles and traditions that it brings including dowry, is the basis of this book. Heartrending but ultimately hopeful, this richly evocative and spellbinding book will touch your soul' VERONICA HENRYIt 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. 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. 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. 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.

Heartbreaking, emotional and thought-provoking… I will think about this story for a long time’ ALIYA ALI-AFZALNila 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… Sydney, 2019. Nila has a secret, one she’s been keeping from her parents for far too long. Before she can say anything, her grandfather in India falls ill and she agrees to join her parents on a trip to Madurai – the first in over ten years. Growing up in Australia, Nila knows very little about where she or her family came from, or who they left behind. What she’s about to learn will change her forever… Heartrending but ultimately hopeful, this richly evocative and spellbinding book will touch your soul’ VERONICA HENRY