‘A girl is a burden. A girl is a curse.’
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.
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…
Perfect for fans of Christy Lefteri and Delia Owens, The Daughters of Madurai is the moving debut from Rajasree Variyar, an unforgettable new voice. It’s both a heartrending family story and a page-turning mystery about the secrets we must keep to protect the people we love.
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.
Variyar’s prologue wastes no time in getting to the heart of these issues in Indian society. It packs a punch and sets the scene for this story set over two time periods and locations: Sydney, Australia in 2019, and Madurai, India in 1992. One story, told in the third person, belongs to Janani; the other, told in the first, belongs to Janani’s much-loved daughter, Nila.
When Janani travels back to India with her daughter and husband, the Pandora’s box of her past is opened. Nila has a secret and she’s terrified of it hurting her mother, but it’s one that has to come to light if she’s to live an authentic life. Nila simultaneously learns just how deep a mother’s love runs and how important it is to live beyond the shadows of secrecy.
The Daughters of Madurai is equal parts fearless and tender. It delves into the desire and terror of facing one’s past, and oneself, in order to be truly free to love. It also invites us to shift our perspective on parents, seeing them not just as a role but as humans, filled with their own complexities and histories.
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.
Variyar possesses a voice that’s filled with candour and compassion. This is a powerful debut.
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