Katrin itibaren Kulanandapur Chak, West Bengal, Hindistan
A moving, poignant story about three women – Kavita, a mother in rural India who is forced to give her daughter up for adoption to protect her from infanticide, Somer an American doctor unable to bear a child and Asha the daughter Kavita gives up and Somer adopts. The author does a remarkable job exploring and expressing the emotions these women feel, each struggling with their losses and fears – Kavita racked with guilt and tortured by memories of leaving her crying infant in an orphanage, Somer’s suffering over her infertility and later her insecurities as an adoptive mother and Asha’s yearning to find her roots and come to terms with the fact that her parents gave her up. The book is a tribute to mothers everywhere. Besides Somer and Kavita, there are two other strong mothers in the novel – Dadima and Ba. The book is also about family. In today’s society in which we have so many kinds of families, the message of “Secret Daughter” is that “at some point the family you create is more important than the family you are born into”. Asha goes to India seeking out “one family and ended up discovering another”. The book explores social problems like the disregard for female children in India. The plot is excellent, moves smoothly and keeps the reader riveted. Whereas the female characters in the book are well drawn, the male characters in the book are all but ignored so one may complain that the book does not give all characters fair representation. Men may dismiss the book as chick-lit but when you consider the serious topics the book explores which is part of our lives today, the book is relevant for male and female readers alike. An excellent first novel which I highly recommend
This is a great book for children. It exposes them to the world of politics in a silly, goodhearted manner. This is a great book to use around election time and can be integrated in to all sorts of lesson plans.
daunting slash compelling memoir about a chick who is trying to become a doctor and expert of the same thing thats killing her life. im glad i read this as i feel like i know more about what it means to be 'manic-depressive' and, hence, will never again say 'thats depressing' or ím depressed' lightly - as its beyond a feeling of sadness. its a truly cold and hollow place. perfect book to read whilst rehearsing a romcom!
[http://mllesays.blogspot.com/2007/02/...]
This is a book of Jewish stories of posession. It is in the same vein as Malachi Martin's Hostage to the Devil. However, it is not nearly as entertaining as vicarious chills and thrills and it comes across as sometimes heavy-handed moralizing on keeping the commandments. It is written for an orthodox Jewish audience. The bulk of the book are tales of posession. There is a short second section on various Jewish doctrines on the nature of the soul, the afterlife, etc. The doctrines are consistent with Lurianic kabbalah as interpreted in the Hasidic tradition. Personally, the exposition of Jewish theosophy in Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's Way of God (Derekh Hashem) is much better.