Mother Land
Fiction
William Morrow
July 14, 2020
Advanced reader copy
384
Free from publisher
From the critically acclaimed author of America for Beginners, a wonderfully insightful, witty, and heart-piercing novel, set in Mumbai, about an impulsive American woman, her headstrong Indian mother-in-law, and the unexpected twists and turns of life that bond them. When Rachel Meyer, a thirtysomething foodie from New York, agrees to move to Mumbai with her Indian-born husband, Dhruv, she knows some culture shock is inevitable. Blessed with a curious mind and an independent spirit, Rachel is determined to learn her way around the hot, noisy, seemingly infinite metropolis she now calls home. But the ex-pat American's sense of adventure is sorely tested when her mother-in-law, Swati, suddenly arrives from Kolkata--a thousand miles away--alone, with an even more shocking announcement: she's left her husband of more than forty years and moving in with them. Nothing the newlyweds say can budge the steadfast Swati, and as the days pass, it becomes clear she is here to stay--an uneasy situation that becomes more difficult when Dhruv is called away on business. Suddenly these two strong-willed women from such very different backgrounds, who see life so differently, are alone together in a home that each is determined to run in her own way--a situation that ultimately brings into question the very things in their lives that had seemed perfect and permanent . . . with results neither of them expect. Heartfelt, charming, deeply insightful and wise, Mother Land introduces us to two very different women from very different cultures . . . who maybe aren't so different after all.
My review:
This author's previous book, America for Beginners, was one of my best books of 2018, so I jumped at the chance to get an early copy of this one! I loved this one too! The author has such a way of writing characters and settings that you are completely immersed within the story! The characters of Rachel and Swati were so well portrayed that I switched alliances several times while reading, depending on whose side of the story I was presently engaged in. I absolutely loved learning about Mumbai, and the Indian culture, particularly as it relates to the role of women in the society. I was also drawn to the feminist aspect in this. Swati, who has been brought up as a traditional Indian daughter, wife and mother, suddenly yearns for something more:
".....she, Swati had never been that comfortable with anyone in her life. Not with Vinod, not with her parents, her siblings, her son, and certainly never with herself. It was like walking around in uncomfortable shoes all your life, and never knowing that shoes could be comfortable, and then finding out you could have been walking comfortably the whole time."
And Rachel starts to see that maybe she doesn't really know what she wants and needs as well as she thought when she agreed to move to Mumbai with her Indian husband:
"Because the truth is, you can't absorb what someone else wants, their certainty, it can't become yours, it can't take the place of you knowing what you need. And I don't. I thought I would find it here."
Even though I liked it, the ending was probably a bit too tidy (although I wouldn't call all of it predictable). The characters and writing in this book shine, and I can't recommend this one, and her previous book America for Beginners, enough! Can't wait for what comes next from this author!
I love the sound of the characters in this one, though I can see your reservations of the ending. Maybe I'll check out her previous novel first!