The Widows of Malabar Hill: A Pioneering Lawyer in 1920's India

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey was nominated in the mystery category in the earliest phase of this year's Goodreads Choice Awards. Since I had a copy from the F2F mystery group that I attend, I decided to prioritize it.  I am reviewing it on Thanksgiving because I am thankful for this book.

                           

 I  read some of the books in Sujata Massey's  mystery series about Japanese American Rei Shimura and found them entertaining.  Yet I've always wondered if she could produce more riveting mysteries if they were more related to her own heritage.   I don't believe that authors should be forbidden from writing books that have nothing to do with their heritage. What I do think is that Own Voices work is important and should be encouraged. Sujata Massey is partly Indian.  So I rejoiced when I saw that she had written a mystery taking place in India.  Not only this, but her fictional protagonist was based on real women who were among the first to practice law in India.

I reviewed a mystery about the real woman who was the first to practice law in California here. I hoped that The Widows of Malabar Hill would be better written and more authentic. My expectations were definitely fulfilled. 

The main character of this novel, Perveen Mistry, belongs to a religious and ethnic minority in India.  She is a Parsi.  The Parsis originated in Persia, and continue to practice Zoroastrianism which is an ancient religion that influenced Judaism, the faith of my own ancestors.   I read about this influence in Rav Hisda's Daughter by Maggie Anton which I reviewed here.

Some very traditional Zoroastrians had customs that were abusive to women.  Perveen had some horrifying experiences that many readers will find very troubling. I feel that I have a duty to warn that some readers who are survivors of domestic abuse may find that this section about Perveen's past in The Widows of Malabar Hill triggers flashbacks for them.  So this isn't a book for everyone.

 Perveen had the strength to emerge from the shadow of abuse, but it's important for me to say that she couldn't have done this alone.  As I mentioned in the last review I posted to this blog here , class can be an important factor in women's lives. Without the support of her wealthy and influential lawyer father, Perveen would have had nowhere to go and couldn't have become a lawyer herself.

As a result of the British Raj, India had two types of lawyers--barristers and solicitors. Barristers argue cases in court.  Solicitors write documents and briefs.  They also give advice to clients.  Both types of lawyers are very necessary to the practice of  law. Since both the British and Indian traditionalists didn't believe that it was proper for women to have occupations that required high profile public appearances, it was initially very difficult for a woman to become a barrister.  So the first woman lawyers in India were solicitors.  Perveen became a solicitor at her father's law firm.

The case in The Widows of Malabar Hill illustrates an important role for woman solicitors.  There were devout Muslim women who needed to consult a lawyer and couldn't speak to a man.  So Perveen helps women with their legal difficulties.  The Parsi female lawyer who is the main basis for Perveen, Cornelia Sorabji also began as a solicitor for women.

Another wonderful woman character in this novel is Perveen's closest friend, Alice, an English feminist who Perveen met when she was studying law at Oxford.  I would like to see Alice continue to assist Perveen with her cases in future novels in this series.

I will be very surprised if The Widows of Malabar Hill doesn't turn out to be my favorite mystery of 2018.   I am very much looking forward to seeing more of Perveen in the future.

Avishi: The Warrior Queen With An Iron Leg-- Blog Tour and Review

                               
                                                 

 SUMMARY:

Long before the times of Draupadi and Sita

Immortalised in the hymns of the Rig Veda

But largely forgotten to the memory of India

Is the Warrior Queen with an iron leg, Vishpala

Brought up in the pristine forest school of Naimisha, Avishi reaches the republic of Ashtagani in search of her destiny. When Khela, the oppressive King of the neighbouring Vrishabhavati begins to overwhelm and invade Ashtagani, Avishi rises to protect her settlement. But peril pursues her everywhere.

Separated from her love, her settlement broken, with a brutal injury needing amputation of her leg, can Avishi overcome Khela?

Goodreads * Amazon

 Review

 I'd like to add a new warrior queen to my favorites list alongside Boudica and Zenobia.   Avishi fought for her people against an empire building tyrant.  She is remembered in the Rig Veda as Vishpala who fought with a leg made of metal in ancient India before recorded history.   Avishi by Saiswaroopa Iyer tells her story, and the story of  Satya, the extraordinary healer whose dream was to create an artificial leg that would allow amputees to continue the lives they had before the amputation.  I received a free copy of this novel from b00k r3vi3w tours in return for this review.

Avishi  celebrates a forgotten milestone for the disabled, but it's also a plotted narrative with characters who experience internal and external conflict.   Avishi and Satya have a romantic relationship that is complicated by the fact that marriage is a recent innovation in their society.   Marriage is associated with monarchy. Monarchy is represented in this novel by the invader, Khela who seeks to conquer the democratic settlement  of Ashtagani.  Ashtagani is the home of Avishi and Satya.

 So the institution of marriage becomes bound up in the political struggle.  In our contemporary context questioning the value of marriage is a radical idea, but for these protagonists the acceptance of marriage is a very fundamental change.   There was no agreement about the purpose of marriage, how marriage should work or who would be ideal partners in a marriage.

I loved Avishi and Satya, and was moved by their story.  I was also fascinated by the themes raised in Avishi.  For readers who are interested, there is a bibliography of the author's sources which includes resources on prosthetics, marriage and democracy in ancient India.  Saiswaroopa Iyer deserves recognition as an emerging talent, and as a thorough researcher.

About the Author:

Saiswaroopa is an IITian and a former investment analyst turned author. Her keen interest in ancient Indian history, literature and culture made her take to writing. Her debut novel Abhaya, set in the times of Mahabharata was published in 2015. Avishi, her second novel set in Vedic India explores the legend of India’s first mentioned female warrior queen Vishpala.

She holds a certificate in Puranas from Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. She is also trained in Carnatic Classical music and has won a state level gold medal from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. 

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Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran

I won't describe for you the bloodshed and cruelty I saw that day. I don't wish to remember it, and I don't like to accept that I am capable of the acts I committed.

This is a novel about Manu, the last queen of India. I've read about her before...and I cannot remember a thing from the novel I read before, meaning it left no impact on me at all. This one, I will remember.

Something I've noticed with Moran's books....they are appropriate for the young reader as well as the adult. I'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but thought I'd mention it for those of you who may want to know or have teenagers in the household.

This novel is well written and enlightened me on the war between the British and India. I knew the East India Company was naughty whilst there, but I didn't realize the British actually passed a law demanding Indian woman becoming their prostitutes and stuff like that. Nor did I realize how very worthless the queen was in all this, Queen Victoria.

And what a brutal war was this...brutal. Sad. Very sad.

I walked away from this book with a lot more knowledge than I had before.

But if you think it's about war, it's not. As a matter of fact, I feel the blurb is a bit misleading. It says, "Queen Lakshmi raises two armies—one male, one female—and rides into battle like Joan of Arc. "

And she does...but not until about 90% into it. The war actually begins at 83% and the heroine of the tale gets really into it at 89%. The queen becomes "Joan of Arc" at like 95%.

So that's a bit misleading. Until that point it's about Sita and the queen's guard, consisting of ten highly trained women. And this was unusual at the time as India was mostly women confined to their homes. Sita leaves a difficult household in hopes of making enough money to get her sister a dowry. And there's an evil lady guard as the villain and court intrigue and drama as Sita learns to watch her back among jealous, vindictive women. And there's the British trying to take over. It's actually really fascinating and riveting; I just wish there'd been more fighting and warrior stuff on Sita's part, but once she trains, that's pretty much it until that sentence I posted at the beginning of this review. Her fighting bit in the war is told in a paragraph or two.

She does make an entertaining trip to England though as well.

I enjoyed this novel and really liked its heroine. I loved learning about the all-female guard and the customs, the palace, the gods. I felt completely transported and a part of the tale.

Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel

If you are interested in the life of tea planters in India after WWII, this is the book for you.


I'm afraid it doesn't offer a lot more beyond that, except it does show us some Indian customs and traditions and superstitions and just overall way of life during that time as well.

I struggled with some of this. I almost tossed it in the quarter because while I was hooked in the beginning, when the love interest, Mani went to become a tea planter, leaving the heroine behind for three years, their "romance" was through letters and there was nothing remotely romantic about the letters. It was all about the tea life and wild animals.

Then they finally get married and this is where it got interesting. The wedding preparations, the ruckus, the traditions. It is truly intriguing. I was riveted once again.

Then they went to the tea plantation. Enter hornet bites (this was actually kind of cool, but I won't explain why), the clash of cultures: Indian and British, prejudice, a mysterious 11-month pregnancy, man-eating leopards, thieving servants...this had its interesting moments. But again, I began losing interest. I'm just not that interested in the making of tea. I also never felt the wonderful connection between the hero and heroine that I felt like I should be feeling.

There's no huge love story here. It's simply everyday life on a tea plantation and because of this lack of....solid plot, it came off as never-ending at times.

But I did like the writing style overall and the heroine of the story grabbed my heart.

Three stars. I received this from netgalley.

Manu by Christopher Nicole

This is a historical fiction that educates the reader about Indian  history. Told from the POV of an Englishwoman, widowed from her missionary husband, it tells of the British occupation of India and a strong woman who dared to rule, Manu.

The story begins with Emma in England, caught for thieving and accused of murder. Her only way out is to marry a missionary who is traveling to India. She is not allowed back in England for ten years. Little does she know that that ten years will actually become a much longer period due to her own desires.


Presented with an opportunity to be a governess to an Indian princess, she takes it. And she "goes native." At first, things are rough. The prince is a homosexual, the princess thinks she is a warrior and threatens to place Emma naked on an anthill-something to that effect. And of course, the British rule with a condescending attitude.


The big guy finally dies, no heir in sight except for an adopted child that the British refuse to acknowledge. Manu, the princess takes over and leads her men into battle. I liked this:


"I will throw their heads at your feet," Risaldar promised. (a soldier)
"I will throw their heads at my own feet," Manu declared. (hell, yea)


Emma discovers that despite the fact she loves Manu, hates what the British has done, has an Indian husband, is now wearing saris, and has a half Indian child, she somewhat ponders going back to England. Now it may be too late. She's also very busy playing go-between as the English don't believe Manu is fit to rule and attempt to control her in every way they can.


Well told, but seriously lacking emotional depth. Also lots of long dialogue bits. Thought told from Emma's POV, she really doesn't have much emotion. That surprised me. Also found her surprisingly agreeable to just about anything and that didn't fit in with the character we were first introduced to.


I liked it, however. Three stars. I received this from the publisher.

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

What I really liked about this novel is the way one thing led to another.. One woman, imprisoned by her health, by her declining body leads to the release of a woman imprisoned by her marriage.. 

This novel follows six people, four women, two men. The four women were once the best of friends, but time and distance has split them up. However, they still think of each other and more so when it's discovered that one of them, Armaiti, the one in America, is dying of a brain tumor. 

This story was another great part of the novel. Food for thought: You have a tumor/cancer and only 6 months or so to live.. Do you die on your terms? Or do you go through countless surgeries/chemo and die on other's terms? Really loved this aspect. 

Laleh blames herself for Armaiti's tumor, thinking it is the result of a blow to the head long ago in their girls' rioting days.. Her husband tries to make her see reason. Kavita is a lesbian who even in middle age, feels she must hide the fact from her family because it's not just done openly in India. And then there's Nishta... 

Nishta married a Muslim man.. and when the riots occurred, he was changed forever. He says at one point in the book that she's the only beautiful thing left in his life.. and he keeps her close in check, using religion to do so. He imprisons her. The other women only become aware of this when Armaiti calls from America asking them all to come visit her and see her one last time before she dies.. and this how one woman's misfortune becomes one woman's blessing. 


Quibbles: Seemed over wordy and too long for what it actually contained. The girls' past rebellion was brought up a lot, but except for that one riot that was mentioned, I wasn't sure what all they had fighting for or how.. That wasn't too clear to me. The ending.. left me wanting. It felt incomplete. I needed that happy reunion.. not the promise of it.


I got this on Amazon Vine and I give it a three. good, but could be better. 

Sisters of the Sari by Brenda L. Baker

This is one of those books that I just can't recommend enough. It's funny, touching, and has lots of drama that ties in nicely together.

Kiria is a successful American woman who is the CEO of her own company. She's very independent and does what she wants, when she wants, without a man in her life. She travels to India and finds herself touched by Santoshi, a dependent in the Indian shelter system. In a way though, both women though in very different circumstances, have a lot in common. They each take care of themselves. No one else is looking out for them. Kiria simply has the money and means to do it in a more hygienic way.


Kiria wants to help Santoshi better herself and sets about opening a home for independent women in India. She enlists Santoshi's help. The novel goes back and forth from first person POV (Kiria's very humorous and witty viewpoint) to third person POV. 


I LOVE Kiria.. here's why:


"Now, here's some advice if you ever want to take a city bus in India-don't even think about it. The bus that finally came was packed, sardines-in-a-tin packed, resulting in some unavoidable familiarity with my fellow travelers. When a particularly good pothole created a bowling-pin effect among the standing passengers, I learned more about one poor young man's anatomy than either of us really wanted to know. Hopefully, his reproductive abilities were not permanently impaired."


"... getting more flies with honey. Which is a very odd expression when you think about it. Who exactly wants those flies? Entomologists? Any entomologist worth his salt should know that you get the most flies with shit."


"Sari-itis afflicts approximately one in ten Indian women. It is incurable. The disfiguring effects on its sufferers can only be controlled by placing limits on their credit cards. You see the victims on the streets of Chennai every day, pathetic women who have succumbed to the lure of the fabric and bought a sari whose pattern highlights all their figure flaws and even creates some they don't have. A short, fat woman will buy a silver sequined sari that makes passerby break into spontaneous disco dancing."


Nevertheless, while Kiria is establishing this home (which all her Indian friends feel is doomed to fail), the characters around her have their own dramas. Santoshi cannot agree with sharing a home with those of lower caste and sets off on an eye-opening adventure. Laxmi is trying to adjust to being a housewife to a weak man with an evil mother. Mary Elizabeth loves a man that technically, she is not supposed to love. (Again, caste system and all.) All these women aid each other in some way.. and enrich each other's lives.


And... Kiria has a son... and there some drama there, but I don't wish to spoil it so that's all I'm going to say about that.


The book is humorous, well written, and the author obviously knows India very well. The ending was terrific.


Five stars. I received this from the publisher. 

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

This is a lovely and informative novel. The setting is India, both 1947 and 1858. There are five love stories in a way.. There's the heroine, Evie and Martin. They are married with a five year old boy. Their marriage was wonderful until Martin went to serve in WW2... now things are falling apart. Evie thought that coming to India would bring them closer together, but they have simply "exported" their unhappiness... In order to save their marriage, Martin must get rid of his inner demons and both of them must learn to live for joy..

Evie finds old letters and a journal from 1858 chronicling the lives of Felicity and Adela. Adela has a love story.. Adela was a lesbian in a time when lesbianism was frowned upon.. Adela had an affair with a maid in England despite her great love for Felicity...

Felicity is in love with India and has a dangerous affair of her own, with an Indian man.

That's three love stories. The last two are different kinds of love stories, love between mother and child. Throughout the novel, I was impressed with the bond between Evie and her son, Billy. The book really shows how strong a mother's love is and how far she will go for her child. I loved Billy and his, "Aw, nuts." What a cute kid.

Adela experiences motherhood in her own way... with a child not of her blood. The bond is there, nevertheless.

In the middle of all these wonderful stories is the story of India.. of British rule, of Ghandi, of Partition and the chaos resulting from it. Partition was when Britain withdrew their rule and divided the country between Hindus and Muslims, India and Pakistan. I found myself pondering this... Is it better to live divided and possibly breed hate and resentment or to live together and learn to love one another?

I found this educational regarding Indian history and I felt the book had a strong moral throughout: Whether in relationships or life in general, life is what you MAKE IT. You have a choice: live with joy and forgiveness or live with hate and resentment.

Four stars only because Adela's journal entries were dull at times.

I received this ARC from the publisher.