After her husband's death, Ma, an elderly woman in a north Indian family, takes to her bed and turns her back on the household gathered around her. When she finally rises, it is as a changed person: playful, unpredictable and keen to do things her family never imagined, including moving in with her unconventional daughter, Beti, a writer who lives independently.
Ma's new friendship with Rosie, a hijra, adds to the family's confusion, and her desire to cross the border into Pakistan leads her back to a past from the time of Partition that she has never spoken about. Beti, who has always been the free one, finds herself watching her mother outdo her in rebellion.
Originally published in Hindi as Ret Samadhi, the novel is playful and digressive, with talking crows, puns and stories within stories. Daisy Rockwell's translation won the International Booker Prize in 2022, the first time the award went to a book translated from an Indian language.
Book details
| Author | Geetanjali Shree |
|---|---|
| First published | 2018 |
| Original language | Hindi |
| Translated by | Daisy Rockwell |
| Genre | Literary fiction |
| Type | Fiction |
| Setting | Delhi and northern India, and Pakistan, present day |
| Awards | International Booker Prize 2022 |
Themes
- Old age and renewal
- Mothers and daughters
- Partition memory
- Borders
- Gender
Who should read it
Adventurous readers who enjoy playful, experimental prose and stories about women reclaiming their lives.