From the Publisher
In south India in 1896, ten-year old Sivakami is about to embark on
a new life. Hanumarathnam, a village healer with some renown as an
astrologer, has approached her parents with a marriage proposal. In
keeping with custom, he provides his prospective in-laws with his
horoscope. The problem is that his includes a prediction, albeit a
weak one, that he will die in his tenth year of marriage.
Despite the ominous horoscope, Sivakami's parents hesitate only
briefly, won over by the young man and his family's reputation as
good, upstanding Brahmins. Once married, Sivikami and Hanumarathnam
grow to love one another and the bride, now in her teens, settles
into a happy life. But the predictions of Hanumarathnam's horoscope
are never far from her new husband's mind. When their first child
is born, as a strategy for accurately determining his child's
astrological charts, Hanumarathnam insists the midwife toss a lemon
from the window of the birthing room the moment his child appears.
All is well with their first child, a daughter, Thangam, whose
birth has a positive influence on her father's astrological future.
But this influence is fleeting: when a son, Vairum, is born, his
horoscope confirms that his father will die within three
years.
Resigned to his fate, Hanumarathnam sets himself to the unpleasant
task of readying his household for his imminent death. Knowing the
hardships and social restrictions Sivakami will face as a Brahmin
widow, he hires and trains a servant boy called Muchami to help
Sivakami manage the household and properties until Vairum is of
age.
When Sivakami is eighteen, Hanumarathnam dies as predicted.
Relentless in her adherence to the traditions that define her
Brahmin caste, she shaves her head and dons the white sari of the
widow. With some reluctance, she moves to her family home to raise
her children under the protection of her brothers, but then
realizes that they are not acting in the best interests of her
children. With her daughter already married to an unreliable
husband of her brothers' choosing, and Vairum's future also at
risk, Sivakami leaves her brothers and returns to her marital home
to raise her family.
With the freedom to make decisions for her son's future, Sivakami
defies tradition and chooses to give him a secular education. While
her choice ensures that Vairum fulfills his promise, it also sets
Sivakami on a collision course with him. Vairum, fatherless in
childhood, childless as an adult, rejects the caste identity that
is his mother's mainstay, twisting their fates in fascinating and
unbearable ways.
From the Hardcover edition.
From the Jacket
In south India in 1896, ten-year old Sivakami is about to embark on
a new life. Hanumarathnam, a village healer with some renown as an
astrologer, has approached her parents with a marriage proposal. In
keeping with custom, he provides his prospective in-laws with his
horoscope. The problem is that his includes a prediction, albeit a
weak one, that he will die in his tenth year of marriage.
Despite the ominous horoscope, Sivakami's parents hesitate only
briefly, won over by the young man and his family's reputation as
good, upstanding Brahmins. Once married, Sivikami and Hanumarathnam
grow to love one another and the bride, now in her teens, settles
into a happy life. But the predictions of Hanumarathnam's horoscope
are never far from her new husband's mind. When their first child
is born, as a strategy for accurately determining his child's
astrological charts, Hanumarathnam insists the midwife toss a lemon
from the window of the birthing room the moment his child appears.
All is well with their first child, a daughter, Thangam, whose
birth has a positive influence on her father's astrological future.
But this influence is fleeting: when a son, Vairum, is born, his
horoscope confirms that his father will die within three
years.
Resigned to his fate, Hanumarathnam sets himself to the unpleasant
task of readying his household for his imminent death. Knowing the
hardships and social restrictions Sivakami will face as a Brahmin
widow, he hires and trains a servant boy called Muchami to help
Sivakami manage the household and properties until Vairum is of
age.
When Sivakami is eighteen, Hanumarathnam dies as predicted.
Relentless in her adherence to the traditions that define her
Brahmin caste, she shaves her head and dons the white sari of the
widow. With some reluctance, she moves to her family home to raise
her children under the protection of her brothers, but then
realizes that they are not acting in the best interests of her
children. With her daughter already married to an unreliable
husband of her brothers' choosing, and Vairum's future also at
risk, Sivakami leaves her brothers and returns to her marital home
to raise her family.
With the freedom to make decisions for her son's future, Sivakami
defies tradition and chooses to give him a secular education. While
her choice ensures that Vairum fulfills his promise, it also sets
Sivakami on a collision course with him. Vairum, fatherless in
childhood, childless as an adult, rejects the caste identity that
is his mother's mainstay, twisting their fates in fascinating and
unbearable ways.
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Padma Viswanathan is a fiction writer, playwright and journalist
from Edmonton, Alberta. Her writing awards include residencies at
the MacDowell Colony and the Banff Playwrights' Colony, and first
place in the 2006 Boston Review Short Story Contest. She
received her Creative Writing MA from Johns Hopkins and her MFA
from the University of Arizona, and lives with her family in
Fayetteville, Arkansas.
From the Hardcover edition.
Bookclub Guide
1. How does fate intersect with personal will in the book? What
are your thoughts on the concept of fate? Has it been operational
in your life?
2. Sivakami makes some decisions for her family, with mixed
results. How do you feel about her decisions? Can you think of
similar situations in your family?
3. Many of Sivakami's values seem strange to the modern reader.
How do you relate to them? Which are strange and which are
familiar?
4. Vairum is the only character who actively works to break down
caste barriers. How do you feel about his methods and goals,
especially given the ways they hurt Sivakami and make Janaki
uncomfortable?
5. Muchami is not technically part of the family but still has
an intimate investment in their well-being. How would you
characterize his role and his affection for Sivakami and her
family, given that he is an employee and not even permitted in
certain parts of their house?
6. How does the notion of "a life well-lived" play out in the
book? What does this mean for each individual character? Does it
change along with societal norms?
7. Do you think the personalities of the characters in the book
are essentially shaped by the times they are living in? If not, can
you imagine how they would differ in other contexts?
8. This novel is set in a very specific region and subculture,
did you learn anything new or surprising about Indian society or
history?
9. Both music and creative impulse strongly influence the lives
of Vani, Janaki and Bharati, but do these qualities define them as
people? What does that influence mean, in general and for them?
10. The language in the book has been described alternately as
"poetic and precise," as "simple" and as quite the opposite:
"maximalist." Were you aware of the style of writing as you were
reading and how would you describe it? What are some sentences or
passages that characterize the style?
Trade Paperback
640 Pages, 5.64 x 9.4 x 1.42 in
March 10, 2009
Random House Of Canada
English
0307356337
9780307356338