Difficult Daughters: A Novel [Paperback]

Manju Kapur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1999

Set around the time of Partition and written with absorbing intelligence and sympathy, Difficult Daughters is the story of a woman torn between family duty, the desire for education, and illicit love. Virmati, a young woman born in Amritsar into an austere and high-minded household, falls in love with a neighbour, the Professor--a man who is already married. That the Professor eventually marries Virmati, installs her in his home (alongside his furious first wife) and helps her towards further studies in Lahore, is small consolation to her scandalised family. Or even to Virmati, who finds that the battle for her own independence has created irrevocable lines of partition and pain around her.

Difficult Daughters was short-listed for the Crossword Book Award in India.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a skilful, enticing first novel by an Indian writer who prefers reality to magic realism. Manju Kapur's sensuous pages re-create an intimate world where family groups sleep in the open air on the roof and wash themselves in the yard in the dewy cool of morning, where love-making is furtive and urgent because another wife may be listening, and women's lives move to a complex choreography of cooking, washing, weaving and mending, growing, picking, chopping and blending...This book offers a completely imagined, aromatic, complex world, a rare thing in first novels." --Maggie Gee, Sunday Times

"Kapur's book is steeped in exquisite melancholy." --Guardian

"Kapur writes with quiet intelligence and wry, deadpan humour. Set against the bloody backdrop of Partition, this is a powerful portrait of a society where shame is more important than grief, pragmatism goes hand-in-hand with superstition, and a pregnant wife has to share a bed with her mother-in-law." --Observer

"An urgent and important story about family and partitions and love." --Vikram Chandra

About the Author

Manju Kapur was born in Amritsar. She is a teacher of English literature at Miranda House College, Delhi University, and has four children. Researching and writing Difficult Daughters, her first novel, took her five years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (March 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571196349
• ISBN-13: 978-0571196340
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,505,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars To rail against convention is to be damaged..., October 2, 2001

By 

R. Peterson "International citizen" (Leverett, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Difficult Daughters: A Novel (Paperback)

Suggested by the Bengali women in my local book club, this was a fascinating (at times frustrating) but mostly educational (for me) novel about the incredibly intense social and familial structures of Northwest India during Partition. Our story-teller is the daughter of Virmati who, as a young woman, is drawn more to the intellectual pursuits of life rather than the political ones some of her schoolmates are drawn to. Virmati has been given the chance to study (though rather reluctantly) by her parents and travels to Lahore to do so. She is a woman ahead of her time and is not keen to be relegated to the kitchen and the bedroom like wives of the time are, and her wish to never marry is somewhat disgraceful to her family. After returning home she begins to fall in love with (and he with her) an educated man who is a family neighbor (The Professor), in large part because he openly values her intelligence and encourages her constant pursuit of knowledge. He is tormented by his love for her because he is already married - but finally is pushed by a friend to make her his second wife. She is torn about the decision, but to live with the man she loves (and one who treats her as an intellectual equal) is more important than anything. This marriage results in a complete and total abandonment of Virmati by her family something that wounds her terribly. We discover that Virmati's daughter, as she seeks out those who can tell her about her mother, has also been a difficult daughter in her own way. This book was both wonderful and terribly sad....anyone, man or woman, who rails against convention to do what they believe is right for them in their hearts, is bound to be damaged in the process.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars definitely worth your while !, October 24, 2000

By 

Sahil C. (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Difficult Daughters: A Novel (Paperback)

an absorbingly intelligent , witty and sentimental story , "difficult daughters" follows the journey of a rebellious woman who chases her dreams at the cost of dishonouring her family name at the backdrop of partition , a time when both india and virmati (the protagonist) are in a state of turmoil .

she falls in love with her neighbour , the proffessor , and sacrifices everything to marry him (even though he is already married) and to study further . in return , she earns the wrath of her family .

the only problem is that manju kapur has limited her audience by absorbing a couple of hindi words into the otherwise english narrative , without providing a glossary .

it makes you ask yourself whether sacrificing all you have to attain something else is really worth it .

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful first book, May 20, 2002

By 

wordfiendca (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Difficult Daughters: A Novel (Paperback)

This is the story of Virmati, a woman who struggles against the traditions that her family would like for her to follow. After spending some time with an aunt, she realizes that she doesn't have to be a mother and wife. Virmati becomes interested in furthering her education, despite her mother's desire to have her look after all of her younger brothers and sisters and wed a man through an arranged marriage.

While continuing her education, Virmati falls under the influence of one of her professors. He falls in love with her and pursues her. She is wiling to become involved with him, though she initially does so because he expresses his need for her. The Professor is not that interested in how the love affair impacts Virmati's life until one of his friends tells him to do the right thing--marry Virmati.

The rest of the book talks about Virmati's marriage, her relationship with the Professor's family and her daughter. This story is beautifully written and shows the options that women have in Indian society. For a woman to step in or out of the traditional roles, there is often a very steep price to pay. Virmati's story is a sad one, but it was a very honest and compelling tale. I am looking forward to future works by Ms. Kapur.