Customer Reviews

Difficult Daughters: A Novel

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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.

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 .

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.

Set during the partition, this book is about a young girl, Virmati and the difficult decisions she has to make with her life. Virmati is a wonderfully complex character simply because she loses everything she has for something she thinks she wants. Like a typical woman, she gives up everything for the man she loves, not realizing that what she wants may not be what's best for her. The book ends without the traditional Indian "happy ending" but still there's something good there... even though Virmati is not as happy as she probably thought she would be, she made her own decisions... even if it might have been the wrong one. This book will really make you think.

Manju Kapur's first novel is set in India around the time of Partition (and thus also the second world war). It centres on the story of Virmati, the eldest of eleven children. She lives at a time when the duty of a daughter is to marry (in Virmati's case, to a man she has never met).

Virmati would probably have done what was expected of her were it not for the attentions of one of her professors who happened also to be living next door as the tenant of her aunt.

The Professor is already married and although after several years of vacilliation, he takes Virmati as his second wife there is no happy outcome to this situation.

This is a story well worth reading not the least for the questions it raises on whether it is worth losing all to win what you thought you wanted!

All I get for Christmas are books! Of the ten books I did get this was my absolute favorite. The prose is clear and lucid, and the story keeps ya going way into the night. Two other books I deeply recommend are: Jay Singh's The Butterfly: a Fable and Shauna Singh Baldwin's What the Body remembers. Both will touch you and change you for ever.

The urge to differ, the daring to defy the society, the family name and it's reputation for the sake of one's love is all that are reflected through the character of Virmati. The life of a girl who has the dare and attitude to live her own life is worth admiring. This book will definitely help others to see deep into the psychology of women in love and child bearing. Their innocence is foiled by good and educated people like the married Professor. Though he is in love with Virmati, he's being portrayed as a bit coward too. So is Virmati, who is portrayed as brave but she does an abortion in fear of defamation. May be the situations or the Professor's cowardice did that for her. Brave women are not made. They are born. Too much pain, too much tolerance and too much dareness are all reflected in the character of Virmati. Perhaps Kapur has tried to establish the strongness and the dareness of women in love.

All in all, the narration is very appealing. As a debutant, Manju Kapur has done the best way it can have been done.

Hats off to her on her first book.

Rupesh

Manju Kapur seems to have done a good research about the protagonist Virmati and her surrounings. The tone/style throughout the story is insipid/flat and at times it becomes difficult to keep track of story-threads. Also, I do not necessarily agree with the ending. The author falls short on humor too. Good luck.

This is a beautiful story of love and longing in pre-partition India, whereby a woman's struggle for independence and the freedom to love is mirrored in the history of her country. Very well written and researched, and a beautiful story too

After reading the reviews of this book, I bought it myself and read it. I found that all the reviewers had really covered the book throughly. All that I can add is that again allows us to see inside another culture.

I have yet to read a story where a planned marriage has turned out badly, but I am sure they have. But Virmati certainly proves that chosing for oneself is not without mistake. I think that the Professor was totally wrong to influence this young woman. What a cad! Her family was totally unsuspecting of a man of this nature and had done little to educate her in the ways of devious men.

A good read!