Customer Reviews

A Disobedient Girl: A Novel

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ru Freeman's remarkable debut novel takes place in Sri Lanka, in the context of civil unrest and personal rebellion in the form of its two main characters, Latha and Biso. Both women are products of a culture that gives both class and men the power to decide their destinies, and yet they rebel against it, often under the cover of deceit, with the hope that their secret choices will finally make them happy.

The alternating plots, one told in the point-of-view of Latha and the other in the first-person narration of Biso, are powerful individually, with underlying significance revealed only at the end. Latha, an orphan, is raised in the privileged household of the Vithanages, as the "sister" of only child Thara. Although, as a young child, she believes herself the equal of Thara, she realizes as they approach adolescence that she is destined for inequity, the life of a servant girl. As she grows from child to teenager to adult, she learns many bitter truths about class, love, and destiny.

Biso's story is much briefer in terms of time, a few days of her journey from city to the country of tea plantations rather than the decades of Latha's. However, the time frame does not diminish the power of Biso's drama; instead, it compresses both her misery and her hope into a poignant story of a mother fighting for the future of her children. She and her three children are running from her alcoholic, unloving husband and from her personal, hidden grief for her dead insurgent lover. What happens to them during these few days has a huge impact on the outcome of the novel.

Freeman writes well and beautifully, with imagery that lingers both emotionally and visually. The language is never overblown or unduly complicated but instead delivers the wallop of emotion through words put together well. Likewise, the characterizations - from the main characters to minor ones - seem natural, and they evolve out of actions, not descriptions. The only misstep in this otherwise accomplished novel is choice of present-tense narration in Biso's story, a choice that seems designed to mislead.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, with its compelling dual stories and its depiction of Sri Lankan life and culture. Readers of multicultural and international fiction should find a lot to admire, as should those who love literary and women's fiction. For a companion novel set in Sri Lanka, try Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost: A Novel.

-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

This novel tells the story of Latha and Biso in alternating chapters. It begins with Latha as an unloved little girl, rationalizing her stealing of soap from her employers in order to maintain the hygeine habits of the rich. Latha works as a servant and desires the luxuries that her employers, the Vithanages, are accustomed to but deny the servants. Biso is a young mother in Matara, a fishing village in southern Sri Lanka, who has decided to leave her alcoholic, abusive husband and flee to her family in the hills. The Biso chapters catalog her reasons for leaving her husband, her long train journey, and the people she meets along the way. Latha and Biso are not obviously connected for most of the novel (except for some characters that Latha knew and who met Biso while on the train), but each desire independence and self-determination. Latha, seeks to be independent from the dictates of class - particularly her role as a servant and the biases that come along with that status. Biso wants to be free from the husband she did not choose and live her life free from his abuse and lack of love. Latha and Biso are both impulsive and encounter significant mishaps along the way.

Latha's story takes place from the early 1980s to the late 1990s, moving at a fast pass, with years passing between chapters. Biso's story takes place over a four day period in the early 1980s during her trip from coastal Matara to the hills. The author does not disclose dates, but historical events serve as guides. My familiarity with Sri Lankan politics and history helped me settle some dates, but readers without that familiarity should be able to use mentions of Princess Diana as a rough guide of dates.

I found the shifts from Biso to Latha to be jarring. I was never confused about whose chapter it was, as they were clearly labeled. However, the structure lacked a certain symmetry that I am used to seeing when books shift narrator. The Biso chapters were written in the first person, whereas the Latha chapters were third person. Even though the Biso chapters historically antedated the Latha chapters, the Biso chapters are written in the present tense and the Latha chapters are in the past tense. Lastly, as I noted earlier, the pace of the Latha chapters is much faster, as they cover approximately two decades while the Biso chapters cover a short time period - in essense it felt like I was reading about every single hour in those four days, which felt tedious at times. I found this asymmetry to be troublesome, particularly in the beginning of the novel. This is the main reason I have rated the novel 4 stars rather than 5. Although I personally did not care for the approach, the author probably chose this course to conceal a plot twist at the end of the novel.

Overall, the novel is beautifully written albeit heavy handed at times. The novel has a wonderful sense of place, estabilishing the location quite well. The novel does a great job particularly with Latha, describing her frustration with being "invisible" due to her role of servant and her inability to have a regular life. Of course, part of that might be Latha's own making due to mistakes she makes that inhibit the likelihood of her finding a husband and family. Latha never seems to learn from her mistakes, which was frustrating for me. Nonetheless, Latha is a sympathetic character because, as her master-servant role evolves with her one-time playmate and current employer, Thara Vithanage, it is apparent that she is truly alone. The ending seems inevitable but I could not help rooting for Latha in the end to get it right and establish her own life.

Biso shared Latha's penchant towards bad decisions and morphed from a self-assured woman who seemed capable of making it on her own into a "train wreck." The end of the Biso story was predictable (I don't want to spoil the ending but it was foreshadowed numerous times and by the time I got to the second to last Biso chapter, there was only one way it would likely end) and disappointing.

Despite these shortcomings, the novel was good. It was a bit melodramatic, which is a common fault for South Asian fiction. However, the characters were interesting - especially Latha - and her characterization of the master-servant relationship in South Asia was spot on. [This is an especially good choice for readers who liked "The Space Between Us," by Thrity Umrigar.]

Ru Freeman's A Disobedient Girl: A Novel is set in Sri Lanka and is narrated by two women, Latha and Biso, in alternating chapters. Each of these women struggles with their station in society, the desires they have to improve their lot in life, and the journey they find themselves on after making pivotal decisions. Readers also catch a glimpse of Thara and Leela's lives and struggles.

Sri Lanka is in the midst of civil unrest when we meet Biso for the first time, but when we meet Latha, she is in the prime of innocence. Biso has lived a hard life, though she is not jaded by the loss of her greatest love or the abuse of her husband. Latha, on the other hand, is resentful of her station as a servant girl in a high-class home and straddles precariously between the world of a upper class girl, like her mistress' daughter Thara, and that of a servant. Class struggles, political unrest, and danger permeate the pages of A Disobedient Girl.

The narration begins slowly and builds to a crescendo, though readers may have a tough time with the broken and interrupted thoughts because it can detract from the atmosphere that Freeman attempts to create. Latha's chapters reflect her naivete and her impulsive nature, while Biso's chapters reflect a mature woman who is methodical in her actions and chastises herself for self-indulgence when she must care for three children.

However, Freeman has a gift for dramatic language and situations, illustrating how each woman faces tragedy and overcomes the suppression they feel because of their caste and decisions. A Disobedient Girl: A Novel is not about a specific girl or woman, but about the rebellious part of human nature that desires to be free and in control of its own destiny.

Latha is a servant girl for the well to do Vithanage family. Being close in age to their only child, Thara, she forms a friendship and a quasi sisterhood that she naively believes endows her with some sense of equality. Sadly, she learns over time that Thara is the beloved daughter and she is just a servant and therefore not entitled to the wealth and privilege that Thara takes for granted. Through some poor decision making on her part(she is a child after all) she becomes pregnant by Thara's boyfriend/crush. She is banished to a convent where after her child is born, it is taken away by the nuns. She is then returned to her former masters, this time as a servant for Thara upon her marriage.

Biso is a mother of three running away from her abusive husband and the disappointment of her former life. Her story is told in alternating chapters with Latha's and we are never actually told the time frame for her unfolding story. Much of her story takes place on the train that she is taking away from her old life and through this journey we discover details of her life thus far. Her mother, though of a higher caste marries a lower caste man who treats her with love and respect. Unfortunately, Biso's mother dies when she is very young and her father sinks into grief from which he never seems to recover. Biso eventually gets married off to a man who turns out to be an alcoholic and very violent. Her affair with a local fisherman would leads to the birth of her youngest child but would bring even more unhappiness for her.

While some have complained that there were few sympathetic characters in this book especially Latha, I personally did not see that. While Latha certainly made many, many bad decisions, I saw her mistakes as occasioned by her particular circumstances. I think that at the bottom of all her pregnancies was the desire to be seen as just another woman, capable of inspiring the love and respect of a man and not just a servant who her society sees as only deserving of its dregs. Unfortunately for her she continues to discover that the men she chooses all present one facade until there is a hitch in the road and then she is discarded. Latha is seen as a disobedient girl because she will not yield to society's status quo and be content with her lot in life but continues to push in subtle and quiet ways for what she sees as her right to live as she chooses. But she is a servant and what would be excused in a rich higher caste woman will never be forgiven of a servant.

Biso also discovers that her dreams of freedom are laced with many obstacles. She may have escaped her husband but can she escape her larger society that sees her as just a poor woman and therefore subject to its disdain and disregard?

While I mostly liked this book, there were some things about it that left me wanting. Despite being only 374 pages, the book somehow comes off as too long. I think that this is because as beautiful and descriptive as the language was, some of the descriptiveness got tiresome after awhile. The middle sections of the book somehow managed to be boring while still conveying parts of the story that would prove integral to the plot. Also there are political rumblings constantly taking place in the background but we are never actually given a clear picture what these agitations are about. Unless you already have foreknowledge of Sri Lanka's political past and present, the mention of them seems to lack its full impact. But the last fifty pages or so got very interesting and I found myself again engrossed as I had been at the outset of the book. A very interesting and sad read about the lives of servants in modern day Sri Lanka.

A Disobedient Girl is a tiring novel. It is a good story, but I didn't mesh with the characters, and the dates and politics confused me since I am not familiar with Sri Lankan history at all. The characters, especially Latha, upset me. I know I can never understand true servitude and what it would take to wipe away years of service, but I felt like she kept to her servitude ways because she was afraid to do anything else.

The reason Latha upset me so much was right away when the story opens, Latha is stealing rose colored soap because she believes she deserves it, she knew she was supposed to be in a higher position then she was born in to. Yet when she is free (to a certain extent) she still reverts back to her role with her childhood friend/mistress Thara. This includes sacrificing her own child and responsibilities to raise Thara's.

Biso's character also grated on me because she was so cookie cutter beaten wife character. In many books authors tend to revert to a stereotype and this is what has been done with Biso. She also makes bad decision after bad decision and was completely predictable. I felt like I had read about Biso in numerous books under numerous names.

But the book was still well written especially for a debut author and not many writers can transition from third person to first person and still pull it off. Ru Freeman's work and stories might not be to my own liking, but for those who love betrayal, desire, Sri Lankan politics and caste systems you should like this book. Just research the dates before you read this novel, I knew Princess Diana got married in the early 80's, but the switch back and forth caused me to loose track of the time.

A Disobedient Girl is a well-written novel about life and servitude in modern day Sri Lanka. The majority of the novel seemed to be a commentary on class in Sri Lanka - whether you are master or servant is merely an accident of birth. Latha, the servant girl, is forced to watch her master's daughter, Thara, get everything she wants out of life. Latha has few options or choices, and when she finally decides to make her fate her own, there are disastrous consequences.

The writing in A Disobedient Girl is very well done. Freeman is a talented writer who really makes Sri Lanka come alive for the reader. Her writing is descriptive enough to where the reader can close their eyes and imagine the scene. It works very well for a novel such as this.

However, I also had some problems with A Disobedient Girl. Latha was a difficult character to like. I feel like one of the major goals of the novel was to make people see her and sympathize with her plight as a servant. However, I had trouble understanding some of her poor decisions, and while I definitely had sympathy for her situation, I never came the like the actual person. Also, the majority of the novel centers on Latha, so the parts narrated by Biso are somewhat jarring. I don't feel like the reader gets to know her at all.

I also wish this novel had taught the reader more about Sri Lankan history. While there are some mentions of politics, it is clear that the reader has to already be familiar with the history of the country in order to understand what is going on. While it was an interesting social commentary, I don't really feel like I learned anything new.

While A Disobedient Girl was an interesting read, its flaws kept it from being a really compelling novel. Still, I look forward to seeing what Ru Freeman does next - she has a lot of potential!

Debut novelist Ru Freeman brilliantly captures the sights, sounds and smells of Sri Lanka, in her tale of two women. In alternating chapters she covers several decades in the life of Latha. At five years old the motherless child becomes the servant of five year old, wealthy girl, Thara Vinthinage. The two grow up together but in two tatally different mileus - one in luxury and one in servitude. Sometimes they seem to be friends, but most times not.

The other story is a few days in the life of Biso who is fleeing her abusive husband with her three children, seeking to begin life anew in her family's village where she may or may not be welcome. At the end the stories of Latha and Biso will come together in ways meant to be a long awaited surprise, but which can be figured out by any intelligent reader half-way through the novel.

Freeman has the potential for being a wonderful writer, but there are several problems with this novel which keep it from being successful. While I found the chapters about Latha engaging, I found the slow moving chapters on Biso and her interminable journey by train beyond tedious. Each time Biso's story arrived, all action ground to a halt. It was not until the final fifty pages when the two stories begin to converge that interest picked up.

In addition the time periods of both stories were confusing. Although the impact of Sri Lanka's violent history touches the story in several places, it remains vague to those with no background in Sri Lankan politics. Many foreign terms are used throughout the book and a glossary would have been helpful.

I could not sleep last night till I finished the book! I am Sri Lankan and coming from a background much like Thara's, I can tell you that Ru's portrayal of all her characters are absolutely real. Her story highlights an accepted inequality that continues to exist not only in Sri Lanka but in most parts of southeast asia. To all non Sri Lankans, you need to understand this story within the context of a culture and to all Sri Lanka's I think we need to "get" the story's message and as impossible as it may seem, some things within our culture need to change!

This was a beautiful, engaging, and moving book. Many of the reviews offer plot summaries, so I won't attempt the same, but I will say that, for me, the core of this novel is the imperfection and consequent heart-breaking misjudgments of the two protagonists. Both Latha and Biso are complex, proud, and strong women, and their flaws are precisely what makes them real and compelling characters. Human weakness--in all its manifestations--is a key theme in this story, and Freeman's novel is powerful precisely due to her unrelenting willingness to engage that universal trait and not shy away from it. It is not a pretty book, though there is much beauty here, and these are not pretty characters.

And if you're at all concerned that understanding Sri Lankan politics is necessary for understanding or enjoying this book, be assured that it is not.

Set in Sri Lanka, A Disobedient Girl follows Latha, a young servant girl in the Vithanages' home, and, separately, Biso, a woman who takes her three young children and flees a drunken abusive husband and a fishing community where people whisper when she walks by.

This book is about the role and place of women; about how we are too often defined by our role, our job. About motherhood and loss.

The writing is vivid, mindful of all the senses, at one point commenting on the mouth feel of a word. Freeman does a good job of using Sri Lankan words (I'm guessing they're words in the country's official language of Sinhalese, but I'm not sure) and translating them, in context, without it being awkward and without the book being twice as long as it otherwise could be.

While I don't understand the choices these women made, I can begin to understand the helpless, stuck feeling their choices sometimes stemmed from. And the regret they felt over some past actions. I may not go so far as to call them sympathetic characters, but I think they are realistically drawn.

A Disobedient Girl is haunting, tragic. It has stayed with me. I could see what was coming and hoped I was wrong, but I wasn't.

I'm tempted to call this women's fiction, a class of books I don't think I like. This book rises a bit above that crowd, though, as it draws attention to societal issues and failures.

Freeman was born into a family of writers in Colombo, Sri Lanka. After a year of informal study at Murdoch University in Australia, she arrived in the United States to attend Bates College in Maine. She completed her master's in labor relations at the University of Colombo and worked in the field of American and international humanitarian assistance and workers' rights. She calls both Sri Lanka and America home.