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Een Huis Zonder Spiegels (2009)

by Padma Viswanathan(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

9049951104 (ISBN13: 9789049951108)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Mistral

review 1: A novel about a rural Brahmin family in South India, from 1900 to the mid-1950s. Though it's very clearly a novel about the family rather than any individual character, there is a focus on Sivikami, a new bride in the family who's widowed while still in her teens; her son, Vairum, an intelligent boy who feels estranged from their village and resents the loss of his father; and Janaki, Vairum's niece, a bright girl raised by her grandmother and who eventually marries into a family in Madras. Despite the time period, the Independence movement and eventual actual Independence are barely even mentioned, though the book is about themes of tradition vs modernity, and change over time. But the traditions are social ones, not political, the sorts of things that impact individuals'... more lives: how widows should behave, where and how long to educate girls, what type of food to eat, who can eat with whom, arranged marriages and dowries and horoscopes, music and radio and movies. There's a huge cast of characters, many of them very interesting; I particularly would have liked to read more about Muchami (Sivakami's low-caste servant, a gay man who nonetheless is married) and Bharati (Janaki's half-sister, daughter of a devidasi, who becomes an early movie star).
review 2: Family sagas are complex and emotional: no matter where they are taking place they find ways to tie together the mothers and daughters and sons and fathers from around the globe. There is nothing quite so entangling as family, after all, and author Padma Viswanathan portrays the family life of Sivakami with depth and love.The marriage of Hanumarathnam and Sivakami begins as any marriage in India might at the end of the 19th Century. They are married when Sivakami is ten years old and she moves into her husband’s house when she comes of age at thirteen years old. This is soon followed by their children, the golden daughter Thangam and dark son Vairum. However, fate intervenes and Sivakami becomes a widow at eighteen years old, thrown into widows whites and shaved head as is custom in the Brahmin caste, and has to take care of her children and manage her husband’s land.Custom would normally dictate that Sivakami move back to her family home, but for her family’s future chances she elects to live in her husband’s house. As a widow, she is to remain hidden as much as possible from the village and so her servant Muchami becomes her correspondent with the outside world. They work together to manage the land and tenants and also raise Sivakami’s children.Sivakami and her children face many trials in their situation, from difficulties with Sivakami’s brothers to Thangam’s errant husband to Vairum’s distaste of the caste system that they live in. Fortunes and misfortunes fall on the family and while Sivakami and Muchami struggle to hold them all together, clashes between Vairum and Goli, Thangam’s husband, threaten the peace in the family. Meanwhile, India itself is going through social and political movements and the caste system is a primary point of dissension.Viswanathan weaves together an intricate and ultimately delicate family tapestry with beautiful language and insight. She delves into the duties and customs of the Brahmin caste with all of its restrictions, but also shows how Sivakami can both respect and bend those traditions to attain the best chances for her family. The main voices that speak in the novel each have their own vision of what impacts their lives the most, and Viswanathan surprises the reader with the unexpected influences that come through in this descriptive tale of family. A loving and powerful story, readers will be pleased to find such a well-written portrayal of an Indian family in the midst of change. less

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