It was a good read. Like what she starts off with, it is just a record of lives of 5 women. It was, for me, not something that grabbed my full attanetion. I had to put some effort to keep the interest. I did not complete the chapter from where she becomes an MP.After reading a few pages of that chapter, I statred to feel that there was an attempt to sound politically correct. I found the book a bit academic. As I like books which are much frank and ouspoken I got a bit bored.
But I did enjoy reading about the lifestyles of people and their relationships. Bharati Ray When I came across this book at 'Blossoms', I knew I had to read it. A tale of a family that spans five generations, this book had to be read. Little did I know it would be a chronological account beginning with the author's maternal great-grandmother and ending with her daughters. It felt extremely plain and the author chose to tread carefully as though being blatant would make it offensive to a few whom she cites in the book. I guess I can justify the careful narrative because it turns out the author was a member of the Rajya Sabha and being politically correct seemed the right thing to do! It is not a work of fiction, yet everyone and everything seems angelic in the author's family and extended family making it unbelievable many a times. The saving grace in the book has to be authors nostalgic description of her home, Bangladesh, the several towns she grew up in. Otherwise it falls flat and I had to make an effort to finish the book. 'Daughters' could have been so much better! There is 'A Toss of a Lemon' that spans generations and is one book I swear by, where non-fiction is written in the form of an amazing story.
A note on the translation from Bengali to English; there are other words one may use for a small town than 'mofussil'! It appears a zillion times in the book! Bharati Ray
Autobiography of a woman college professor, historian, and vice-chancellor from Calcutta, India. Daughters: A Story of Five Generations
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