by Manil Suri
Part of The Hindu Gods, book 2
First published 2008
Meera is seventeen when she first sees Dev perform a song so passionate it awakens her deepest desires. She wonders if she can win him away from Roopa, her older and more beautiful sister. When Meera succeeds in marrying Dev, the reality crushes her dreams. She trades her controlling father for an orthodox family where Dev makes oppressive physical demands and his brother Arya pursues her with the same fervor he brings to right-wing politics. Meera finds brief comfort with her sister-in-law Sandhya, but their bond proves fragile. Only when her son arrives does Meera discover true fulfillment. She pours such overwhelming love into the child that she fears what her devotion might bring. Set against India's turbulent birth as a nation, Meera's journey reveals how women navigate a world controlled by men.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: India
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
Hardcover · W. W. Norton & Company
Content warnings: domestic-violence, sexism