Review: A House For Happy Mothers
Family with its inter-generational ties and many complexities has long been the basis of author Amulya Malladi’s work. Her sixth novel, A House For Happy Mothers, returns to the familiar theme of family, though this time Malladi has added surrogacy into the plotline.
In Silicon Valley, Priya – half Indian, half Caucasian, all-round American – seemingly has it all: a loving and caring husband, a career with a five-figure a month salary, a beautiful house, her independence to do as she pleases.
However, underneath the glittering façade lies a secret that has been tormenting Priya (and to an extent her husband, Madhu): she is unable to conceive. Readers learn mid-way through the novel that Priya has had two miscarriages, with the second one threatening to destroy her marriage.
In Srirampuram, Hyderabad, Asha makes do with what she has.
Her husband, Pratap, is a house painter who does not earn a steady income, and they have two children under the age of five: a son, Manoj, who is gifted, and a daughter, Mohini. Though Asha and her family are staying with Pratap’s brother and his family in a flat in Hyderabad, readers learn that Asha and her family used to live in a hut in a village a fair distance from the city. Asha and her family are living with her in-laws because she is pregnant and needs to be close to a medical facility.
Malladi has given her two protagonists polar opposite histories: Priya was brought up and continues to live in privilege, while Asha was born into what is assumed to be inter-generational poverty.
Despite being a woman, Priya has the freedom to do as she pleases – work, climb the corporate ladder, be seen as an equal as her husband. However, Priya has an overbearing and overly critical mother, Sushila (shortened to Sush), who is very much against her daughter using a surrogate to become a mother.
“Surrogacy is a means of exploiting the poor,” Sush argues, though sadly Malladi does not back Sush’s argument with statistics and facts that the less fortunate get exploited by the rich. Additionally, Priya has panic attacks whenever she thinks of her baby growing in another woman’s womb.
Asha’s lot in life seems to be one of the have-nots, living on the margins of society. Although she is paid handsomely by Priya to carry her child, Malladi drives the point by repeatedly mentioning the money Asha receives would only sustain her family for three years at the most – and this is not taking into account sending Manoj to a school for gifted children.
It has to be said that although the pace of the novel is almost evenly spread, the chapters that focuses on Asha seem more engaging and less whiny compared to Priya’s storyline.
It almost feels as though Malladi has given more thought and heart to Asha (due to her class status and financial situation, perhaps?), making her more human by getting angry with the rich Americans, her uneducated husband and her lot in life.
For Priya, it feels as if Malladi wanted to create an over-privileged character who, despite her personal tribulations, can have what she desires because she is an American. Perhaps this is Malladi’s way of highlighting the vast difference between the haves and have-nots – that money can buy almost everything, even a baby.
The language Malladi uses is simple – she stays away from surrogacy jargon, which helps readers who are not female.
While Malladi’s first two novels, A Breath Of Fresh Air and The Mango Season, managed to showcase her flair in delivering drama and comedy respectively, A House For Happy Mothers sits comfortably in the drama genre, with some light comedic moments thrown in.
The negatives aside, A House For Happy Mothers is an easy read.
If the reader does not question the drama surrounding the plotline, the novel is engaging. A House For Happy Mothers is really for fans of Malladi’s work and for those who are interested in surrogacy.
A House For Happy Mothers
Author: Amulya Malladi
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Source : Star2.com
Post a Comment