Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
 Couldnt Put it Down August 17, 2010
Amelia1991
This story was gripping. I read it in a few short days and couldnt get enough of it. I found myself falling in love with the characters, part of me didnt want the novel to end!
Shining Gem! August 14, 2010
BeatleBangs1964 (United States)
This is a truly outstanding book that will resonate in the memories and hearts of all readers.
Kavita, a young mother in India mourns the loss of her first daughter in 1984. The baby was killed by her father's family who wanted only sons. In 1985 when her second daughter is born, Kavita hides her pregnancy and quite resourcefully saves her child's life.
Asha, which means Hope was originally named Usha by her natural mother, Kavita. In 1986, Usha/Asha was adopted from an orphanage in India when she was a year old. A couple from the United States adopts her and is just appalled at female infanticide in India. Asha was found wearing a thin bracelet that Kavita left on her wrist, a silent plea that her daughter be given a chance to live.
The Thakkars, both of whom are doctors adopt Asha. Somer is a pediatrician and Krishnan is a neurosurgeon who have not been able to have a child. One's heart really goes out to Somer when she learns that she is not able to conceive. One really feels her pain when she attends a friend's baby shower and an insenstive guest makes rude remarks about Somer being the only one there who does not have a child. You just want to kick Bouncing Becky in the shins for making Somer feel bad about her losses. One really feels for Somer when she ducks out of the shower, understandably no longer able to fake pleasure at another's good fortune.
Krishnan immigrated from India to the United States and, like Kavita, hoped for a better life there. He saw medical school as his ticket to a better and safer life.
Somer, on the other hand has no personal ties to India. Once they adopt Asha, they rebuild their ties to India and the family they have who still live there. The Thakkars' biggest fear is that Asha might try to find her natural mother and other relatives in India and want to know the circumstances behind her adoption.
The story covers the years 1984 to 2009. Somer, Kavita and Asha each lend their voices to the story and each brings her perspective about motherhood. These three women also have vastly different perspectives about India and Indian culture. One very poignant lesson each come away with is that "Mother India does not love all her children equally" and this lesson is reinforced many times in their own lives.
This is a brilliant and beautiful story that is like a sunrise. It is full of hope, as Asha is named and promise. It is full of rich colors and the tapestries of people's lives. Each strand is brilliantly interwoven to create a masterpiece.
George Harrison's stellar 1969 classic "Here Comes the Sun" is the soundtrack to this book.
I highly recommend this book. It is a shining gem.
Mrs. Q: Book Addict : Visit my blog for newest reviews. August 10, 2010
Mrs. Q: Book Addict (Canada)
Title: Secret Daughter
Author: Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Publisher: William Morrow: Harper Collins
Pages: 342
Source: Personal Copy
Category: Multicultural Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis:
Usha was born in a country where daughters may be seen as a burden. Sons help in the fields and stay with the family, daughters on the other hand are married off, and a dowry needs to be in place. If the dowry is too small, the bride may be burned alive. In the case of a poor family, a daughter is not essential, a son is. A daughter is expensive and not cherished. Ushas mother Kavita gave birth in a little hut, and was very excited to see that she has given birth to a beautifully, little daughter. When she showed her husband the baby, he scowled and walks away with the child. Kavita never saw her daughter again. The innocent baby had no chance at life, her little body was disposed of. When Kavita becomes pregnant a second time, she hoped and prayed that she would have a son. She could not possibly go through the same ordeal a second time. After giving birth to a second daughter, she was distraught and refused to have the baby killed. She pleaded with her husband for one night alone with the baby. In the middle of the night; sore, weak and saddened Kavita brought baby Usha to an orphanage a few hours away in Mumbai, hoping she will have a wonderful life. Usha becomes known as Asha when she is adopted by an American couple 10 months later. Ashas parents are a biracial couple, both doctors who met in medical school. Somer, an american is betrayed by her body when she learns that she will never bare her own children. Her husband Krishnan suggests that they adopt from his native country India. As soon as Asha comes into their lives, they fall in love with her and their world feels complete. As Asha begins to grow into a young woman, she seeks to figure out who she is exactly. She has never been to India, she hardly eats India cuisine, she is different from her Indian friends but she doesnt look like her American friends. This is a story of family, and what creates a family. Is it only blood that bonds a family? Life forces you to make choices in life, but that what-ifs still linger in our minds. Gowda keeps reader guessing throughout the story.
Overall Impression:
A truly, riveting, amazing read. Some books are written for entertainment purposes, this book transports readers into a world of heartbreak, shock and lifes unknowns. This is more than entertainment, this is a book that lingers in your mind long after youve put it down. This story spans Ashas 19 years of life. My heart broke for Kavita, she wanted what was truly best for her daughter, she was shunned by her husbands family for giving birth to two daughters. Her third child was a boy, but all his events were bittersweet for her. She could watch her son grow up, but her daughter who was just a bit older than her son was somewhere. As she watched the children living in the slums, and the daughters prostituting themselves, she kept wondering if her daughter was amongst them. Somer and Krishnan tried to raise their daughter with the best of everything, they tried to keep India away from her, fearing the worst would happen if they brought her back. They wanted to Americanize her, and show her a safer world. Asha on the other hand had her own intentions and convictions. She was on a search to find herself. I loved that all the characters in this story did not play the victim role. All the characters did what they honestly thought was needed. Culturally daughters were not needed, Kavitas husband did what he thought was essential for the family. Kavita gave up her child, but she felt like she had no other choice. Somer and Krishnan dealt with what life handed them and raised their Indian daughter as their own. This is a story of family and endurance. A debut read, that will having you thinking.
I really enjoyed this book July 13, 2010
MS JUDI ROY (CLIFTON HEIGHTS, PA, US)
Having lived a multi cultural life myself, this book very much outlines the subtle cultural differences which make day to day living a challenge.
A Compelling Read!!! June 13, 2010
Louise Jolly (Ontario, Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A moving and thought-provoking novel.
This story takes place in a remote Indian village. On the eve of the monsoons, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl who is not wanted by her husband, Jasu. He takes the baby, disappears for a couple of hours and returns without her. Kavita does not know what he has done. A couple of years later, Kavita again gives birth to a daughter whom she decides this time her husband will not take from her. She secretly makes plans with her sister Rupa to walk miles and miles to another village to leave her baby daughter at an orphanage with the hope she will be adopted and have a good life. The baby girl has the most beautiful "gold" coloured eyes, just like Kavita.
A couple of years later, Kavita again gives birth but this time to a boy Vijay whom her husband Jasu adores but he turns out to be a huge disappointment.
In America, Somer and Krishnan, both doctors can't seem to conceive. After a few brutually upsetting miscarriages, they decide to adopt a baby from Krishnan's home country of India. Somer is American but the waiting lists here are much too long. They travel half-way around the world to pick up their new baby daughter, the one with the most beautiful "gold" coloured eyes!
The novel interweaves the stories of Kavita, Somer, and the child that binds both of their destinies. Each chapter flips between Kavita and Somer which I love.
The characters are beautifully developed, the story well-written and you won't want this one to end. I'm keeping this in my permanent collection along with Rohinton Mistry's "A Fine Balance".
I would love to see Ms. Gowda write a sequel to this!!!! I need to know how Asha/Usha fares in the rest of her life and all of Krishnan's relatives and especially Kavita, Jasu and Vijay.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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