Mother Mary Comes to Me - Arundhati Roy

This book has been unputdownable. Right from the cover, the outside of the book, as well as the inside, is audacious, vulnerable, unconventional, and free-spirited. 

                                                   

A turbulent narrative: a troubled, complicated mother-daughter relationship, controversial politics, and an unapologetic attitude, this memoir, or rather Ms. Roy's life, has been quirky and atypical. The author writes effortlessly about her life without being bogged down due to her ups and downs. Her tyrant mother, and almost orphaned adulthood, she is not sorry for either. Writing a memoir is a true personal account, and the author has done justice by being honest and unapologetic. A lesson taken here is - we all commit mistakes, and we must not judge/curse ourselves. It is a part of growing and exploring.

While reading about Arundhati in various articles and interviews, in the past few years, her involvement in controversial matters, and her political stance, everything indicated her audacity and valor. She cared about nothing! Where did she draw such courage from? And the memoir answered my question, it was Ms. Mary Roy, an educator and a women's rights activity - Ms. Mary Roy. A woman who challenged the Travancore Christian Succession Act in the Supreme Court and fought for women's rights in the ancestral property. She won. She was a visionary who uplifted multiple lives with education. But never got along well with her own two children. I fail to understand that a teacher who loved her students behaved differently with her own children. 

The writer in the author because of her mother.  And it is heartening to see that the tyrant mother was never forgotten. The author has a way with words. She named her first husband Jesus! As stated earlier, she is effortless and honest. It does not paint a sorrow picture. A memoir packed with grit, tyranny, commitment phobia, yet delectable read because the author is not a victim here. She is a free spirited woman. After reading this one, I felt liberated. I can go on writing because I am an ardent fan of her writing. 

Should you read this book? Highly recommended- a page turner!!

Happy Reading,

Trupti