Grab a copy here: http://www.indireads.com/books/a-newlyweds-adventures-in-married-land/

From the ebook http://www.indireads.com/books/a-newlyweds-adventures-in-married-land

Author: Shweta Ganesh Kumar

Rating: 4/5

About the Author (From the novella)

Shweta Ganesh Kumar is the bestselling author of two novels on the Indian Broadcast news industry, titled ‘Coming Up On The Show’ and ‘Between The Headlines’.

The New Indian Express, One Philippines and Geo (Indian edition) have published many of her travel columns. Her non-fiction pieces have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Indian Spiritual Soul, Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul – On Friendship and also in CBW’s India’s Top 42 Weekend Getaways eBook.

Her short fiction has been published in Indian Voices, Australian Women Online, Single Solitary Thought, Damazine, Shades of Love and other anthologies as well as online literary magazines.

In the past, she has been a news trainee, desk editor, TV news correspondent with CNN-IBN and a communications officer at Greenpeace India.

Shweta is a writer, mother, wife and traveler. She currently lives in El Salvador with her husband and one year old daughter.

You can read more about her life and work at

www.shwetaganeshkumar.com

Publisher: 

Indireads was started with the aim to revolutionizing the popular fiction genre in South Asia. With edgy, contemporary and compelling fiction by new writers and its digital-only publishing model, Indireads is breaking new ground in terms of the reading experience and giving voice to new writing talent.

Now for my view:

It has been the longest drought in my book reading spree in the last couple of years. Yes, one that lasted for over a month. It not only made me restless but angry at myself. So finally I decided that enough was enough and began reading ‘A Newlywed’s Adventures in Married Land‘ to break the lull. Of all the books I have in line for review, I decided to pick this one from my Indireads bucket. Indireads for I have so far loved all of their novellas. And this one in particular for I chanced upon its prologue and found a paragraph of Alice in Wonderland as the opening, so I was hooked.

‘A Newlywed’s Adventures in Married Land‘ is the tale of Mythili, a woman who I have identified with in so many respects throughout the novella. It begins with Mythili reminiscing about the start of her married life when she finds her sister staring at the same life. The opening won my heart for the protagonist lay awake at night worried about her kid sister and how she would handle a new life. This appealed to me for I’m an elder sister too and even I lay awake more often than not worrying about the adventures my sister undertakes, even if I’m miles away.

Anyways, coming back to the book. Mythili is shown to go back in time when she had just married the love of her life Siddharth and moved to Philippines to start a new life on a dependent visa. The way she sulked at the mention of the word ‘dependent’ for she had forever been an independent soul was something that I think every woman would identify with. The author drew me in towards her protagonist as she sat complaining, depressed at resigning from her well settled job. She hated the fact that she was now a wife and nothing more.

In an new country, with new friends and a husband away at work Mythili found herself grasping for something, anything that kept her sane. This new life was disorienting her. She tried to fit into her husband’s friend circle but her wavelength didn’t match with the very much married housewives that now were her only company. In a constant struggle to hold on to her essence while trying to be someone new to be accepted by this unknown group of people she found herself spiraling out of control. Her mood swings, her husband’s loss of patience at her constant rants led to fights. But then which couple doesn’t? Gradually she found her footing, one step at a time. How that happened and up until that point how did she cope with a new marriage, a new husband and a new bunch of friends is what this novella is about.

What I liked about ‘A Newlywed’s Adventures in Married Land’ is it’s simplicity. On some level, I felt connected to it. I felt Mythili, the protagonist, was very believable. She judged people she didn’t like and the very next moment she felt guilty for it too. I liked that in her. We all do that on some level, don’t we?

And before I end, the fact that the author found a few lines from Alice in Wonderland to begin every chapter with was the icing on the cake. I simply loved it!

I finished reading it in three hours straight. And I recommend you read it too! Thanks Indireads for another afternoon well spent!