60. Brahma’s Dream by Shree Ghatage (Historical Fiction) 422 p.
World Lit Challenge: India
Mohini is born with a type of anaemia that is debilitating and often painful, but which she bears with fortitude and hope. She is thirteen years old, living with her wealthy Brahmin family in Bombay, when India achieves its independence from the British.
While I was visiting my aunt last month, I saw Brahma’s Dream on the discount table outside a mall bookstore, for only $2. Since it sounded interesting, I bought it. I’m so glad I did.
Brahma’s Dream is an excellent contrast to What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin, one of my very favourite books. They have a lot in common: each written by contemporary Indian-Canadian women writers, each set during the 1940’s, each a third-person account of the life of a young woman. But that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Whereas What the Body Remembers focuses on Sikhs living in Punjab and on the events leading up to the Partition of India, Brahma’s Dream focuses Hindus from Bombay and Poona, and is more concerned with the struggle leading up to independence. Those aren’t the greatest differences, though.
When I reviewed Gail Tsukiyama’s Women of the Silk, I remarked that, “I knew there had to be some people in China who enjoyed themselves at least some of the time.” That’s how I felt about Brahma’s Dream: I knew there had to be kind, well-educated, affectionate families in India, even in the first half of the 20th century, and Shree Ghatage showed one of them to me. The book revolves around Mohini, particularly her relationships with her family: her mother Kamala, father Keshav, grandfather Vishnupant, aunt Vasanti, best friend Hansa, and many others.
Mohini is a very likable protagonist, a good-natured and generally happy person, but not the kind of sappy “inspirational” character that she might have been in less competent hands. All the characters were well-drawn, and the writing was so good I could hardly put the book down.
Books read: 60/100 (60%)
Pages read: 17,719/25,000 (71%)
Days passed: 189/365 (52%)
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Shree Ghatage, World Lit Challenge
