Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda - BOOK REVIEW

Title:  Secret Daughter
Author:  Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Publisher:   Harper Collins
Release Date:  February 15, 2011
Hardcover, 320 pages
ISBN 10:     0061928356
ISBN 13:   9780061928352
The Book Depository / Amazon

Goodreads description:

On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl. But in a culture that favors sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter's life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives, even after the arrival of their cherished son.

Halfway around the globe, Somer, an American doctor, decides to adopt a child after making the wrenching discovery that she will never have one of her own. When she and her husband, Krishnan, see a photo of the baby with the gold-flecked eyes from a Mumbai orphanage, they are overwhelmed with emotion. Somer knows life will change with the adoption but is convinced that the love they already feel will overcome all obstacles.

Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer, and the child that binds both of their destinies, Secret Daughter poignantly explores the emotional terrain of motherhood, loss, identity, and love, as witnessed through the lives of two families one Indian, one American and the child that indelibly connects them.

My Take: 

When Kavita goes to an abandoned hut to give birth, she does so hoping against hope that her new baby will be a boy.  Her first baby, a girl, was taken from her by her husband Jasu and never seen again.  In her poor farming village, a girl is a liability, no use in the fields and a drain on the husband's finances.  When the midwife hears Kavita's labor pains, she comes to assist her ... deliver another baby girl.  Kavita makes the midwife promise not to let her husband take the baby, then makes her husband promise to give her one night alone with the baby. She and her sister Rupa make the long, difficult journey to Mumbai to take the baby, whom Kavita named Usha (dawn) to an orphanage.  At least there, Kavita knows her baby will be taken care of; it's the most she can do to keep her safe.

Meanwhile, in America, Stanford-educated doctors Somer and Krishnan have been married five years when they have a miscarriage which leads to Somer's diagnosis of early menopause at 31 years old. As she and Krishnan cope with the news, they eventually decide to adopt.  Kris's mother is a patron of the orphanage in Bombay, and they go through the long, involved process which eventually gives them their new baby, now named Asha due to an error in paperwork at the orphanage.

This novel spans 20 years and interweaves the stories of Kavita and her family with those of Somer and hers.  I didn't care for Somer at all, she comes across as a sniveler: wishy-washy, weak, and self-pitying, and honestly, if the story had been only about her, I probably wouldn't have wanted to keep reading.  Kavita's story, however, is fascinating.  She is a good woman who suffers through a difficult life and perseveres with hope.  She never gives up on her "secret daughter", and as she eventually finds herself in the same city as the orphanage, she visits often, looking through the gate in hopes of catching a glimpse of the daughter she loved enough to give up.

With glimpses of the lives lived in the slums of India, and of the hardships faced by women living in poverty there, contrasted with the lives of families like Krishnan's well-to-do circle, a much broader appreciation of India as a whole and the strength of it's people are readily found.

As Asha's story comes full circle, Somer finally grows up, and as a reader, you feel pride in the woman Asha turns out to be.

QUOTES

Kavita is anxious, her stomach unsettled.  She holds a protective hand over her swelling abdomen as they approach the clinic.  Outside the door is a placard - SPEND 200 RUPEES NOW AND SAVE 20,000 RUPEES LATER -  a transparent reference to avoiding the wedding dowry associated with a daughter.

Somer has no time for the PTA and bake sales.  She has no time for herself.  Her profession no longer defines her, but neither does being a mother.  Both are pieces of her, and yet they don't seem to add up to a whole.  Somer didn't know that having it all, as she always believed she would, would mean feeling like she's falling short everywhere.

Asha shudders involuntarily as she looks at this woman who lives in squalor, prostituting herself to survive.  She has spent her entire life in this place.  She has three young children, a drunkard husband, and little hope of a different future.
She and Asha are the same age.

Writing:  4.5 out of 5 stars

Plot:   4 out of 5 stars

Characters:  3.5 out of 5 stars

Reading Immersion:   4 out 5 stars

BOOK RATING:   4 out of 5 stars

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Disclosure:  I  received a  complimentary copy of this title from the publisher through Shelf Awareness to facilitate my review.  No other compensation was received and I was not required to post a positive review.