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divya_hasti's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
nuts246's review
5.0
How does an extended family react to Lockdown? How do people cope with being cooped up at home? How do people worry about themselves and of other people? How do people attempt to come to terms with what is going on in the world?
C-100 is where three generations of a family live together, each unit on a separate floor, but connected by ties of food, and visits. There are also two housekeepers, one of whom ended up harbouring her Muslim nephew with an agnostic nickname for the entire period where India shut down. Each of them could be someone we know, or ourselves. Familiar, but unique. Each copes in different ways. Each grows in different ways.
The story ends when lockdown ends. The story could be the story of each of us. The epilogue is one year later; during the second wave. When there is no draconian lockdown, only losses and near losses. The family doesn't come through. Yet, the family remains. Fractured. Like the nation.
If there is one book that defines the lockdown, it is this. And the fledging barbet that they nurse for a week only makes the book more mysterious and more real.
C-100 is where three generations of a family live together, each unit on a separate floor, but connected by ties of food, and visits. There are also two housekeepers, one of whom ended up harbouring her Muslim nephew with an agnostic nickname for the entire period where India shut down. Each of them could be someone we know, or ourselves. Familiar, but unique. Each copes in different ways. Each grows in different ways.
The story ends when lockdown ends. The story could be the story of each of us. The epilogue is one year later; during the second wave. When there is no draconian lockdown, only losses and near losses. The family doesn't come through. Yet, the family remains. Fractured. Like the nation.
If there is one book that defines the lockdown, it is this. And the fledging barbet that they nurse for a week only makes the book more mysterious and more real.
whimsybookworm's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
simranpradhan's review
4.0
Matangi-Ma, the blind matriach of a dysfunctional yet dynamic family, hovers over the lives and consciousness of all her family members who reside below her. As the COVID-19 pandemic forces all of them together in a standstill, past secrets and inner reflections force out aspects of themselves they didn't know they will encounter- including Matangi-Ma herself. The novel is a deep, soulful insight on the workings of Indian joint families, their hierarchies and complexities by making a strong female character the focal point of and ever evolving yet stunned world of the pandemic.
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The most attractive aspect of the book is Namita Gokhale's soft-spoken narration with equally strong tenors that echo Matangi-Ma's compound personality and sundry life experiences. She is a woman who knows she has been wronged in her life, and she is also a woman who has learnt from her experiences and applies the knowledge in her parenting as well- a trait so uncommon in so many Indian female characters I have read & watched, especially those old. Her family members are equally varied and complex: an adopted grandson, a single daughter striving to eradicate social disparity, a son & daughter in law both selfish from one view but understandable in the other among other interesting & engaging characters. Her keen interest in daily soap operas subtly reflects the story's drama too: yet, hardly in any soap opera do we get to see and understand the other side of a supposedly antagonist character. But one of the key things that got me hooked is that the plot began without even informing the readers that it had begun. It wasn't until a few chapters later, when I was still feeling like I was just getting into the story and was getting to know the characters that I realised actually, the real tale had already developed- indicating a master storytelling, for the ultimate goal is to hook the reader to a point where they don't know they are actually reading. The Blind Matriarch is for anyone looking to get into a perfect contemporary piece of art & fiction, and those with strong Indian females as lead are always my favourite.
.
The most attractive aspect of the book is Namita Gokhale's soft-spoken narration with equally strong tenors that echo Matangi-Ma's compound personality and sundry life experiences. She is a woman who knows she has been wronged in her life, and she is also a woman who has learnt from her experiences and applies the knowledge in her parenting as well- a trait so uncommon in so many Indian female characters I have read & watched, especially those old. Her family members are equally varied and complex: an adopted grandson, a single daughter striving to eradicate social disparity, a son & daughter in law both selfish from one view but understandable in the other among other interesting & engaging characters. Her keen interest in daily soap operas subtly reflects the story's drama too: yet, hardly in any soap opera do we get to see and understand the other side of a supposedly antagonist character. But one of the key things that got me hooked is that the plot began without even informing the readers that it had begun. It wasn't until a few chapters later, when I was still feeling like I was just getting into the story and was getting to know the characters that I realised actually, the real tale had already developed- indicating a master storytelling, for the ultimate goal is to hook the reader to a point where they don't know they are actually reading. The Blind Matriarch is for anyone looking to get into a perfect contemporary piece of art & fiction, and those with strong Indian females as lead are always my favourite.
khyatisaklani's review
5.0
Namita Gokhale has this shocking ability to send you back in time, she describes the painful incidents that India went through during the first and the second wave of Covid-19 with utter brilliance. The book tells the story of a joint family residing in East Delhi, the head of the family is a blind woman, Matangi Ma. Through the trials of this family Namita Gokhale gives us the perspective of a middle-class family battling the pandemic. The story is beautifully structured leaving the reader at the edge of their seats. I found myself back in those anxiety ridden days full of the fear of the unknown, I could relate to the meltdowns that the characters experienced, the feeling that you’re stuck in a lift that doesn’t seem to be moving. I have laughed and sobbed while reading this book, its so real at its core that you can’t help but relate to it. I am so fond of this book.
Would definitely recommend.
Would definitely recommend.
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