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lisagray68's review against another edition
5.0
It took me awhile to get into this & I did see the horrifying ending coming - but it was quite excellent.
scrutiny's review against another edition
3.0
I had mixed feelings about this book. It didn't start auspiciously - lately I feel like I have read too many books with dual plot lines that weave in and out between chapters, which is precisely what this book does and what I really personally don't have patience for. Obviously the plots and characters are intertwined in some way, and I spent the whole book waiting for that moment, which came right at the very end, although there were some hints along the way. I started really enjoying the book a quarter of the way in, because I really liked Latha, the younger/later protagonist. (She's got a lot of guts, that girl.) The story of Biso, on the other hand, dragged on for an eternity. The ending was disappointing too; it felt like the author had wasted so much time trying to convince everyone what a fantastic mother Biso is, and how courageous she is for escaping an abusive marriage... but then all of the sudden she gives away her last child and kills herself. I guess that was her last straw, but it just felt incongruous. I became impatient with the book again about two-thirds of the way in because it felt like being on Biso's train... neverending and slightly tedious. I wish that Latha spent less of her energy on her men; and I wish that Mr. Vithanage had played a bigger role in the book. His story would have thrown an interesting twist into the mix, but I see how there might not have been space for him. (And maybe I'm an ignorant sod, but whatever happened to the idea of contraception?!) Overall, I'm torn between giving this book an "it was ok" and "I liked it" rating, so I erred on the side of positivity and gave it three stars, though I'm still not too sure I could really say I liked this book. It is a well written book and well thought out - absolutely no objections on that front. As always, it's the plot that makes me go, "hmmm..." *hand wiggle*, but that's just me being nit-picky. Definitely read this if you are so inclined!
ebalon's review
3.0
Another book club read. I didn't really ever have the desire to pick it up, but when I did it was okay. Interesting to see how the caste system affected these people's lives. Although in some ways it seems like these characters got what they deserved.
libkatem's review
4.0
This book, told in alternating chapters by Biso and Latha, is a kind of parallel story of friendship, love, and mistakes. While one starts hopeful and quickly turns sad, the other is sad and turns hopeful. The pace is a bit slow, but as you read, you begin to piece together what Biso and Latha have in common. And it's heartbreaking.
I really liked this one.
I really liked this one.
rakesh_pedram's review against another edition
4.0
I like stories with strong cultural connect and this story sure packs punch. For a debutante it's a good story giving a definitive feel of Sri Lanka. Some tight editing could have helped.
chelsea_not_chels's review against another edition
4.0
More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.
A Disobedient Girl has been on my reading list for a while--I think it came up as a recommendation while I was reading other books taking place in Sri Lanka. However, the university library didn't have it and it also wasn't available through the public library's Overdrive system. But I needed a few other books from the brick-and-mortar public library, so I put in a request for this one as well.
The story here follows two main characters, Latha and Biso. Latha's story starts when she's a young girl and the servant of a well-to-do family, mainly the family's daughter Thara, who is the same age as Latha. But Latha has never felt like she should be a servant, and as she and Thara grow, so does that feeling, leading to acts of rebellion and disobedience. Biso is a grown woman with three children fleeing an abusive marriage at the beginning of her story, and her entire narrative takes place over the course of that flight from her husband to the mountains where her family lives. At first, I couldn't really see the connection between those two narratives, until I hit upon that they're not taking place at the same time. Once I realized that, it all made a lot more sense.
Latha is not an imminently likable character. She's bratty and passive-aggressive and sometimes downright nasty. However, she is an extremely sympathetic character. Balancing those two halves can be very tricky and not many authors can do it well; Freeman does it wonderfully. Biso was less "connective" to me, especially at the end of the book. Her religion and philosophy didn't mesh well with my own thoughts and beliefs, and I found myself disliking her more with every chapter towards the end. I found Biso's half of the book (the chapters between the main characters alternate) to be more atmospheric than Latha's half, and definitely not as forward-driven as Latha's half, either. But the sense of atmosphere was wonderful, and Biso's story, simple as it is, is what really starts all of it. With this in mind, the structure of the book is largely circular. Latha is stuck in the same circle that Biso enters on her journey...until the end, where she seems to find an "exit" from the loop that promises a brighter future.
Overall, this was a lovely book. It was slow in some spots and every now and then the characters grated on my nerves, but I still really enjoyed it. I think it definitely helped that I'd read some other books taking place in Sri Lanka in similar time periods, because it meant that I had some background that wasn't present in the book and lent me an understanding of things that I wouldn't have otherwise had. However, I think you could have done without that; you might have wondered a bit about some of the political things discussed, but those didn't have an imminent bearing on much of the plot and it was a strong book either way.
4 stars out of 5.
A Disobedient Girl has been on my reading list for a while--I think it came up as a recommendation while I was reading other books taking place in Sri Lanka. However, the university library didn't have it and it also wasn't available through the public library's Overdrive system. But I needed a few other books from the brick-and-mortar public library, so I put in a request for this one as well.
The story here follows two main characters, Latha and Biso. Latha's story starts when she's a young girl and the servant of a well-to-do family, mainly the family's daughter Thara, who is the same age as Latha. But Latha has never felt like she should be a servant, and as she and Thara grow, so does that feeling, leading to acts of rebellion and disobedience. Biso is a grown woman with three children fleeing an abusive marriage at the beginning of her story, and her entire narrative takes place over the course of that flight from her husband to the mountains where her family lives. At first, I couldn't really see the connection between those two narratives, until I hit upon that they're not taking place at the same time. Once I realized that, it all made a lot more sense.
Latha is not an imminently likable character. She's bratty and passive-aggressive and sometimes downright nasty. However, she is an extremely sympathetic character. Balancing those two halves can be very tricky and not many authors can do it well; Freeman does it wonderfully. Biso was less "connective" to me, especially at the end of the book. Her religion and philosophy didn't mesh well with my own thoughts and beliefs, and I found myself disliking her more with every chapter towards the end. I found Biso's half of the book (the chapters between the main characters alternate) to be more atmospheric than Latha's half, and definitely not as forward-driven as Latha's half, either. But the sense of atmosphere was wonderful, and Biso's story, simple as it is, is what really starts all of it. With this in mind, the structure of the book is largely circular. Latha is stuck in the same circle that Biso enters on her journey...until the end, where she seems to find an "exit" from the loop that promises a brighter future.
Overall, this was a lovely book. It was slow in some spots and every now and then the characters grated on my nerves, but I still really enjoyed it. I think it definitely helped that I'd read some other books taking place in Sri Lanka in similar time periods, because it meant that I had some background that wasn't present in the book and lent me an understanding of things that I wouldn't have otherwise had. However, I think you could have done without that; you might have wondered a bit about some of the political things discussed, but those didn't have an imminent bearing on much of the plot and it was a strong book either way.
4 stars out of 5.
rhodaj's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, based around the two female main characters which the chapters were named after - Latha & Biso. These two women and the other main female character Thara, certainly made some very bad choices in life!
The book was set in Sri Lanka and was very well written and descriptive. It was interesting to get a perspective of customs, foods and beliefs in Sri Lanka. At first I found the children's names quite confusing and wasn't sure who was who, but got used to it the further I got into the book.
The story was quite sad really and I felt really frustrated for Latha in particular as she just seemed to struggle so much with being a servant and not being treated as an equal, although when you find out her history it all makes sense. Having said that though, all 3 female characters make quite frustrating decisions!
This is quite a powerful story, but if you're into heartwarming tales with happy endings then this book isn't for you!
The book was set in Sri Lanka and was very well written and descriptive. It was interesting to get a perspective of customs, foods and beliefs in Sri Lanka. At first I found the children's names quite confusing and wasn't sure who was who, but got used to it the further I got into the book.
The story was quite sad really and I felt really frustrated for Latha in particular as she just seemed to struggle so much with being a servant and not being treated as an equal, although when you find out her history it all makes sense. Having said that though, all 3 female characters make quite frustrating decisions!
This is quite a powerful story, but if you're into heartwarming tales with happy endings then this book isn't for you!
breecreative's review against another edition
4.0
An incredibly moving book...the ending got me. I have to admit that for most of the book I was having a hard time getting into it - I liked the characters and was interested in their story, it just seemed slow moving, I wanted the characters to come together like the jacket promises. And come together they do, at the end...only after reading it do I realize why the author had to do it that way.
I loved Latha (servant girl), was irritated by Thara (Latha's friend and later her master), hated Mrs Vithanage. I cried for Biso, could feel and understand her desperation and felt most connected to her because of my own personal situation right now.
I loved Latha (servant girl), was irritated by Thara (Latha's friend and later her master), hated Mrs Vithanage. I cried for Biso, could feel and understand her desperation and felt most connected to her because of my own personal situation right now.
serenaac's review against another edition
3.0
Ru Freeman's A Disobedient Girl is set in Sri Lanka and is narrated by two women, Latha and Biso, in alternating chapters. Each of these women struggles with their station in society, the desires they have to improve their lot in life, and the journey they find themselves on after making pivotal decisions. Readers also catch a glimpse of Thara and Leela's lives and struggles.
"Earrings are not decorations. They are a statement of legitimacy, of dignity, of self-worth. Ask any woman, and she would tell you that she would pawn everything she has before she gave up her earrings. Even her wedding band. For what is a wedding band worth except to say that a man coveted your children and wanted to claim them for his own? A wedding band can come from any man, just like children. Earrings, a real pair of earrings, come only with love." (Page 121)
Sri Lanka is in the midst of civil unrest when we meet Biso for the first time, but when we meet Latha, she is in the prime of innocence. Biso has lived a hard life, though she is not jaded by the loss of her greatest love or the abuse of her husband. Latha, on the other hand, is resentful of her station as a servant girl in a high-class home and straddles precariously between the world of a upper class girl, like her mistress' daughter Thara, and that of a servant. Class struggles, political unrest, and danger permeate the pages of A Disobedient Girl.
"No, I had lain there, my arms around his dying body, the blood from his wounds flowing into me along with his passion, his body shuddering until there was nothing left except the blood that came over his body and included me in its embrace. I had stayed like that until he slipped out of me, and then I had stood. I had walked into the ocean and let the salt water wash my skin, the churning sands scrubbing my exterior of his blood even as the night air hardened my pain into a fist inside my chest." (Page 149)
The narration begins slowly and builds to a crescendo, though readers may have a tough time with the broken and interrupted thoughts because it can detract from the atmosphere that Freeman attempts to create. Latha's chapters reflect her naivete and her impulsive nature, while Biso's chapters reflect a mature woman who is methodical in her actions and chastises herself for self-indulgence when she must care for three children.
However, Freeman has a gift for dramatic language and situations, illustrating how each woman faces tragedy and overcomes the suppression they feel because of their caste and decisions. A Disobedient Girl is not about a specific girl or woman, but about the rebellious part of human nature that desires to be free and in control of its own destiny.
"Earrings are not decorations. They are a statement of legitimacy, of dignity, of self-worth. Ask any woman, and she would tell you that she would pawn everything she has before she gave up her earrings. Even her wedding band. For what is a wedding band worth except to say that a man coveted your children and wanted to claim them for his own? A wedding band can come from any man, just like children. Earrings, a real pair of earrings, come only with love." (Page 121)
Sri Lanka is in the midst of civil unrest when we meet Biso for the first time, but when we meet Latha, she is in the prime of innocence. Biso has lived a hard life, though she is not jaded by the loss of her greatest love or the abuse of her husband. Latha, on the other hand, is resentful of her station as a servant girl in a high-class home and straddles precariously between the world of a upper class girl, like her mistress' daughter Thara, and that of a servant. Class struggles, political unrest, and danger permeate the pages of A Disobedient Girl.
"No, I had lain there, my arms around his dying body, the blood from his wounds flowing into me along with his passion, his body shuddering until there was nothing left except the blood that came over his body and included me in its embrace. I had stayed like that until he slipped out of me, and then I had stood. I had walked into the ocean and let the salt water wash my skin, the churning sands scrubbing my exterior of his blood even as the night air hardened my pain into a fist inside my chest." (Page 149)
The narration begins slowly and builds to a crescendo, though readers may have a tough time with the broken and interrupted thoughts because it can detract from the atmosphere that Freeman attempts to create. Latha's chapters reflect her naivete and her impulsive nature, while Biso's chapters reflect a mature woman who is methodical in her actions and chastises herself for self-indulgence when she must care for three children.
However, Freeman has a gift for dramatic language and situations, illustrating how each woman faces tragedy and overcomes the suppression they feel because of their caste and decisions. A Disobedient Girl is not about a specific girl or woman, but about the rebellious part of human nature that desires to be free and in control of its own destiny.