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A review by hannanx
China Room by Sunjeev Sahota
4.5
This was a heartbreaking tale of love and betrayal. The story itself is very unusual - a married woman unsure as to the identity of her husband.
I read the whole book in one sitting and was fully immersed by it. I felt angry at how the women were treated, betrayed and appalled at the secret Suraj kept from our protagonist, and worried and anxious at their continuing deceit. Throughout the book I felt strongly for the characters, including Jeet whom I felt quite sorry for.
I would have rated this higher if this book focused on Mahur's character solely. I didn't feel particularly attached to her ancestor, and although there were a couple parts of his story that were truly heart wrenching, I spent most of his chapters wanting to skip ahead and find out what was happening with Mahur.
Other than that I thought there were many themes that the book excellently explored, including women's rights, autonomy, rebellion, family and societal pressures.
I do wish the story could have ended differently. I wish that, instead of seeing Suraj again once his betrayal had become evident, Mahur was as repulsed and appalled as I was. I wish she hadn't agreed to see him again, that she had confided in Jeet (who I think would have understood) and they had tried to rebuild and repair their relationship. But I don't think that would have been as thought provoking as the ending we were given. This ending allowed the story to fully explore the themes mentioned above. For instance, perhaps Mahur fell in love with Suraj as an act of rebellion as a way of reclaiming her autonomy, because she was forced into this marriage at a young age and didn't have any choice in the matter. Or perhaps it was because she had been able to see Suraj and build a bond with him far beyond the bond she had built with Jeet, only being allowed to spend time alone with him in pitch blackness for the purposes of making a baby, as was their ridiculous family rule.
I also found it interesting how, because of the lack of autonomy that women are given, they ended up resenting the person they are married to, meaning that the customs are backfiring on those who set them. That seemed to be the case with Mahur and Jeet in the end and it seemed that history repeated itself with the narrators uncle and aunt too.
Overall I found this book incredibly absorbing and thought provoking too.
I read the whole book in one sitting and was fully immersed by it. I felt angry at how the women were treated, betrayed and appalled at the secret Suraj kept from our protagonist, and worried and anxious at their continuing deceit. Throughout the book I felt strongly for the characters, including Jeet whom I felt quite sorry for.
I would have rated this higher if this book focused on Mahur's character solely. I didn't feel particularly attached to her ancestor, and although there were a couple parts of his story that were truly heart wrenching, I spent most of his chapters wanting to skip ahead and find out what was happening with Mahur.
Other than that I thought there were many themes that the book excellently explored, including women's rights, autonomy, rebellion, family and societal pressures.
I also found it interesting how, because of the lack of autonomy that women are given, they ended up resenting the person they are married to, meaning that the customs are backfiring on those who set them. That seemed to be the case with Mahur and Jeet in the end and it seemed that history repeated itself with the narrators uncle and aunt too.
Overall I found this book incredibly absorbing and thought provoking too.