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A review by ellesha_syke
The Girl and the Goddess: Stories and Poems of Divine Wisdom by Nikita Gill
5.0
TW - characters persevere through: anxiety, bigotry, biphobia, body shaming, bullying, child abuse, depression, guilt, homophobia, internalised misogyny, sexism, poverty, racism, sexual assault, terrorism, violence, war.
I have never read anything by this author before, I was introduced during the YALC weekend, I think in July to the Walker Books YA feminist panel where she spoke about this book - I started following and I'm so happy I did.
This is such a powerful and otherworldly book, the author has a magical way of telling us the story through poetry and poetic prose. It revolves around the life of Paro, a young girl growing up in India after the partition. She is visited by various Hindu gods and goddesses, who give her wisdom and help when needed the most - it is her empowering journey of self -discovery and overcoming the toughest of situations. I haven't actually read much about the partition but it's heart-breaking, so much suffering continued long after it happened - any further reading on this please let me know.
I was born and raised in London, my heritage is South Asian also - so there were many parts of the book that were extremely relatable. Things like being told I couldn't do sometimes but my brothers could, the reason - because I was a girl. Being 'taught in subtle ways to hate yourself' - you should be this or that but everything is contradictory, you can never win - someone will always find fault with how you look or how you are. I remember being told off for staying out in the sun too much because my skin would tan super quick, there was nothing wrong with that. There is a lot about shame, expectation and reputation - which wouldn't be the same for if you were a boy.
I won't ramble on any more, but this book is so insightful - teenage me would have treasured it.
Thanks to Nikita Gill.
I look forward to reading her others.
I have never read anything by this author before, I was introduced during the YALC weekend, I think in July to the Walker Books YA feminist panel where she spoke about this book - I started following and I'm so happy I did.
This is such a powerful and otherworldly book, the author has a magical way of telling us the story through poetry and poetic prose. It revolves around the life of Paro, a young girl growing up in India after the partition. She is visited by various Hindu gods and goddesses, who give her wisdom and help when needed the most - it is her empowering journey of self -discovery and overcoming the toughest of situations. I haven't actually read much about the partition but it's heart-breaking, so much suffering continued long after it happened - any further reading on this please let me know.
I was born and raised in London, my heritage is South Asian also - so there were many parts of the book that were extremely relatable. Things like being told I couldn't do sometimes but my brothers could, the reason - because I was a girl. Being 'taught in subtle ways to hate yourself' - you should be this or that but everything is contradictory, you can never win - someone will always find fault with how you look or how you are. I remember being told off for staying out in the sun too much because my skin would tan super quick, there was nothing wrong with that. There is a lot about shame, expectation and reputation - which wouldn't be the same for if you were a boy.
I won't ramble on any more, but this book is so insightful - teenage me would have treasured it.
Thanks to Nikita Gill.
I look forward to reading her others.