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A review by deepakchecks
Fragile Monsters by Catherine Menon
3.0
Fragile monsters didn't really excite me; I din't mind it either. It felt as though the work was of a personal nature to the author, who has used the person revisiting her past demons after returning to her birth place trope to incorporate nuggests of her personal journey.
Durga, a mathematician, who had moved to Canada for work, has now returned to Malaysia and is working as a lecturer at Kuala Lumpur. Around Diwali time, she goes to her childhood home at Kuala Lipis to visit her granny Mary and gets engulfed in a fire accident that leads to Mary being hospitalized.
Durga explores her childhood home, where her mother Francesca had supposedly died during child birth. She also remembers her childhood friend Peony who had died in a banyan swamp at Kampung Ulu after playing a game of truth-and-dare, for which she blames herself. Durga's search yields additional information about Francesca, which makes her doubt Mary's stories. After Mary's discharge, Durga attempts to go back to office, but flood and roadblocks turn her back which provides her more oppurtunity to learn about her mother for which she visits the house of Agnes, a convent mother, where she uncovers a secret.
While Durga's present day life is depicted, the author goes to the past in every alternative chapter to tell Mary's story. Mary's story involves her troubled relationship with her parents, her intimate friendship with Cecilia and Rajan and also her brother Anil who cannot speak. The story then jumps to the world war and the emergency period in Malaya - between 1948 and 1958, when war ended and fight for independency was ongoing. This was the time of Mary's marriage with Rajan, Francesca's birth and further more tragedies surrounding Anil and Rajan, with Mary emerging strong but emotionally affected, the reverberations appears have been passed onto Durga as well.
Pleasant and readable.
Durga, a mathematician, who had moved to Canada for work, has now returned to Malaysia and is working as a lecturer at Kuala Lumpur. Around Diwali time, she goes to her childhood home at Kuala Lipis to visit her granny Mary and gets engulfed in a fire accident that leads to Mary being hospitalized.
Durga explores her childhood home, where her mother Francesca had supposedly died during child birth. She also remembers her childhood friend Peony who had died in a banyan swamp at Kampung Ulu after playing a game of truth-and-dare, for which she blames herself. Durga's search yields additional information about Francesca, which makes her doubt Mary's stories. After Mary's discharge, Durga attempts to go back to office, but flood and roadblocks turn her back which provides her more oppurtunity to learn about her mother for which she visits the house of Agnes, a convent mother, where she uncovers a secret.
While Durga's present day life is depicted, the author goes to the past in every alternative chapter to tell Mary's story. Mary's story involves her troubled relationship with her parents, her intimate friendship with Cecilia and Rajan and also her brother Anil who cannot speak. The story then jumps to the world war and the emergency period in Malaya - between 1948 and 1958, when war ended and fight for independency was ongoing. This was the time of Mary's marriage with Rajan, Francesca's birth and further more tragedies surrounding Anil and Rajan, with Mary emerging strong but emotionally affected, the reverberations appears have been passed onto Durga as well.
Pleasant and readable.