A review by pages_with_panda
Unravelling by Preethi Nair

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

(I won a giveaway copy of this book from Kiss The Frog Press and Preethi Nair.)
 
To begin, I had no idea what to expect when I started this book. I went into it completely blind, not even having read the summary and I was absolutely blown away by it. 

The main character, Bhanu, is celebrating her 40th wedding anniversary and in the eve of it, she starts to reflect on her life and all the choices that got her there. Seeing events from her point of view and then hearing them from her children really humanized her, and I couldn't help but relate to my own mom and her story. 

As a South East Asian, Bhanu recounts her life as a child living in a small village, and her own relationship with her mother and father. She takes us through her decisions in life by also sharing with us her love of the poet Rumi. The story is told through flashbacks of Bhanu's life, and is incredibly introspective as she relives her memories. 

The book recounts Bhanu's trauma, weight of her choices, misogyny, the caste system, racism and so much more. We see how Bhanu's children blame their mother for their own problems, and how the generational traumas are carried down. 

I fell in love with Bhanu's story and really enjoyed the structure of the book being split up into "Yards," as well as how much details there were about her culture and heritage. Bhanu's feelings were incredibly relatable and I found that she was able to put into words some of my own thoughts.

"...Judge me and then sit on a therapist's couch and have someone else judge me but before you do, understand that most of my decisions were guided by the need for safety and then when I had you, they were about giving you security so you would never have to endure what I did. Whatever I did, I did for you." 

The ending was so beautiful and I definitely cried for some scenes. Nair did a great job with this one and I'm so lucky to have been able to read it. There were so many good quotes that I really enjoyed so here's a few: 

"I was tired and drowning. Drowning in inadequacy, in loneliness, grief, in feelings of betrayal and abandonment but unable to express any of it."

"What if we are able to heal the brokenness in others through words, through food, through touch and perhaps through this act of service we are able to heal our own broken hearts?

"I wished that she would be totally free. I wished that the thorn that had been in each generation, in my mother, in me, in my daughter, would finally work itself out..."

"Perhaps your children express the grief that you are unable to?
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