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A review by per_fictionist
Small Days and Nights by Tishani Doshi
4.0
Review : Small Days and Nights by Tishani Doshi pursues the story of Grace, who returns home to Paramankeni, a small coastal village in Madras after her failed marriage in America and upon hearing the sudden news of her mother's death. What makes Grace's story special is that it is ordinary.
Having had a normal and almost happy childhood being the only daughter of her parents, Grace is stuck by a blow when she learns that she has a sister back in India, who was kept a secret from her and the world, due to her condition i.e Down's Syndrome.
Grace who always felt a tinge of melancholy and sadness, for not having one to share her her happiness and sorrows with someone in the family like her other friends did, decides to stay back in India and care for her sister. She makes up her mind to settle in her mother's old house along with her sister, the housekeeper Mallika and their pet dogs.
Grace, as a person has always felt a sense of hollowness in her heart and as starts her new life in India, she decides to give herself a chance at life, trying her luck at with a new relationship.
But her life in India, isn't a smooth sail, curious stares from the villagers, inability to make her sister feel at home at times , aching thoughts of her already strained marriage and the judgement that she faces from herself within makes her restless.
Doshi with brilliance sketches various themes in her story like kindness and compassion that Grace and Lucia shows towards their pets, the difficult life Grace as a single woman faces in a small village filled with not so open-minded villagers , the exceptional care that a mentally disabled person requires that Grace finds rather challenging to figure out.
The writing has a lyrical emotion to it . The sea and its rage and calm is outlined with utmost fragility that is bound to stay with you for a moment too long
Having had a normal and almost happy childhood being the only daughter of her parents, Grace is stuck by a blow when she learns that she has a sister back in India, who was kept a secret from her and the world, due to her condition i.e Down's Syndrome.
Grace who always felt a tinge of melancholy and sadness, for not having one to share her her happiness and sorrows with someone in the family like her other friends did, decides to stay back in India and care for her sister. She makes up her mind to settle in her mother's old house along with her sister, the housekeeper Mallika and their pet dogs.
Grace, as a person has always felt a sense of hollowness in her heart and as starts her new life in India, she decides to give herself a chance at life, trying her luck at with a new relationship.
But her life in India, isn't a smooth sail, curious stares from the villagers, inability to make her sister feel at home at times , aching thoughts of her already strained marriage and the judgement that she faces from herself within makes her restless.
Doshi with brilliance sketches various themes in her story like kindness and compassion that Grace and Lucia shows towards their pets, the difficult life Grace as a single woman faces in a small village filled with not so open-minded villagers , the exceptional care that a mentally disabled person requires that Grace finds rather challenging to figure out.
The writing has a lyrical emotion to it . The sea and its rage and calm is outlined with utmost fragility that is bound to stay with you for a moment too long