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A review by feliciarene
A People's History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian
4.0
4.5 stars.
In A People's History of Heaven, a small slum of Bangalore called Heaven is at risk of being destroyed and effectively erased in order to be replaced by a shopping mall. A group of young girls from the community band together in resistance to protect their home. Following a cast of vibrant, powerful and unique characters, this story is stunning and so beautifully crafted, with words that flow like poetry.
We learn very quickly that this book has two main storylines, running parallel to one another. The first is the present in which the women and young girls of Heaven are facing this imposing threat to their community - that being the construction workers who are about to destroy their home. And the other is the ongoing history of each family, primarily the women of the families. Through this lens, we learn about the individual stories of these remarkable women and we also learn a lot about Heaven as a community.
There are also a lot of fascinating divisions in this story. We have rich versus poor, religion versus religion, men versus women, Heaven residents versus foreigners, educated women versus non-educated women. There is such a dichotomy between so many characters and their beliefs. However, what Mathangi Subramanian points out in this story, and what she observed on a two-year ethnographic study of Bangalore, is that despite these differences, the women all gather and integrate and interact with one another on a regular basis - which makes for a very interesting story.
Before this book, I had never heard of the caste system but this book discusses it in a really interesting and evocative way by making it the central focus of Selvi Aunty's story.
I really loved this story. It was wonderfully written. I really recommend picking this up for yourself!
I received this Ebook from Algonquin Books in exchange for an honest review.
Full Review: Link
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In A People's History of Heaven, a small slum of Bangalore called Heaven is at risk of being destroyed and effectively erased in order to be replaced by a shopping mall. A group of young girls from the community band together in resistance to protect their home. Following a cast of vibrant, powerful and unique characters, this story is stunning and so beautifully crafted, with words that flow like poetry.
We learn very quickly that this book has two main storylines, running parallel to one another. The first is the present in which the women and young girls of Heaven are facing this imposing threat to their community - that being the construction workers who are about to destroy their home. And the other is the ongoing history of each family, primarily the women of the families. Through this lens, we learn about the individual stories of these remarkable women and we also learn a lot about Heaven as a community.
There are also a lot of fascinating divisions in this story. We have rich versus poor, religion versus religion, men versus women, Heaven residents versus foreigners, educated women versus non-educated women. There is such a dichotomy between so many characters and their beliefs. However, what Mathangi Subramanian points out in this story, and what she observed on a two-year ethnographic study of Bangalore, is that despite these differences, the women all gather and integrate and interact with one another on a regular basis - which makes for a very interesting story.
Before this book, I had never heard of the caste system but this book discusses it in a really interesting and evocative way by making it the central focus of Selvi Aunty's story.
I really loved this story. It was wonderfully written. I really recommend picking this up for yourself!
I received this Ebook from Algonquin Books in exchange for an honest review.
Full Review: Link
Blog | Twitter | Instagram