The Enemy Within, by Nalini Warriar, grabbed me very early on and captured my interest through to the end.
The early story, of Sita, a young girl, growing up in rural India, with her whole life and all the opportunities that entailed, ahead of her, was captivating. The vivid descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells of India brought me there and keep me intrigued. All of Sita's dreams and hopes for the future are tempered by the knowledge that her parents, will in all likelihood chose a husband for her and she will have to adapt to the traditional life of a Hindu bride.
When Anup, an engineer, living in Quebec, Canada is chosen as a good match for Sita, her fate is sealed. She leaves her home, with Anup for an exciting new life in Canada, determined to fall in love with this strange man who is now her husband. Despite all her efforts, Anup wants her for only her ability to look after him and satisfy his sexual needs.
Alone, in a strange. new environment, Sita must learn to cope and flourish in this new world. She makes sure that she does and studies to achieve her Doctorate in Cell Biology. Despite all her academic and motherly success, Sita still finds herself achingly lonely and just longing for someone to love her, the way she wants to love.
This is an intensely heart-warming and achingly sad story that is beautifully related by the author. As a reader, we can feel and ultimately empathise with Sita and her pain. I loved the writer's beautifully, descriptive prose and her ability to highlight the many dangers and pitfalls of someone from a different culture trying desperately to fit into her adopted society.
A wonderful read and definitely well worth the five stars I have given it. I think this was Warriar's debut novel and suspect it was semi-autobiographical. I am now keen to see what else she has written and look forward to choosing more books by this talented author. Excellent job.
The early story, of Sita, a young girl, growing up in rural India, with her whole life and all the opportunities that entailed, ahead of her, was captivating. The vivid descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells of India brought me there and keep me intrigued. All of Sita's dreams and hopes for the future are tempered by the knowledge that her parents, will in all likelihood chose a husband for her and she will have to adapt to the traditional life of a Hindu bride.
When Anup, an engineer, living in Quebec, Canada is chosen as a good match for Sita, her fate is sealed. She leaves her home, with Anup for an exciting new life in Canada, determined to fall in love with this strange man who is now her husband. Despite all her efforts, Anup wants her for only her ability to look after him and satisfy his sexual needs.
Alone, in a strange. new environment, Sita must learn to cope and flourish in this new world. She makes sure that she does and studies to achieve her Doctorate in Cell Biology. Despite all her academic and motherly success, Sita still finds herself achingly lonely and just longing for someone to love her, the way she wants to love.
This is an intensely heart-warming and achingly sad story that is beautifully related by the author. As a reader, we can feel and ultimately empathise with Sita and her pain. I loved the writer's beautifully, descriptive prose and her ability to highlight the many dangers and pitfalls of someone from a different culture trying desperately to fit into her adopted society.
A wonderful read and definitely well worth the five stars I have given it. I think this was Warriar's debut novel and suspect it was semi-autobiographical. I am now keen to see what else she has written and look forward to choosing more books by this talented author. Excellent job.
Do pop on over to Amazon and check out the other offerings from this extremely talented author.
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