Of Mothers and Other Perishables

Synopsis

Of Mothers and Other Perishables is an exquisite articulation of grief. It is also the sharp-eyed tale of a city tethered to violence and bursting with nazms. The morbidly funny voice of a dead woman echoes through the walls of her beloved storeroom, a compact space that contains her earthly belongings: cupboards full of silk sarees and baby clothes, albums of black-and-white photographs, a collection of vinyl records, a record player, old leather suitcases, an ebony-and-gold sewing machine. She reminisces about the past, and about the disease that causes her untimely death. Her storeroom becomes a quaint Bioscope of her life in Delhi as a young woman in the 1970s and 80s, decades that bring her romance, marriage, motherhood. The novel oscillates between the dead woman&’s yearnings and the immediacy and excitement of a parallel narrative — her daughter&’s. Nicknamed The Wailer (from the band Bob Marley and the Wailers), the dead woman&’s daughter offers a sardonic glimpse into the world of advertising — the night before a presentation, temperamental colleagues, the buzz of writers and art directors at work. But the peculiar dynamics of The Wailer&’s advertising firm alter drastically, when protests break out in the city of Delhi. Protesters swarm the streets, hollering against a new bill that persecutes the Muslim community. A Muslim art director is drawn to the pulsing heart of this movement. The Wailer, too, is inadvertently involved. Both narratives — the deceased mother&’s digressional memories, and The Wailer&’s palpable reality — also tell of Toon, The Wailer&’s younger sister, who is the CEO of a coffee startup. Their worlds converge to offer shards of the past, and navigate through a turbulent present. Personal and political histories collide in this haunting tale of many betrayals.

Copyright:

2024

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9788197042669

Related ISBNs:

9788197042645

Publisher:

S&S India

Date of Addition:

06/25/24

Copyrighted By:

Radhika Oberoi

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Romance, Literature and Fiction, Politics and Government

Grade Levels:

Twelfth grade, College Freshman, College Sophomore, College Junior, College Senior, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student

Reading Age:

18 and up

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.