Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Morrow Paperbacks April 5, 2011

Paperback, 368 Pages

Review Copy

Secret Daughter, a first novel by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, explores powerfully and poignantly the emotional terrain of motherhood, loss, identity, and love through the experiences of two families—one Indian, one American—and the child that binds them together. A masterful work set partially in the Mumbai slums so vividly portrayed in the hit film Slumdog Millionaire, Secret Daughter recalls the acclaimed novels of Kim Edwards and Thrity Umrigar, yet sparkles with the freshness of a truly exciting new literary voice.

Review

Secret Daughter is a story that spans across two decades and highlights the lives of two different couples, one set from India and another from America and the child that binds them together. Not only does Somer tackle controversial issues about foreign adoption but also raises awareness of the atrocities against infant females in India.

Kavita, a village woman in India gives birth to a baby daughter and fearing that her husband will kill her the way he did their first, hides the baby and travels alone to an orphanage in Mumbai. There Kavita leaves the baby (Usha) for a chance to live and a chance to be adopted, something that breaks her heart but does so out of her extreme love for her child. On the other side of the world, Somer an American woman and her husband who is Indian, are eager to have children but have had miscarriages and infertility problems. The couple finally decide to adopt and  are eager at adopting a baby from Kris's home country, as they feel being an interracial couple, a child from India will be the best fit. The couple winds up in Mumbai and adopts baby Usha. Somer is amazed at the cultural differences in India and here in the novel it’s a real eye opener to see what foreign adoption looks like and aspects of how people in India live.

After the emotional adoption process, Somer and Kris travel home to raise the baby back in California and as they adjust to their new life, Somer go’s through trials trying to connect with her adopted daughter. At this point in the novel we go back and forth through Usha’s upbringing showing her life in the United States and what her biological parents are going through living in India. We see the drastic differences of children in the USA and those of India. Usha struggles with feelings of displacement and a longing to know where she came from and as an adult travels to India to seek answers.

This story was in one word…riveting!! Gowda has written a relevant and eye opening account of interracial marriage, foreign adoption and culture in India. The plot moves at super pace (in some spots even a bit to fast) making it hard to really hold onto or link to any main character, that being said for me the story itself seemed to anchor me to the characters, I felt their sadness, fear and was still able to be the outsider looking in. I was shocked about the infant murders, something I seriously wasn’t aware of, I have three daughters and I cant imagine going through what Kavita faced, after closing this book I want to run to India and rescue one of these babies. I want to make a difference somehow in a country that is so different from my own. If this book can say anything for fiction it would be how powerful created characters can move people to action. Im blessed to live in America and I know that America is what it is because of its people, while Im angry with gas prices and sky rocketing taxes, we are still a free country and a free people able to have children and raise them in a promising land with abundant futures.


Rating

Secret Daughter is recommended to adult readers and contains: Culture in India, murder, child birth, violence, foreign adoption and mild language.

4/5- Contemporary Fiction

Thanks to Morrow and Tlc for review copy