Burnt Sugar

Finishing this novel feels like coming up for air.

It’s an intense journey, constantly pulling the reader into a traumatic childhood back story and them launching them into a traumatic present. The story, told from Antara’s perspective, flickers between flashbacks to growing up in Pune, India with a mother who (rejecting her privileged, wealthy roots) moved them into an Ashram - where she neglected her young daughter in favor of the faith leader, then into homelessness, amongst other unstable settings. The present day context follows Antara as she tries to care for her mother who has increasingly more serious dementia whilst balancing a marriage, a difficult mother-in-law and her own identity.

Doshi explores the untenable and yet unbreakable tether between the two women without shying away from rage, disconnectedness and despair. She spins the sub-context in equally skilled fashion, with nods to contemporary Indian society across class discrimination, emigration and traditional gender roles.

I don’t think I could say I enjoyed it in the sense that I came away satisfied - if anything I feel left with a sense of hopelessness for the characters, and feel a distinct lack of happy ending. However, that being said, I can’t praise the author highly enough for her writing - it’s beautifully crafted and delivered. Overall I wouldn’t read it again, but I would recommend it.

CW: Childhood trauma, neglect, starvation, rape, abuse, dementia, psychosis.