This book wasn’t for me. I didn’t fall in love with the characters or the story.
The writing was ok

This was my first book to read by this author but it won't be my last! This was a beautifully written novel that evokes so many emotions. Don't miss out on this one!

A fabulous read about women’s relationships – with each other and with the men in their lives – and the rise of fundamentalism in India today.

This is a riveting story of two women dealing with profound loss and the direction their lives will follow. This beautifully crafted journey starts with the death of celebrated architect Robi Mallick, beloved husband of Shashi and father of favoured daughter Tara. When Robi dies unexpectedly in New York, Tara is the last to find out in remote Dharmsala, and she reacts by retreating further from her mother. Whilst Shashi returns to the family home in New Delhi, mourning her husband and troubled by her daughter’s estrangement, Tara’s story is told in parallel. Following an affair with an older visiting professor, Tara finds herself alone and ostracised from the university community. Escaping to Dharmsala is her way of dealing with the pain of rejection and public humiliation. The stories of both women are told in the background of the religious fundamentalism they both face. A few finely crafted characters share their journeys and their stories finally meet in an idealistic conclusion.

Thank you to the publisher Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Epiphany and illumination are at the centre of this debut novel from Indian author and journalist Anindita Ghose. This book focuses on the lives of mother and daughter, Shashi and Tara. Shashi, whose life was defined by her architect husband Robi, is recently widowed. Tara, a Sanskrit scholar, is at a crossroads in her life, grieving the loss of her beloved father. The book also analyses the lives of Indian women and the rise of a new fundamentalist group who threaten to reduce women's liberties. While initially a slow burn of a read, I became more and more drawn into the lives of the two women as the book progressed. A strong debut.

This book is well written and I enjoyed the use of language. Unfortunately the story was a bit too slow for me.

The Illuminated centres around the mother/daughter relationship of Shashi and Tara after the loss of Robi, Shashi’s husband of many years and Tara’s beloved father. The sensitive way the author writes about the maternal bond and the often push-pull dynamic of mother daughter intimacy was beautifully done. Tara, a gifted Sanskrit scholar at university has suffered a romantic misadventure and keeps her heartbreak to herself as she recovers in Dharamshala. At the same time, Shashi is mired in grief and uncertainty as she navigates being a widow, an ambiguous position in Indian society. A conservative organisation called MSS threatens to take away the rights of widowed and solitary women and Shashi is forced to consider a radical change to the privileged life she has grown accustomed to.

I loved the growth of these two women during the story —they realise they have a voice and should use it. They can take action to help others or bring justice to a situation. Tara realises being fooled by a person can be blessing when it gives wisdom and strength. Shashi honours her husband’s memory, but gains confidence to work out who she really is without him and how she would like to use the rest of her life. A layered and moving story about personal power and family bonds. Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for my review copy.

An engaging indian family saga, covering several generations and continents, that deals with the aftermath of the sudden and unexpected death of the family patriarch. Some very strong female characters in particular, as well as explorations of what power, expectations and the privileges that come with wealth -- particularly the ability to be yourself, without worrying what others think. Culture clashes (India and the US, trade vs academia) feature heavily. A very enjoyable read.

Thank you for letting me read this, I normally read a lot of fast paced crime thrillers so this was the perfect antidote to that, slow measured writing where you have to take your time. An indepth exploration of a mother daughter relationship with an ever present political background of Indian fundamentalism, there was a lot to unpack and savour in the storytelling.

Following the death of Shashi's husband, she finds herself without purpose. Her daughter tackles her grief in a different way. This book navigates their future life and touches on the mistakes, fears and experiences that they both face. I found the cultural aspect fascinating. Ghose has a great voice in this novel which made it all the more enjoyable.

It took me quite a time to figure out where this story was going and I put this down to the way the narration changes perspective. When this happens, both the reader and main protagonists simultaneously understand the true meaning of The Illuminated - what a clever title.

This is the story of Shashi and her daughter Tara, both on a journey to self-discovery, which is hard earned through deeply felt grief and heartbreak. Shashi’s husband, around whom her world had revolved for many years, suddenly dies and coming to terms with her loss she realises that through the years of her marriage she had lost her true sense of self. She reflects that she had a good marriage and she mourns him – but she also mourns herself, the woman she once was and yearns to be. It is symbolic when she reflects that she lived in three houses, her father’s, her father-in-law’s and her husband’s but now she wants to live in one that is her own.

Tara, her daughter, is fiercely independent, which affects her relationship with her mother in many ways. Her dad’s death coincides with the ending of an intense relationship with a man she passionately loved and adored but who was never as invested in it as she was – as Tara found out when he rather dispassionately ends it. She feels used, badly hurt, is heart-broken and rages against it at the same time.
Grief, rage and heartbreak bring mother and daughter closer together and when they hear about a utopian community, in which women create a better future for themselves and those they live with, they know what they must do. What they have gone through they now perceive as a rare gift that allows them to see the world differently.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE ILLUMINATED by Anindita Ghose is a character-driven family drama set in India that felt like I was invited into an intimate space by the family.
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Shashi is an Indian woman suddenly widowed while visiting her son in the U.S., trying to connect to her daughter Tara who is in a remote school studying Sanskrit. While Shashi is feeling unmoored by the loss of her well-known husband, Tara is also fighting this same feeling from the loss of a toxic relationship with an older mentor. The death of Robi sets off a slurry of memories of how each arrived where they are and how this change can possibly alter their futures. Meanwhile a growing fundamentalist group is having more sway and threatens the basic freedoms of these women.

I really enjoyed growing into each character as the book went on. Not having a lot of Indian Culture around me, there was much to learn, and look up! This added to the story as I learned more about the customs and perspectives of this particular family, with caste structures and general Hindu practices. Grappling with the strong patriarchal society and their their changed circumstances, both women see how the losses can open up new opportunities. I also really enjoyed the structure of this novel with the moon-phase chapters and the pamphlets pushing the rigid rules.

This is a very character heavy, plot light story that illuminates a piece of Indian culture in a lovely way. The generations given voice show both older and new perspectives which felt honoring to each. This is a rich, nuanced, non-graphic-violence option for an Indian family drama!

I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who loves a good family drama, diverse perspectives, and a little feminism! Thank you so much to @headofzeus publishers and @NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. This title is available now for all to read.

A story about grief, loneliness and the space women inhabit in modern India. The illuminated by Anindita Ghose is a simplistically beautiful tale of mother Shashi and daughter Tara's lives before and after the sudden loss of their beloved husband and father Robi.

I was captivated by the concise way Anindita described characters; there's an efficiency to the way you knew how the characters behaved and presented themselves in the world, which I enjoyed. However, I yearned to delve deeper into Shashi and Tara's character and to understand them more than just their feelings of grief. They felt distant from me as a reader. In some ways, Anindita did a superb job at making both protagonists more isolated than ever.

The presence of Hindu fundamentalism in the form of the MSS was gradual throughout the book and I had felt the movement encroach Shashi's and Tara's lives in an ominous way. Even though my experience and knowledge of fundamentalism in India is extremely limited, Anindita conveyed the message of danger well.

The Illuminated is a remarkable debut by a young author. The book grabbed me from the very beginning and drew me into the lives of Shashi and Tara - it was easy to become immersed in reading it. The book is about two strong Indian women and how they each deal with the death of their husband/father in their own ways, how he affected their lives before and after his death and how they handle their relationship after he is no longer part of their lives. Ghose has created complex, likeable characters, who don’t conform to any stereotypes of South Asian women. They were strongly developed, likeable characters, with complicated emotions and individuality. All in all, I found it a delightful, absorbing read - a real masterpiece from a debut author. I look forward to seeing what she does next.

Whilst the premise of this book was incredibly promising, unfortunately the execution was not up to its promises. The book alternated between two sections and I found myself wondering what the point was. There was not enough to say about both characters that they both warranted a perspective. Also, the story meanders way too much to get to the relevant information. Majority of the time, I found myself wondering why certain sections were there.

This book is a family story about the relationship between a mother and her daughter. The story moves around their lives, both in the past and in the present, whilst in the background fundamentalism has begun to build up in India, with a campaign to put women back into their perceived traditional roles
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I thought the way readers are given small pieces of information about their relationship was done well, you build up a bigger picture of this family the further into the book you go. It is not an entirely linear tale, which helps to find out more about who these women are
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And they are very different people, Shashi has spent decades as a wife and mother, she is now in a place where she needs to be someone else. Tara is a doctoral student who is hurting after a broken situation. Both women are isolated, but for different reasons, and this book explores this, as well as their connection, and the connections they have with others, whilst also fighting for their independence against an emerging religious group
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It is a story about loss and grief. People are changed through grief, and this book explores that. Shashi moves from wife to widow, and the expectations of who she is now, how she should dress, live, and work as a woman living alone are explored in this book. Pieces of information, such as removing her bracelets, and which events she should no longer attend are shared, and it was interesting to read about these traditions
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A beautiful family story, I enjoyed reading this book a lot. Thank you to Head of Zeus and Anindita Ghose for this ARC

I really enjoy books that put my emotions through the wringer and then some, and this one hit that mark for me. I found the characters to be really well developed and easy to connect with throughout the book. The storytelling was absolutely phenomenal and the plot flowed easier than water down an unclogged drain pipe. The only “flaw” is that I wish it had been a tiny bit shorter, the chapters towards the end seemed to have lost their direction a bit and seemed to unnecessarily drag on. That being said, it could also have been my mood because I was desperate to get to the end to see how things panned out.

If you’re looking for a women focussed book whose prose will stay with you long after you put it down then this is definitely one you should pop on your TBRs.

Thank you so much to Head of Zeus for having me on the blog tour for this one.

This is a really interesting, thought-provoking insight into Indian culture and how women are treated. A great debut novel, I will be seeking out more of the author's work.

This novel is well written; the language is a delight to experience and the superb use of similes is bound to place a smile of empathy on the reader's face. The setting in Bengal might evoke pleasurable feelings in Bengali diaspora. All in all a good read, highly recommended.

I'm really sad that I didn't love this, I feel its just not quite the type of book that I like! I really enjoyed the beginning, getting to know the characters and dealing with the grief they felt, alongside them. However there was too much description and not enough dialogue to keep me hooked. Then the story switches to Tara, whom I loved!!! But again, same thing happened.

I think if you like books that are important, written so beautifully and have an empowering message, this is for you!