My first read of 2020, and man was it a good one.

This story follows five girls (Banu, Deepa, Joy, Rukshana, and Padma) who live in a community named Heaven, which is a slum in Bangalore, India. The story centers around these girls and their mothers protesting the demolition of Heaven by the local government, and through this we learn of the stories of the individual girls as well as how their mothers came to live in Heaven.

Not only is this a powerful story about female friendship and mother-daughter relationships, but it is also a story about survival and acceptance. Banu is a talented artist and builder, but she is parentless, and raised by her grandmother, or ajji. Deepa is visually impaired. Rukshana is a queer woman who grapples with her attraction towards another girl in a different caste. Padma works towards someday going to college while taking care of her mother, who appears to have depression. And Joy is transgender, and her relationship with her mom made me tear up at some parts because she was so willing to accept Joy and do whatever to made sure she could go to college and have a better life. Despite the differences in their upbringing, these girls find a way to each other, and I loved reading how they would help and defend each other. The writing was absolutely beautiful, and despite the circumstances of their class and their gender, the book still felt hopeful, that despite their girls being at odds with what their world expects from women, they were willing to stand together to defy expectations. Because of this, my favorite character was Janaki Ma’am, who refuses to give up on any of the girls or their families.

When Greta Gerwig was snubbed in Oscar noms for Little Women, I thought about this book, and how necessary and important it is for women to read books about sisterhood (both chosen and biological). We need more books like these, ones that focuses on these young girls’ minds and hearts, and the pride they find within themselves and within each other.

//“Education is the reason we moved to the city in the first place,” her father tells her mother. “We never had it. Our child deserves it.” By child of course, he means his son.
A People’s History Of Heaven – Mathangi Subramanian//


A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian is a book filled with rich, lyrical and dreamy goodness. Mathangi is a demi-god when it comes to descriptions and exposition. With each vibrant word put together, she gave us the readers alive characters in five bestfriends: Joy, Rukshana, Deepa, Padma and Banu. I couldn’t even pick a favourite because they were all wonderful, beautiful and impacting in their own way.

Mathangi explores lives of the castaways and people seen as nonetities in India and instead of the depressing lines I thought I would thread in this book (because she wrote about people living in slums… I thought I would need my box of tissue nearby), I walked through colourful spaces Mathangi created. The people of Heaven are unabashedly living, hopeful and content despite their living conditions. They have ambitions, dreams, lives and hopes.

//Boys will be boys, after all. But daughters are not too be trusted. When you are a girl in Heaven, someone is always watching.
A People’s History Of Heaven – Mathangi Subramanian //

Gender is also a huge discourse in this book. Wavering from how female children are killed at birth because they are female, disregarded if they can’t bring money or food to the table, or are strewn off to their husbands at very tender ages, all these pointed fingers at the fact that daughters in India (and worldwide) are perceived as worthless in every other sense (except for what their vaginas can bring). The boys are allowed to play around, climb trees, man major businesses, live lives but the girls are to sit at home, close their laps and wait for Prince Charming.

// Neelamma Aunty had always thought of motherhood like marriage: a set of duties and obligations, a series of defined tasks. But clutching Deeps to her chest, she realized it was something more. Something she would have to learn. Not the way she had learned tailoring to bring in money but the way she had learned to raise herself.
For days, she waited for the gravity of her epiphany to weigh her down but all she felt was lightness.
- A People’s History of Heaven – Mathangi Subramanian //

Mathangi Subramanian brings to limelight the mothers women of Heaven are. As incapacitated as they might seem, they protect what’s theirs and as much as they follow the narrative of what the female life is “supposed” to be, there was a steady growth in their mentality.

This book is poetic and refreshing and inspiring and joyous. It’s a thin line between light and heavy; not too light you find it fleeting, not too heavy you find it depressing.

A People’s History Of Heaven has all my damn five stars. Truly deserves it.

//Love isn’t running away to save yourself. It’s staying together to survive.
A People’s History Of Heaven – Mathangi Subramanian//

Once in a while, you come across a book that stays with you long after you have read the last sentence. Characters that you cannot help but keep thinking about. Scenes and instances that you keep going back to. A People’s History of Heaven is one such book for me. A lyrical debut novel from Mathangi Subramanian, this is one that draws you in from the first page.

The book is based in a slum named Heaven in Bangalore. One that is on the verge of being razed. It follows the lives of a diverse group of teenage girls on the verge of womanhood. Banu, an artist and a rebel who lives with her ailing grandmother. Joy, a transgender who identifies as a girl. Rukshana, who struggles with her sexuality as a Muslim. Deepa who is clinically blind but that does not hold her back. Padma who had to grow up too soon shouldering the responsibility of her mother. Heaven is a haven for the girls. A bubble of sorts where being different is acceptable. Ever so often, they get a reality check. But that does not dampen their spirits.

The book does not romanticize. It is about hope and tenacity. The resilient women think on their feet, to make the best of what life has served them. Heartbreaking at times, uplifting at others. Not for a moment do you feel pity for the characters – the girls or their mothers, grandmothers, and head-mistress. In fact, you root for them. It talks about casteism, sexism, patriarchy, ableism, homophobia, conversions, forced sterilization, and primarily, lack of education. Nowhere does it get forced or preachy, or seem like an attempt to check all the boxes.

There are a lot of characters, and the non-linear narrative gets a bit confusing at times. It would have been a perfect 5 for me if not for it. That said, I loved the book and would highly recommend it.

In A People's History of Heaven, a small slum of Bangalore called Heaven is at risk of being destroyed and effectively erased in order to be replaced by a shopping mall. A group of young girls from the community band together in resistance to protect their home. Following a cast of vibrant, powerful and unique characters, this story is stunning and so beautifully crafted, with words that flow like poetry.

We learn very quickly that this book has two main storylines, running parallel to one another. The first is the present in which the women and young girls of Heaven are facing this imposing threat to their community - that being the construction workers who are about to destroy their home. And the other is the ongoing history of each family, primarily the women of the families. Through this lens, we learn about the individual stories of these remarkable women and we also learn a lot about Heaven as a community.

There are also a lot of fascinating divisions in this story. We have rich versus poor, religion versus religion, men versus women, Heaven residents versus foreigners, educated women versus non-educated women. There is such a dichotomy between so many characters and their beliefs. However, what Mathangi Subramanian points out in this story, and what she observed on a two-year ethnographic study of Bangalore, is that despite these differences, the women all gather and integrate and interact with one another on a regular basis - which makes for a very interesting story.

Before this book, I had never heard of the caste system but this book discusses it in a really interesting and evocative way by making it the central focus of Selvi Aunty's story.

I really loved this story. It was wonderfully written. I really recommend picking this up for yourself!

I’ve been trying to come up with a clever initial sentence for this review for ages, but I’m truly at a loss for words. I don’t even know where to begin with this wonderful, clever, and incredibly beautiful book. It’s not really like anything I’ve ever read before, and I’m very grateful that Algonquin reached out to me, otherwise I would never have found out about it.

At first, I thought that A People’s History of Heaven would only be a book about five girls and their struggles with poverty, but there is so much more to this story than that. Not only do we get to read about their struggles, but we get to read about their hopes, dreams, and everyday lives. The way they make do with what they have and try to go beyond that. But what I loved the most about this story is that it’s not only about the girls in the present, it’s also about their pasts, and their mothers’ pasts, and even their headmistress’ past. It all tied up neatly and created a beatiful cohesion within the story, as we got to understand the background of the small and tight-knit community that these girls and women form.

I laughed and almost cried multiple times while reading this. The crying I was expecting, but not the laughing. The girls have a wonderful and special way of communicating with each other in their group, and they’re not afraid of or choose to turn a blind eye to the injustices of the world. In a way, these narrators remind me of the children in NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names, in that the kids aren’t afraid to talk about things as they see it. If something is wrong, they’ll say that rather than try to explain it away.

Additionally, I loved how everyone was allowed to be themselves in this group. No one ever questioned Joy’s gender identity, no one ever questioned why they were the way they were. They had each other’s backs, always, and that made the story so much more optimistic and beautiful. I also loved that this extended to some, if not all, of the girls’ parents. This is a story of love and inclusion, of being allowed to be who you are and more importantly, who you want to be, while at the same time being realistic about the fact that it doesn’t come for free. At times, it feels like the whole world is against these people, but they know that they have each other and so they refuse to stand down. They refuse to be run over by bulldozers.

This is a truly inspiring and empowering book that I will carry with me for quite some time. I fully recommend it if you like character driven stories with multiple point of views.

A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian highlights the different lives of young girls living in a slum in India. Now available in paperback, this novel shows how hope and strength can persevere and how a community can come together in times of strife.
In the tight-knit community known as Heaven, a ramshackle slum hidden between luxury high-rises in Bangalore, India, five girls on the cusp of womanhood forge an unbreakable bond. Muslim, Christian, and Hindu; queer and straight; they are full of life, and they love and accept one another unconditionally. Whatever they have, they share. Marginalized women, they are determined to transcend their surroundings. When the local government threatens to demolish their tin shacks in order to build a shopping mall, the girls and their mothers refuse to be erased. Together they wage war on the bulldozers sent to bury their homes, and, ultimately, on the city that wishes that families like them would remain hidden forever.
This story is just beautifully written. It’s unlike any other novel I’ve read and is one that everyone should read. I don’t think I’ve ever read a story set in India, so it was super interesting to learn about the culture through the lives of the characters. The way each of the characters’ stories intertwine and the way the chapters intermix past and present shows how even if history repeats itself, spirit and hope can be replicated in a new generation as well.
I also really liked the use of "heaven" as a double meaning. The phrasing of certain lines like “The city is loud, but Heaven is louder” was very clever and created a metaphoric dichotomy and juxtaposition showing what the slum means to these women and how it has become a sanctuary of sorts for them.
The only thing that bothered me about this novel was the style of narration. We never really find out who the narrator is. Are they one of the young girls? Are they an omniscient presence? The way the narrator uses personal pronouns like "we" allows the reader to think that they are present for all of the events, but there are certain scenes and parts of the story that the narrator would have no way of knowing unless they were just a third person narrator. It just proved a bit more confusing to follow certain parts of the text.
Overall, this is a story that everyone can appreciate and should read at some point in their lives. The resilience of women is so moving to see and Subramanian does a phenomenal job of showcasing it in her story. Feminists and those who wish to view the world through different eyes will fall in love with this eloquent and beautiful novel.

I didn’t really like this book. I really loved the premise, but I just couldn’t like the book. I tried. I really tried, but I just couldn’t.
I kept getting the names mixed up and when I finally got the name to the relationship of the main character, I was already frustrated and bored of the book. There is no timeline, so I have no idea how long the plot is supposed to be. The writing is very child-like - there are not very many complex words and/or vocabulary. Both the plot and the characters were very underdeveloped and there were too many characters for such a short book.

Today I am featuring a debut read that I think is so important. A People’s History of Heaven by @mathangiwrites was so compelling that I couldn’t put it down! This is a book about the strength of women and is targeted to the YA audience making it even more important. I would have loved to read this growing up! ⁣
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Between the luxury high rises is a slum known as Heaven. Here lives five girls with five different backgrounds and beliefs- Muslim, Christian, Hindi, Straight and Gay- and they’re all friends. This story is about their courage to overcome a place that would rather they not exist. ⁣
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This book is witty and sad and powerful. I really enjoyed getting to know these characters. This is another read outside of my comfort zone that I definitely don’t regret picking up. ⁣
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Thank you to @algonquinbooks, @netgalley and @algonquinyr for the e-copy of this story which is out tomorrow in paperback! ⁣

Thank you so much to @algonquinbooks for sending this my way!

This book is about a tight-knit community known as Heaven, a ramshackle slum located between luxury high rises in Bangalore, India. This is where five teenage girls from different backgrounds form an unbreakable bond. Blind, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, queer and straight, cis and trans, they love each other unconditionally. When the local government threatens to build a shopping mall where their homes are, the girls and their mothers stand up to the men and the bulldozers. They refuse to be erased. They demand to be seen.

This book tugged at my heartstrings. Hard. I absolutely inhaled it in one sitting. There were so many quotable moments in this book about what it means to be a woman in a repressed society. The women in this book are full of strength, love, and resilience in the face of adversity. There is sorrow in this book, but there are beautiful moments of friendship and joy sprinkled throughout too.

The writing in this book is lyrical and moving. It definitely helps that the author knows her stuff, she spent some time doing research in a place very similar to her fictional slum. I could tell from her writing how deeply she cared about these girls and how much she wanted this story to shine a light on what so many people go through each day.

This is an absolute hidden gem of a book, and it’s one I’ll definitely be recommending to everyone from now on and thinking about for months to come.

TW: brief mentions of miscarriage and forced sterilization, transphobic scenes, loss of a loved one

A beautiful story that features a group of girls who live in a slum, which is called Heaven. I loved how the characters were diverse, but also were connected.

The themes in the book were well written, and there was many themes that underlied not just the characters, but the setting and circumstances each character faces. Some of the themes include poverty, access to education, love, marriage (and arranged marriage), community, and friendship.

There was ability rep (one character is blind, another has a hunched back from polio), queer+ rep (transgender main, queer+ main), different faith rep. I also loved how this book has a centric view on education and saving the slum from demolition.

Overall, a powerful book that everyone should read!

My rating: 4/5

(Posting for blog tour on the 17/1/20)

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: A People’s History of Heaven

Author: Mathangi Subramanian

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: LGBT and POC friendly book. Transgender main, Blind rep main, and many different beliefs.

Publication Date: March 19, 2019

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 16+ (some violence and slightly mature scenes)

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Pages: 304

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Heaven is a thirty-year-old slum hidden between brand-new, high-rise apartment buildings and technology incubators in contemporary Bangalore. In this tight-knit community, five girls on the cusp of womanhood-a politically driven graffiti artist; a transgender Christian convert; a blind girl who loves to dance; and the queer daughter of a hijabi union leader-forge an unbreakable bond.

When the local government threatens to demolish their tin shacks in order to build a shopping mall, the girls and their mothers refuse to be erased. Together they wage war on the bulldozers sent to bury their homes, and, ultimately, on the city that wishes that families like them would remain hidden forever.

Elegant, poetic, and vibrant, A People's History of Heaven takes a clear-eyed look at adversity and geography and dazzles in its depiction of love and female friendship.

Review: This book was absolutely beautiful! I loved the wide array of different but ultimately connected characters and I loved how the story was written. It was poetic and vibrant and the book was intriguing from start to finish. I loved the world building as well.

I did feel like there was some moments where the pace was slowed down. I also feel like while this book is gorgeously written there are a ton of metaphors and at some point it got too much for me. I feel like the book did very well to describe the environment and the characters, but maybe it was a bit too descriptive in a lot of places. There’s also a ton of characters and it’s honestly a lot of info to take in. Overall, I really liked it and I thought the way the book was being told needed those extra descriptors.

Verdict: If you’re into poetic books, definitely grab this read!

This is the kind of book they need to bring into schools! I remember reading things like Gifted Hands and this would fit right up in that alley. It's something everyone should read.

This is an empowering, uplifting novel about life in India's slums. To those who found depictions like 'Slumdog Millionaire' fascinating, this will be of equal interest. Mathangi Subramanian tries to ensure her ensemble cast of characters are all varied and worthy of our empathy. Her descriptions of life in Bangalore's slums are both humane and accurate. For a first novel, this is definitely a skillful work and will make readers look forward to more from this writer.

And then there was Mathangi Subramanian’s A People’s History of Heaven, and it was not the book for me. About a group of girls growing up in a Bangalore slum called Heaven, the book explores each of their stories as an imminent government removal of the slum looms. This book was heavy handed. The author, a nonfiction writer and academic, took what was a heavily researched book with real interview subjects and tried to turn it into a novel, which left it distilled down to the most simplistic, stereotyped, and improbably cleaned up storylines. She tried to touch on all of the topics: spousal abuse, queerness, gender transition, religion, poverty, family secrets etc., but it read like a soap opera at best or a public service announcement at worst. This catastrophe of good intentions felt like it was written by a person who felt above and separate from her subjects, and who just didn’t get it enough to write a storyline I could buy. This story was a fly flitting from narrative to narrative, persistent certainly, but also incredibly irksome. Thank you @netgalley for the arc, opinions are my own.

This is a solid book whose characters are diverse but relatable. I felt a connection with each character despite the setting being a half a world away. This is a well-written book that many types of readers will enjoy.

This is a story about about love and friendship and fighting for the people and places we love. Lyrical and ,full of life. Very moving and celebratory story of girls on the "cusp of adulthood who find joy just in the basic act of living."

I read this as background reading for a First Impressions Promotion we ran on BookBrowse, as booked by Debra Linn, Personally, I enjoyed it -- and you can see our member-reviewer's comments at https://www.bookbrowse.com/arc/arc_reviews/ They rated it 4.2 stars

This book took me by storm and I was immediately pulled into the world of these 5 young women living in a slum in Bangalore called Heaven. This is the story of these 5 girls: what their lives are like, what their home life is like, their expectations and how it’s different for men and boys, what it means to them to get an education, how they take care of each other and their community, what it is not to fit in, friendship, and acceptance.
The book goes back in time to describe how each girl got to where is is, what her challenges are — from being blind, transgender, gay, having fathers who leave — and what she dreams for herself as the bulldozers in the current day hover over their homes threatening to plow them over. It is also the story of their mothers and even grandmothers because all of these stories are intertwined. There are a lot of characters in this book, but I found it wasn’t overly difficult to keep track of them because they each had their own personality fleshed out so well.
This is a richly and wonderfully told story. The words and images that Subramanian conjures up are vivid, startling, and wonderful. There were some sentences that stopped me in my tracks and I had to read them over.
However, the flip side is that the writing was hard for me sometimes because it was so full of sentence fragments. They were not used sparingly for effect, but were used all the time. I imagine that it is simply the author’s style, but I found it halted the flow of the book. If this doesn’t bother you or you can get past it, then I would definitely recommend this book. It is an honest and important portrayal of the women and girls in Heaven.
Thank you to Netgalley and Algonquin Books for a review copy of this book.

I was struck by A People’s History of Heaven from the first page. Subramanian’s writing style is so concise; every single word has purpose and punches you in the chest. I loved the perspective shifts, zooming in on the lives of one girl at a time, but never losing focus on the larger story of strength and interconnectedness of this community. Banu’s story has special resonance for me, thinking about the work-centered family focus many of my students come from, and for her story and beyond, I’m excited to get in the hands of the students around me. Subramanian presents a complex, emotional and unflinching look at a Bangalore slum neighborhood; a book that is both deeply beautiful and a criticism of political and social structures.

This is a gorgeous and wonderful novel about the women and girls of a Bangalore slum. Told in the first person plural, the book dips in and out of macro and micro issues in the community, its history, and its future. Subramanian’s writing is fresh and lively and I adored the nuanced ways in which she handles gender, sexuality, and disability. The novel takes on sexism and education, the ways in which women can subvert the masculine paradigm that seemingly rules the community, and engages with the role of white aid workers and others who seek to help the poor but are clueless of how their subjects and targets feel about them and how they live.