What I’m reading: The Forgotten Daughter

I’ve just finished reading a book I’ve been telling all my friends about. The Forgotten Daughter by Renita D’Silva was one of those books I was able to get into straight away and looked forward to reading a couple of chapters every evening.

“You were adopted”

Three simple words, in a letter accompanying her parent’s will, tear Nisha’s carefully ordered world apart. Raised in England, by her caring but emotionally reserved parents, Nisha has never been one to take risks.

Now, with the scrawled address of an Indian convent begins a search for the mother and family she never knew and the awakening of childhood memories long forgotten.

 

The book carefully weaves together the stories of Nisha, Shilpa and Devi and deals with the themes of motherhood, sacrifice and loss. I found the story easy to follow as the three main characters were so different. I enjoyed reading each chapter, especially as some were in the form of diary entries.

I don’t know anything about India but reading this book just makes me want to go and visit. Food is often mentioned and Shilpa’s chapters include recipes for Coconut barfis, Fish fry, Curd rice, Mango pickle and Semige Payasa amongst other delicious sounding dishes.

I also found myself googling some of the references to find out more. The author paints a beautiful picture of the small Indian villages and I wanted to see what a peepal tree which the wise woman sat under looked like.

The ending surprised me but I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll just suggest you read it for yourself!

Disclosure – I was sent a copy of the book and some Bahlsen biscuits as I’m a member of the Bahlsen Book Club