Jaishree Misra - A Prolific Indian English Writer
Jaishree Misra is an immensely readable author, with an easy and engaging style. She writes about people like you and me, ordinary characters undergoing extraordinary crises in their lives. Though her books don't exactly fall in the realm of serious literature, I found a lot of deep insights and reflection in her heart-wrenching tales. And unlike other popular Indian English writers, she does not write chick lit, or about the ultra-modern IT or BPO generation, so it becomes easier for ordinary middle-class folk like me to identify with her characters.
As a Malayalee married to a north Indian, she has seen both cultures well enough to write about them. She sets her stories either in Kerala or in Delhi, both places being close to her heart. Her protagonist makes the proverbial journey from India to the west, in this case, London, where life altering experiences take place. Or they leave India to escape tumultuous situations in their lives here. Destiny or nemesis catches up with them, and then comes the ultimate reconciliation or acceptance of the essential truths of existence.
I particularly liked Afterwards, the touching story of a carefree young man, forced by circumstances, to act saviour to a beautiful, young woman and her daughter. The novel is told in first person, so we feel the protagonist's deep sense of anguish and loss at his partner's sudden death. Particularly heart-wrenching is his eventual separation with his adopted daughter, so naturally and engagingly depicted, one is almost moved to tears. Another favourite is Ancient Promises, the story of which is similar to the author's own struggle in an indifferent arranged marriage, and ultimate union with her original love.
Secrets and Sins and A Scandalous Secret have a common theme running in them - a shameful secret from the past that threatens to rock the lives of the protagonists when it comes in the open. Her people are wonderfully human, breaking down under pressure, then again gathering back their fragmented lives to carry on with the business of living. Misra keeps her endings optimistic and philosophical, with the reiteration of an eternal truth like the virtues of tolerance or acceptance.
She is an author who almost always allows the reader to participate with the protagonist in the process of taking the critical decisions. So we know what he/she goes through and how the denouement comes through. Wish there were more like her, writing simple and engaging prose that also provokes soul-searching for the reader.
As a Malayalee married to a north Indian, she has seen both cultures well enough to write about them. She sets her stories either in Kerala or in Delhi, both places being close to her heart. Her protagonist makes the proverbial journey from India to the west, in this case, London, where life altering experiences take place. Or they leave India to escape tumultuous situations in their lives here. Destiny or nemesis catches up with them, and then comes the ultimate reconciliation or acceptance of the essential truths of existence.
I particularly liked Afterwards, the touching story of a carefree young man, forced by circumstances, to act saviour to a beautiful, young woman and her daughter. The novel is told in first person, so we feel the protagonist's deep sense of anguish and loss at his partner's sudden death. Particularly heart-wrenching is his eventual separation with his adopted daughter, so naturally and engagingly depicted, one is almost moved to tears. Another favourite is Ancient Promises, the story of which is similar to the author's own struggle in an indifferent arranged marriage, and ultimate union with her original love.
Secrets and Sins and A Scandalous Secret have a common theme running in them - a shameful secret from the past that threatens to rock the lives of the protagonists when it comes in the open. Her people are wonderfully human, breaking down under pressure, then again gathering back their fragmented lives to carry on with the business of living. Misra keeps her endings optimistic and philosophical, with the reiteration of an eternal truth like the virtues of tolerance or acceptance.
She is an author who almost always allows the reader to participate with the protagonist in the process of taking the critical decisions. So we know what he/she goes through and how the denouement comes through. Wish there were more like her, writing simple and engaging prose that also provokes soul-searching for the reader.
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