An Emotional, Dramatic Monologue about Life’s Betrayals, Emotions and Familial Loyalty | ARC Review: Small Days and Nights by Tishani Doshi

A captivating and original story of family, of the ties that bind and the secrets we bury, set against the vivid and evocative backdrop of modern India

An Irish Times Book of the Year 2019

Escaping her failing marriage, Grace has returned to Pondicherry to cremate her mother. Once there, she finds herself heir to an inheritance she could not have expected – a property on the beaches of Madras, and a sister she never knew she had: Lucia, who was born with Downs Syndrome and has spent her life in a residential facility.

Grace sets up a new and precarious life along the coast of Madras, with Lucia, the village housekeeper Mallika, the drily witty Auntie Kavitha and an ever-multiplying litter of puppies. But Grace’s attempts to play house prove first a struggle, then a strain, as she discovers the chaos, tenderness, fury and bewilderment of life with Lucia.

Luminous, funny, surprising and heartbreaking, Small Days and Nights is the story of a woman caught in a moment of transformation, and the sacrifices we make to forge lives that have meaning.

Disclaimer: I was provided with an ARC copy of the book by Bloomsbury India in exchange for an honest review. However, all the thoughts, feelings and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Small Days and Nights is a novel written in human emotions – grief, happiness, faith and hate – it’s all about finding one’s own identity through the baggage of secrets, mistrust and betrayals.

Grace is back to India after a failed marriage and the death of mother; only to meet Lucia, her elder sister she had no inkling about, until now. Lucia has Downs Syndrome and an adjustment is required, mostly on Grace’s side to accommodate her sister into her life. This is made a tiny bit easier when she also inherits a house from her mother.

Like I said before, Small Days and Nights is a novel written in emotions; but it is a bit more monologuist than I am actually used to. So while there is a lyrical writing style complimenting the plot, it was a bit jarring at first to me, for I am honestly more used to a dialogue version of writing style.

Grace, at her core is a reflection of you and me – she is flawed, inconsistent and at times selfish – but she is real. Her thoughts, her emotions and her reactions to the hand life has dealt her with are recognizable in some deep part of your soul.

I would honestly recommend Small Days and Nights to you; if you love reading monologuish yet emotional and dramatically written books.