Mistress

Anita Nair is definitely one of my favorite authors of all time. Although I'm not really into hard core literature but I enjoy reading a good book with simple sentence just nice for a simpleton person like me. I remember the first time I ventured into Asian literature is when I started to read Russel Lee's Singapore Ghosts Stories and later I got hooked with Damien Sin's Singapore Horror Stories which still never fails to bore me. A novel written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni with the title Sister of My Heart really moved me. Makes me a big fan of Asian writers.

Then I stumbled upon Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair. The book told a story about a woman sacrifice herself for her family's future. Tired of being treated unfairly by her own siblings, she embraks on a journey to find answers about herself. What she really wanted out of this life. Whether to stay single (where it's a big no-no in our society) and enjoy being single or do we need someone (opposite sex) just to make us whole again. I like her style of writing which is very smooth and easy to understand. Not that other authors are bad but most of them are equally good. Sometimes it's hard for me to find a book to read! So many of them to choose from!

Soon I found out about Nair's new book, Mistress. The cover itself tempted me to buy it. Even though it has caused me a great amount of money just to buy the book. The color which is in green and shocking pink with a women's wearing a beautiful pink sari showing her simple yet exquisite anklet. Simplicity. I love it! The insides also didn't bore me. Makes me anticipate what might happened next. Just like Ladies Coupe-the words flowed smoothly. I must say I got the name for my blog and my pen name from the book itself - Min Min. The Sahiv couldn't pronounce firefly in Malayalam, Minnaminungu. I find it cute which is why I'm using it.

The plot was simple. But who am I to talk about plot and prose and what not. However, I really enjoy reading the book because of the characters involve. There's only 3 main characters plus 1 on and off character-the Sahiv, Chris.

'The story was about Radha who was unhappy (which she chooses to be) with her marriage with Shyam. Shyam was her first cousin and due to unexpected events forces Radha to marry Shyam. Unbeknownst to Radha, Shyam has always in love with her ever since they were little. Nothing was wrong with him. He is a responsible men whom took a very good care of Radha and her Uncle, Koman who is a famous Kathakali dancer. One day a foreign writer comes to meet Radha's uncle to understand more about Uncle as a Kathakali dancer as well as a person. Radha being unhappy with her marriage seeks refuge in Chris's arms and so their liaison begins. Her Uncle did warned her about her infidelity with Chris but even though Shyam knew about the betrayal his wife has done he couldn't lashed out to her about her affair.


However, the romance was short lived. So many things has happened and in the end, Radha opted to move on with her life (and a baby) without Shyam while Chris left and went back to England. Uncle found out that he was not really into writing about his life about Kerala even but merely wants to find out about his real father and to know about Uncle's past with his mother. He left with wretched heart leaving Radha behind. As for Shyam, he will always wait for Radha to open herself to him. Never stop hoping.'


What makes the book more enjoyable to read is that I came to know a bit about Kathakali (although not much I understood) and some understanding about epic Mahabarata (which I learned about it during my stint in a college) and leaves me with new insights about places and cultures.

Given a good book to read I don't mind to spend the rest of the day reading. Call me a book worm I don't really care because books are the my window to the world.

p/s: More review to come!!