Skip to main content

Book Review: The Forgotten Daughter by Renita Dsilva

Introduction

  • ISIN: 9781909490277
  • Genre: Fiction
  • Publishers: Fingerprint Publishing House
  • Price: Rs. 233/- (I got this book from the publisher for a review)

‘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 secrets, culture and people that Nisha discover will change her life forever. And, as her eyes are opened to a side of herself she didn’t know existed, Nisha realizes that she must also seek answers to the hardest question of all – why?

Weaving together the stories of Nisha, Shilpa and Devi, The Forgotten Daughter explores powerfully and poignantly the emotional themes of motherhood, loss and identity – ultimately asking the question of what you would do out of love for your children?

Behind the book
Source: www.goodreads.com




About the author

In her own words: I love nothing better than to lose myself in a good book. The only thing that comes close to the feeling I get when I read is when I am writing. I am the author of 'Monsoon Memories','The Forgotten Daughter','The Stolen Girl' and 'A Sister's Promise'. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I loved writing them.(Source: HERE)

Me thinks

Coming from a dysfunctional family, this book for me was moving beyond words. The emotions at a lot of places are so raw that I had to stop reading the book for a while to stop myself from crying. I have managed to pen my own letters to Ma while reading this book and it was surely therapeutic reading this book one page after another.

My first book by the author but one of the many from Fingerprint which assured me of its quality long before I had started reading it. The characters of Nisha, Shilpa and Devi so well etched that you are bound to find a part of you in one of them making you connect at a deeper level.  The plot is not very complex and by the third fourth chapter you have already guessed the connected between these three ladies. But still you want to keep reading the story, to know where it leads and what will eventually happen in the end. That is the power of writing.

For me, I loved Devi. I wished I was like her at that age, fiery, gutsy and strong enough to stand up for myself. I learnt a lot with these ladies in this book. I laughed, cried and even lost my cool at a lot of places. Life acquired a new meaning post reading this book. And somewhere it changed me a lot. The book solely relies on emotions and that is exactly where the author scores brownie points as she has an exemplary job with that in this book.

For me, it is a highly recommended book for people who like drama and enjoy reading such heart touching stories with simple story lines but heavy emotions.

P.S: Began reading another book by the author, she managed to tempt me enough :)


Foodie Verdict

This book is like Hazelnut coffee - you are lost in the magical aroma of coffee (Love and affection) and the unique flavour of hazelnut (Longing, dreams, aspirations), not knowing what are you enjoying more.
Source: http://www.soybeanessentials.com








Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: If by Tathagata Ghosh – A Tender Portrait of Love, Loss, and Possibility

If , a 26-minute short film by acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Tathagata Ghosh, is a sensitive, evocative piece of storytelling that lingers long after the credits roll. Set against the everyday rhythm of life in Kolkata, the film delicately unpacks the story of a lesbian couple torn apart by the weight of societal expectations and dares to imagine a different future, one where a mother's love might just change everything.  What struck me first was the film’s raw, grounded realism. The characters feel like people we know, middle-class families navigating a complex world with quiet resilience. The world of If is filled with silences, glances, and stills, rather than heavy dialogue. Ghosh masterfully uses these moments to speak volumes, allowing viewers to sit with discomfort, interpret the unspoken, and feel deeply.

Book Review: The Story of Eve: Selected Poems by Zehra Nigah

Few voices in Urdu poetry have carried the weight of history, resistance, and deep personal introspection quite like Zehra Nigah. One of the first women to break into the traditionally male-dominated world of Urdu poetry, Nigah’s work stands as a testament to the power of words to illuminate, question, and challenge. The Story of Eve: Selected Poems, translated by Rakshanda Jalil, brings together some of her most powerful nazms and ghazals, showcasing both her literary elegance and her unflinching gaze at the human condition, particularly through the lens of gender, social injustice, and political turmoil.

The Urban Gaze : Reimagining the Village in Contemporary Indian Cinema

Indian cinema has long been fascinated with the village. From the earthy, socialist realism of Do Bigha Zamin (1953) to the melodramatic lament of Mother India (1957), the village once stood as both heartland and hinterland — a space of moral clarity, rustic struggle, and often unyielding fate. But as the urban middle class began to dominate cinematic production and consumption, the depiction of the village increasingly came to reflect an urban gaze, that is, a perspective shaped by distance, nostalgia, condescension, or even outright fantasy.  In recent years, this urban gaze has taken on new shades, evident in the way mainstream and indie filmmakers alike have re-engaged with rural India. While some have tried to explore the village as a site of resistance, authenticity, or even horror, others continue to reproduce sanitized or exaggerated versions of village life that serve urban sensibilities more than rural realities.