Skip to main content

Book Review: Another's Child by Einat Danon

Introduction
  • ISBN:  978-1545558089
  • Genre: Fiction
  • Publishers: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
  • Price (Kindle Version): $3.99/-  ( I got the book for review from the b00k r3vi3ws)
One morning, Yael and Arik Katz are startled by a surprise inheritance: Noa, the ten-year-old daughter of Canadian friends with whom they had made a long-forgotten will-exchange agreement, is delivered to their doorstep with no warning. Why did her parents decide that she should grow up with acquaintances rather than family? How do you raise a girl you do not even know?

Secrets and lies are revealed and everything starts to get complicated

Noa does not find her place in Israel. Yael takes her back to Toronto to look for a more suitable adoptive home. The search reveals answers to questions that have not even been asked about parenthood, marital relations, love, one’s home, and the fragility of life.

Can life ever be the same again?

As Yael delves into Noa’s past to better understand her, she discovers some unflattering things about her own partner and that the connection between her family and Noa is deeper than it had seemed. These shocking revelations leave Yael with a serious dilemma about her own family relationships.

Behind the Book
Source: Amazon.com
About the Author

Einat Danon holds an MBA degree and a BA in marketing and communication from York University in Toronto. She works in marketing and advertising, managing clients at large advertising agencies and handling leading clients in the market.

Einat and her family have lived in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, for 13 years, on and off, where she worked as a marketing communications manager, responsible for regions of Canada and North America, for an international company. She currently lives in Israel with her husband and two children.

Another’s Child is her first novel.

Me thinks

The blurb was intriguing and drew me to this book, not to forget the haunting cover. There is a certain poignancy that these both portray and hence that was exactly what I was expecting from the book as well. Narrated in a very heart warming tone, this story deals with parenthood, children, inheritance, family values and most importantly with the old saying, "Making peace with your past".

For a debut novel the author has done a stellar job with playing around with words and recreating the beauty of human relationships and their emotions. What makes this a touching read is the depth in the narrative, the language which is lucid and yet moves you at quite a few pieces. I was extremely connected with the character of Yael. The turbulence of life mixed with the upheaval of emotions within can be scary stage to be in. And that is exactly what Yael goes through in this novel. 
In such novels, the author runs a risk of reducing the secondary characters to mere caricatures and predominantly allow the primary characters to do the story telling. And that is where the author scores a brownie point. Each and every character in this novel is there for a reason with an important role to add to the story and take it forward making it a pleasurable read. It is as if they are being introduced to you one by one depending on their need in the story.Full marks for the plot and story telling, it really moved me. It is rare to come across a story that not only makes you smile but also makes you cry at the same time. This book did exactly that for me.

Recommended strongly for all people who are looking for a deep, meaningful and poignant read that touches your heart.

Foodie Verdict


This book is like Kashmiri Pulao - subtle and distinct flavours with a taste that lingers on!

Source: Foodviva.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.