A Disobedient Girl Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Atria (July 21, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1439101957
Description
In one of the most impressive debuts of the year, Ru Freeman delivers an epic, searing novel about betrayal and salvation, the strength of the human spirit, and the boundlessness and limits of love.
Set against the volatile events of the last forty years of Sri Lankan history, A Disobedient Girl traces the lives of three characters whose interwoven fates and histories force them to answer life's most difficult questions. Beautiful, haunting, alive, and brimming with truth, it is, above all, a novel about extraordinary circumstances that change life in an instant and the power of love to transcend time and place.
The story begins with two little girls, mistress and servant, one with every luxury and opportunity that money can buy and the other with nothing but her yearning for a better life. Together, they grow up bound by love, betrayal, resentment, and an impossible secret.
Then there is Biso, a devoted mother of three, who risks everything to escape from the hands of her tyrannical husband. But her journey, which begins with such hope, takes her on a disastrous path that ultimately leads her to give her life over to strangers she never imagined she would have reason to know, binding her story with that of the girls in the most unexpected and heartbreaking of ways.
A Disobedient Girl is a compelling exploration of personal desire set against the volatile backdrop of class and prejudice, as three women journey toward their future, united by a shared history but separated by different fates. A bold and deeply moving account that spans three decades of love and loss, it is a tale about the will to survive and the incredible power of the human spirit to transcend the unforgiving sweep of tragedy.
About the Author
Ru Freeman is a Sri Lankan writer whose political journalism and fiction has been published internationally. She lives in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Her debut novel, A Disobedient Girl, will also be published in Dutch, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese and Hebrew. She calls both Sri Lanka and America home and writes about the people and countries underneath her skin. (You can visit her website here).
You can read my review here.
I'm going to check out your review. The story sounds intriguing,now let's see what you thought of it!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a beautiful book, and I love the cover.
ReplyDeleteThe story is very interesting...I will red your review now..
ReplyDeleteI remember reading your review for this book and immediately added it to my TBR pile! I LOVE the cover.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping I'll get a chance to read this book in the future - your description of it vaguely reminds me of one of my favorite books, Nectar in a Sieve (have you ever read it, it's quite an amazing read!).
ReplyDeleteA Disobedient Girl does sound like an intriguing book. I enjoy reading and learning about other cultures, especially through stories of spirit and survival. Thanks for presenting this and for your review.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading your review, and thinking that it sounded like I would love this book. I think I put it on my wish list back then, but if not, I am going to be doing it now!
ReplyDeleteThis looks excellent ... I can't resist books that take me into other cultures.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of this one yet but it looks like one I'm going to have to add to the tbr list.
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