On My Nightstand - Secret Daughter

Secret Daughter – By Shilpi Soaya Gowda

On the back cover:

On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl.  But in a culture that favours sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter’s life is to give her away.  It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives, even after the arrival of their cherished son.

Halfway around the globe, Somer, an American doctor, decides to adopt a child after making the wrenching discover that she will never have one of her own.  When she and her husband, Krishnan, see a photo of the baby with the golf-flecked eyes from a Mumbai orphanage, they are overwhelmed with emotion.  Somer knows life will change with the adoption but is convinced that the love they already feel will overcome all obstacles.

Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer and the child that binds both of their destinies, Secret Daughter poignantly explores the emotional terrain of motherhood, loss, identity, and love, as witnessed through the lives of two families – one Indian, one American – and the child that indelibly connects them.

My thoughts:

Overall I liked this book, but there were a few things I did not like.

I did not really like Somer’s character.  I had a hard time with how she treated her husband’s and daughter’s culture.  She made no effort what so ever to understand and help her daughter know where she was from.

I felt there was so much more missing from this book – it seems to only scratch the surface of the emotions that were happening, the struggles both families were facing.

As I said, it was a good book, i liked it, I would tell people to read it, but for me it could have been even better.

My rating: 3 out of 5.