Book: The Secret Children
Author: Alison McQueen
Pages: 448
Read On: Paperback
How Long it Took Me To Read: 2-3 days
Plot Summary: Assam, 1925. James MacDonald is a son of the empire who has no yearning for England. Running a tea plantation, he loves India and is reluctant to choose a British bride from the eager crowds sent over. But when he takes a beautiful young Indian woman as his courtesan, he can little imagine what he has begun.
So starts the story of Mary and Serafina. Born of two worlds, accepted by neither. Growing up beloved but hidden away, their childhood is one of contradiction. It is only as the shadow of war falls and the turmoil of Indian partition begins, that the girls must face the truth about their parents and begin the search for somewhere to belong.
It will be a journey full of forbidden questions, hidden answers, heartbreak and determination. As Serafina and Mary grow into women, they must risk everything and make choices with a legacy that will last a lifetime, and beyond.
General Thoughts: I randomly came across this book while browsing the shelves at Crossword bookstore, I had never heard of this book before and would have never picked it up had I not chanced upon it. I am so glad I did, I really enjoyed this book and I can't recommend it enough.
Things I Liked:
1. I enjoyed the writing. It did a very good job at getting inside the life of these characters and create the atmosphere of 1920s India. I especially loved the descriptions of Assam and life in a tea-garden.
2. I loved a look into a side of Colonialism that I only vaguely knew about, the fact that English men had illicit relationships with Indian women and even had kids with them wasn't unknown to me. But I hadn't ever read a book about it and seen all sides of the situation. The effect it had on the woman, the man and especially the children that were born out of this union.
3. When I picked this book up, for some reason, a fault entirely my own, I somehow thought the English man and the Indian woman were in love. Like this was a love-story...sort of. It came as surprise that that was certainly not the case. The woman, is his mistress, his concubine. This was a surprise and made for interesting reading.
4. I liked all the characters in this book. Big and small. But I especially loved Mary and the maid who helped raise the girls. I really liked her, she is loyal, kind and devoted to the family she serves. My heart broke for her. I also felt really bad about Chinthimani, the mother/courtesan, she was so naive in the beginning and got so bitter as time went by. I felt really bad about her life, she had no say in the matter and had to pretty much do what her 'man' expected out her. She had live by his rules and was hopelessly in love with him.
5. Serafina was a complicated and intense character. Her reaction to the truth of her situation often seemed harsh but it made sense at the same time. The shame she feels and tries so hard to erase her past and where she comes from is heart-breaking but rings true.
6. The book also has shows the girls in boarding school with children of a similar situation. I love reading about boarding schools and adore reading about them.
7. I also enjoyed the parts set in Bombay (my city), it even mentioned a hospital I briefly interned at. So it was fun to read about a familiar place. :)
8. I liked the bond the sisters share. It's not overly sentimental and close and typical but it's strong and shows it's depth in a wonderful way. I love reading about sisters and these sisters made for good reading.
9. It was interesting to see that two children in the exact same situation, who come from the same family, same background have such profoundly different reactions to it.
10. The father, James, was incredibly interesting to say the least. I liked that he had such layers and such conflicted feelings about his 'family'. I found it interesting that he loved his kids, adored them and was devoted to their welfare but at the same time he had pretty much no emotional connect to their mother. It was rather shitty how he treats Chinthimani later. It made me mad how easily he got over her and didn't engage with her at all. It was a shitty way to treat a human being, let alone the mother of your children.
11. Dorothy, James's wife was an interesting character, her acceptance of the situation and the way she deals with the children and how she kept in touch with them till the very end was endearing.
12. I also loved the Bombay bits, Mary's working life and her two fun roommates and their adventures and lifestyle was a fun read.
Things I Didn't Like:
1. As much as I liked the boarding school bit, I felt it was a bit too long and that portion of the book was dragged on for a little much.
2. A lot of things were left unsaid and unexplained, the end to me seemed a tad bit abrupt.
3. Chinthimani was treated so shabbily it broke my heart. What I didn't like was how casual the girls were about the whole thing. She was their mother. She wasn't perfect, she was mess in fact, but still, wouldn't you want to know what happened to your mother? Where she ended up? Was she even alive?
4. I also felt that James, even though he did the decent thing by providing for his girls, he wasn't the best parent. It didn't make sense to me how he didn't really keep in touch with his daughters. It seemed like he didn't really care and was just doing his duty.
Rating: 4.5/5
I loved this book and I can't recommend it enough.
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