Book Review: The Gallery by Manju Kapur.

 

Book: The Gallery 

Author: Manju Kapur 

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Penguin India 

How Long it Took Me To Read: 4 days 

Plot Summary: THE GALLERY pursues the question of what it takes for a woman to stand up for herself, through the intertwined lives of Minal and Ellora Sahni, wife and daughter of a successful New Delhi lawyer, and Maitrye and Tashi, wife

and daughter of the office peon at the Sahni law practice. In her new novel, Manju Kapur brings together themes of independence, identity and womanhood by focusing on a set of principal characters who are connected through work and physical proximity, yet separated by class and power.

As the women navigate their own desires, they are forced to re-examine marriage, as well as to consider the role of art as property, value and self-expression. The titular gallery that Minal opens becomes a powerful symbol of both autonomy and constraint.

Set in Delhi and Nepal, The Gallery surveys the lives of two families over three decades, becoming, in the process, an exploration of sexual freedom and the world of art.

Review: I have read every single Manju Kapur book over the years. I thought I'd read a few but turns out, nope I've read them all. I enjoy her stories, her writing and her astute and unvarnished observations on Indian lives and relationships and society. So when I saw that she had a new book out, it was an auto-buy. 

I went into this book a little blind, I don't even think I fully read the synopsis when I bought the book and a month later, as I was finally reading it, I had no real idea about it's story. So a lot of it was a total surprise to me...which was a good thing be. 

This is primarily the story of two women. 

The Mistress of the House and her Helper. 

A woman born into an upper-middle-class home, born to privilege and relative freedom it bestows and goes on to make an even more suitable marriage raises her ranks even more. Minal is the person we spend most of our time with. We see her first as a idealistic humanities student at St. Stephens, someone who sees the world through a very idealistic but ultimately unrealistic lens. We see her grow from someone with very set ideas about the world, to a woman who ultimately settles for a fortuitous arranged marriage with notions common to her class. 

On the other hand we have Maitrye, a Nepali woman born into poverty and limited options. She grew up poor and sheltered and unlettered. She finds herself in the bewildering world of Delhi and tries to balance her job (mainly being a child minder) and being a mother to her own little girl and her marriage with her ambitious, often conniving and bitter husband ( I didn't like it at all!). 

In some ways, this is a classic Upstairs and Downstairs tale. Something I enjoy immensely when it's done right. And here it was done very, very well. I liked and appreciated that both women were shown flaws and all. No one here was perfect or right all the time, no one here was particularly wholly likable too. We are all human beings that come with our own preconceived notions and ideas and even prejudices. At various times in this story, both women acted in ways almost typical and expected from them. Things like flicking something from the rich employers home (thinking that those that have a lot won't or shouldn't mind a little stealing here and there), to judging the help for upgrading their lifestyles--- not saying any of these things are right or commendable..I just liked that both parties and both sides of the class divide was shown in a real and relatable manner. 

Both women are written with such truth, compassion and empathy. Like I said, no one here is entirely likable but both these women will, by the end of the tale have made you see the world from their lens. 

Set in Delhi (for most part) this story will shine for people who know/love the capital. I felt like Delhi and it's lanes and atmosphere was a vital aspect of this tale and lends itself to the people and their lives very well. 

The book moves from the 1980s to nearly present day and it does so in the most natural way. There are important historical and cultural moments mentioned and these help center and ground the narrative to the period of time. 

The book also has the two daughters of our main protagonists. Ellora and Tashi. The girls grow up together, like sisters almost, but the huge class divide is insurmountable. There is genuine affection and feeling and kinship, but in a society like ours it's impossible to navigate, or rather ignore the dikkats of class. 

I found reading about Tashi especially interesting. She lives right next to a young girl close to her own age, goes to a good school and sees up close what life could be like..only it isn't. To see her grapple with her station in life and to see her background always be an obstacle in a class/background obsessed world was heartbreaking and sadly all too real. I was rooting for her and every heartbreak she experienced made me sad...yet..like I keep saying, it all made sense. And frankly, it didn't surprise me. 

Art plays a big role in the story and quite like the city of Delhi plays an important part. Most of the novel features Minal trying to, at first, get her Gallery to take off and then put in years and years of work to keep it going and succeeding. I found this deep dive into how art galleries run quite interesting. I'll be honest, I know next to nothing about Art in general and Indian Art in particular, so this book made me look into various artists and art styles whilst I was reading it and I like when books make me look into things and learn about things. 

The writing and story telling was good, as expected. And the ending too made so much sense. 

Overall, this is a book I enjoyed and the four days I spent reading it had me entirely wrapped up in it's world and it's people. 

Rating: 4/5