Book: Dirty Women
Author: Madhumita Bhattacharya
Publisher: Role Books
Pages: 324
How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days
Plot Summary: When four-year-old Tara disappears from her own home in Calcutta one night in 2002, the ensuing media circus zeroes in on the private life of Drishti Sengupta, a singer of note and a single, unapologetic mother. Far less attention is paid to the investigation into the incident, which occurred in an upmarket neighbourhood, in a secure apartment complex. The police seem to have no real clue as to what happened – is it a real crime or fake? Is it a kidnapping or murder?
Told in two timelines – one in 2002, and one a contemporary ‘true crime’ book-within-the-book written by Ahana, a young journalist who is thrust into the heart of this case, Dirty Women is also the story of two tragedies: that of a missing child, and that of a city that joins hands to bring down a woman who wishes to live life on her own terms. Hope wears thin as everyone obsesses over who Tara’s father is, and police make no effort to even try to find her, concentrating on a rotating cast of suspects – culminating with Drishti herself.
General Thoughts: I don't even know how this book got on my radar. I think I saw someone on IG talk about it and it's plot sounded like something I wouldn't enjoy and I pretty much got it immediately. I am glad I did because I really enjoyed this book.
Things I Liked:
1. First and foremost I enjoyed the writing and the tone and voice this book is told in. Sometimes it felt like a true crime book and at others it felt like you were reading about women's place in society and for most part it felt like a thriller. I like all of these things individually and even better together. So every aspect of this narrative appealed to me.
2. The book is almost a sort of character study of our leading lady, the woman in the eye of a storm- Drishti. She is a rebel. A one-of-a-kind woman, who wants to live her life on her terms. She has a child out of wedlock and raises her on her own and never discloses the name of the father of her child. She is single, independent and successful and this really irks the society in which she lives. Calcutta in 1998 (when she has the baby) and 2002 ( when the child goes missing) was not ready for or accepting of a woman like Drishti. I wonder if any city in India is, even now?! So, Drishti's gumption and her quiet resilience really comes across. She is content living her life and raising her daughter and excelling at her career and not really giving two hoots about society and those who hate her. I really liked Drishti. I liked how sorted she was in her own head. How clear she was about what she wanted in life. She was just a woman who wanted to live her dreams, whether it's pursuing music as a career or having a child without getting married. Choices she was often judged for. I found her relatable and realistic. Even in the aftermath of losing her child and her actions following the night Tara goes missing seemed very real and like you would expect someone in her position to do. She wasn't perfect but she came across as a real person and not like a character at all.
3. The other main character is Ahana, our investigator if you will. Ahana is a young journalist tasked with covering this sensational News. She sort of knows Drishti, they live in the same building and run in the same circles, so she has an insiders view of this debacle. I liked Ahana. I found her so earnest and sincere and a perfect example of a woman in her early to mid-twenties. She is confused about where her life is going, is often bullied by her parents, her career isn't taken too seriously and she is being pushed to find seedier elements to Tara's abduction and Drishti's life and I love how her struggle with this aspect of her job was brought to life in this book. Ahana stays, largely, true to herself and her ethics as far as keeping her focus on the search for Tara. I also liked how Ahana investigates the case. She doesn't go out of her way or does outrageous things, instead, she takes some of the clues that the police had discarded to figure out who could've been behind Tara's kidnapping. Really liked how realistically her investigation was shown.
4. The narrative structure of the book moves back and forth between the events of 2002- Tara's disappearance and the events that followed- and events from 1993, 1997 and 1998 where we learn more about Drishti and her baby daddy. Drishti and Tara's father's interactions almost feel like a love story- how they met, their paths intersecting over the years, their relationship and why they couldn't be together. Drishti's unwillingness to name Tara's father also makes a lot of sense when his identity is, finally, revealed!
5. This book is not a typical thriller in so many ways, but it is pretty unputdownable! The book is pacy and the focus shifts between the investigation and Drishti's life and the pettiness of the residents of her building. The typical bhadralok middle-class mindset of late 1990s Calcutta is very well captured in the book. As was the music scene, ethos and culture of the city in that era. Very real and relatable to those of us who were in the city back in the day.
Rating: 4.5/ 5
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