The Morning Star - Gita V. Reddy - ★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Gita V. Reddy

GENRE: Indian cultural fiction.

PUBLICATION DATE: August 27, 2020

RATING: 3.25 stars.

The Morning Star narrates the story of Sudha, a married woman who unexpectedly finds herself in charge of the future of a newborn baby girl. The death of the baby's mother and the heinous intentions of her alcoholic father make Sudha take drastic steps to ensure the little one's wellbeing. How far can Sudha go for someone else's child? Will her family bear the brunt of her decisions?

The title refers to the baby girl, named after the Indian name for the morning star, Arundhati. In Indian mythology, Arundhati was the wife of the sage Vashista, and they were considered an ideal couple, their marriage a symbol of love and loyalty. Sudha's love for the baby Arundhati makes her take all decisions with a fierce singlemindedness that at times goes against her own family's wishes or needs.

The book starts off as a family drama, slowly turning into covid fiction and finally almost a crime thriller before ending once again as a family drama. I really admired the way the author incorporated the Indian lockdown and covid problems into the narrative. Her chronology is spot on and almost all the information is accurate. ("Almost all" because I didn't find any reference to "giraffes daintily picking their way through parking lots" even after a Google search.)

However, the book isn't essentially a covid fiction but a domestic fiction. As such, the merits of the book must be checked on these parameters. On these, I found the book average.

1. The essence of a domestic fiction novel is a strong woman lead character. I tried my best but I couldn't identify with the Sudha at all. Though the book portrays her as admirable, I really couldn't see any sense in her decisions. She comes across as a very naive, impractical, and impulsive woman who leaves everything behind for the sake of a stranger's child. While she does so everything possible for the benefit of the baby, she does it while ignoring every other important person in her life. It seemed very unrealistic. I can't reveal anything more here as those would be major spoilers.

However, there are many excellent supporting (good and bad) characters in the book who don't fit into the stereotypical mould. Balvant and Neelam were my favourite characters as they came across as the most levelheaded and lovable.

2. Initially I didn't know the time period in which this story takes place. But a remark about the coronavirus made me realise that the book is set in the present. That made me question some of the events in the story. For instance, imagine considering the marriage of a 30 year old spinster to an alcoholic wife-beating widower and hardly any of the adults looking at it as a bad idea. This was a bit too much to take, especially considering that the people involved are educated townspeople, not some illiterate villagers. There are many more such illogical plot points in the novel.

The story seems to unfold at a steady pace throughout, neither too fast nor too slow. The ending is a bit abrupt and predictable.

Overall, it is a decent book but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had expected it to, especially considering the other reviews on Goodreads. I'd rate this book as a one-time read for those interested.

I received an advance review copy of the book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.