Mother Mary Comes To Me – No Single Way To Love A Mother

Mother Mary Comes To Me, a book review by Sherin Beeyes

If I had read this ten years ago, I would have been concerned about privilege, social capital, and the language of cultural elitism. I would have written about how anarchy and resistance, politics and power, are brilliantly appropriated by the market.

But now, it is simply the mother and daughter who interest me. Two women- extremely powerful, intelligent, and complex-imagine how difficult it must have been for them to live under the same roof or even share the same room! Both experienced different struggles and chased different dreams, moving through different timelines.

Isn’t this what we come to understand after all these years? A mother-daughter relationship is so complex and multi-layered. There is no single way to bond with your mother. It’s cyclical-a relationship bound by resentments, betrayals, and rejections, something that ties you through pain and anger, through conflict and chaos.

It is Arundhati Roy at her best, writing about things closer to home- literally and metaphorically. These days, I find the search for critiques of patriarchy in women’s narratives increasingly boring.
Yes, it is a good read. As always, there is Arundhati Roy, Pallikoodam, and Mrs. Roy- our very own.
Of mothers and daughters, indeed!

Sherin Beeyes