As It Was Written
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In McLean, Virginia, Dr. Raman Nair lives a life of abounding satisfaction with his tiny wife, Jaya, and his harem of enormous and beautiful daughters. He has been away from his native Kerala, India for so long that he has happily forgotten the ancient Brahmin curse that follows his family like a black cloud, killing one girl for love in every generation. But his wife hasn't forgotten, nor has his baby sister, Gita. Suddenly his daughters are up to no good and he doesn't know which way to turn.
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This was very first-novel-esque. There were some very lovely moments, and also some sappy moments. In the acknowledgments, Hampton writes that the original was 800+ pages, but a firmer editorial could still have been useful, as I found myself skipping paragraphs towards the end. For similar subject matter with a more masterful treatment, I prefer Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni...but every novelist starts somewhere.
