Moth
The powerful story of a family attempting to hold themselves together through the heartbreak of Partition
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
Observer's 'Ten Debut Novelists' of 2021
Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize
Shortlisted for the Author's Club Best First Novel Award
Harper's Bazaar's 'Five Debut Female Authors to Read This Summer'
'Powerful and heartbreaking'
Observer
'Gripping... Razak painstakingly paints a portrait of a family; their rituals, their private languages, their shared lives'
The Times
'Heartbreaking and heart-warming... The character portrayal is so intricate that as the plot twists and turns, you'll truly care what happens to them'
Independent
'Assured and powerful'
Harper's Bazaar
'One of the best debuts I've ever read. It made my heart swell'
Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
'A stunning, powerful work by a brave new voice in British fiction'
Anna Hope, author of Expectation
'Powerful and moving... Every character springs from the page'
Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures
Delhi, 1946
Ma and Bappu teach at the local university. Their fourteen year-old daughter Alma is soon to be married but she is mostly interested in spinning wild stories for her beloved younger sister Roop.
Times are bad for girls in India. The long-awaited independence from British rule brings unrest that threatens to unravel the rich tapestry of Delhi, and when Partition happens, Ma, Bappu, Alma and Roop are forced to find increasingly desperate ways to survive.
But the the power of hope is an extraordinary thing...
MEET THE FAMILY AT THE HEART OF MOTH:
Alma: the beating heart of the novel. We meet her as a precocious 14-year old who becomes entangled with the chaos of Partition with devastating consequences
Roop: Alma's younger sister. Obsessed with death, she is a fierce, funny and rather wild child trying to make sense of the destruction that has befallen her family
Ma and Bappu: their dream of an independent India collapses under the weight of History. Ma's experience mirrors that of the many Indian women who were hoping for new freedom under an independent India - and had to face more harassment and insecurity instead
And many more: the Muslim nanny, forced to hide in a water tank; the widowed house-keeper whose mission is to keep the family together; the old grandmother, obsessed with the family's honour and determined to preserve it no matter the cost...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Razak debuts with a brilliant tale of a Delhi family's ordeal during the turmoil of India's partition in 1947. With India's independence from Britain looming and violence between Hindus and Muslims increasing, 14-year-old Alma's modern, high-caste parents, Bappu and Ma, reluctantly agree that a husband will help protect her. An engagement is announced, but when the groom's family discovers that Alma's grandmother tampered with Alma's horoscope, the wedding is called off. Alma is embarrassed and wants to visit her father's twin in Bombay. Train travel is dangerous, but headstrong Alma insists—leaving the day after British rule ends and India is divided into Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India—and goes missing from her train. Meanwhile, her shattered parents contend with a violent rebellion and food shortages in Delhi and try to safeguard their Muslim servant. Razak does not shy away from vile characters—rapists and gropers among them—but the most chilling players emerge at the end, as Alma's fate is revealed. The settings are evocative, and the unhurried pace allows the narrative to take in a wide sweep of history beyond partition, including Gandhi's assassination; however, it's Alma's family and their servants who power this tale with their rituals and resiliency. It's an exceptional, beautifully written story.
Customer Reviews
Phenomenal. A must read for Partition fanatics
Moth by Melody Razak
Book Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I haven’t read a proper south Asian book like this in a minute and it was like my TBR pile knew I needed this dose of spice to show me again as to why Fiction with non-fiction elements will always be my go to! I wish I read this as soon as I saw it floating around. One of the best books I’ve read this year. The reason why it’s not a 5 star is simply because of my adoration for anything Partition and I might be biased. So the half is my consolation haha.
Daadee Ma’s Islamophobia pmo. Which I understand was a v different time, but to consider Fatima Begum dirty, just because she’s a Muslim?! The petty lengths she’d go through to make the ayah’s [Nanny or Nursemaid] life miserable is just too sad to read sometimes, especially when Fatima’s backstory is so pure, heartbreaking and innocent.
My favourite character is Roop; not your average typical Indian girl. I loved this different, slightly darken-sided middle child energy that she was giving. How oblivious the pyromaniac-in-the-making-girl was to the most simplest of things, making her even more cuter than she is. Pondering; I always thought the title of the book was confusing, but in the book, where the biggest thing happens, it comes to symbolise in a beautiful way (trying v hard not to spoil the book 😅).
I also loved the little touches in the book that seems like nothing, but represented the story and family so well, for example the jasmine flowers illustrated in the book separation pages 🥹🌼
I adored seeing religious and cultural diversity in the main family; with most of the Indians being Hindu, this family adopts Christian traditions, sends the girls to a Christian school and includes a Sister Ignatius, with a Muslim Ayah widower; South Asian diversity at its finest. A multi faith blend of personalities makes this partition story accessible from most points of views, which was brilliantly written by Razak.