I confess I could not even complete the book. There are too many characters and it was hard to keep track of everybody. I had to go back many times to check whether the character was really introduced before. The description of places was remarkable. I felt I was physically 'seeing'them. The story might be enlighetening to some but Shashi Deshpande must keep the pace and interest of the reader. There were hardly any dramatic happenings in the first half which I read. Do the readers feel compel to read? My definite answer was big NO. Unless the reader feels compulsion to turn over the page and reach the last page neither entertainment nor enlightenment will be experienced.

This must have been the most boring, hard to follow book I had read on my life. I did not understant the author's way of writing; the confusing, hard to keep up characters names, the slow pace (I felt like in a non-passing time zone)to name a few. I was really enthusiastic about reading it, but unfortunely it became a drag just making myself finish to read it, I think (on my personal experience)that the book just did not give enough sustance to hated it or to loved it, It was just a lifeless, cold story.

As a writer, Deshpande speaks with the voice of truth. The core of her talent is a profound understanding of the layered complexities of women's familial interactions, the nurturing friendships and smoldering silences of past deeds. She weaves the story of four generations of Indian women caught in the "metaphor of silence".

When Gopal, in a rush of existential angst, tells his wife, Sumi, that he cannot stay married, he makes this decision in good faith. Unable to find joy in the small moments of family, he is hyper-aware of the fleeting nature of happiness. With the simple intention to be true to himself, he sets in place a series of events with tragic consequences. The most wrenching change is for Sumi, Gopal's beautiful still-young wife, who must return to live in her parents home with three young daughters. In her struggle for a new definition of herself, Sumi grieves and accepts the loss of her marriage, discovers untapped strengths within herself and possibilities for her future. Sumi begins anew knowing that "where I stand is always the center to me". Of the girls, Anu, the oldest, struggles hardest to understand how her everyday simplicity could change so drastically. She watches the grownups carefully: her mother, Sumi, her grandmother, Kalyani, and distant grandfather, Shripati. And Anu listens to old family stories in an attempt to comprehend the intricacies of the women's subtle alliances.

No one is prepared for tragedy as they attempt to reassemble their hopes and dreams with an eye to the future. But life is ever unpredictable and this Indian family is dealt a blow that leaves them staggering for balance. In her powerful, quiet way, Deshpande lovingly renders her complex characters, bringing the reader into their home just long enough to love these women too, and mourn their loss, a rare gift in a writer.