An impressive debut that provides a much-needed glimpse into 1950s to 1970s India. The four perspectives were rich and helped paint the diversity of political thought during this specific time in history. I appreciated the amount of information shared, whilst still maintaining a vibrant and lush atmosphere.

This was a wonderful debut novel set in India. The book weaves a tale of friendship, love, family and grief. We see how the caste system has so much influence over the population of India. We learn this from a small group who we follow for a couple of decades. The author did a wonderful job of weaving the caste system into the story but also showing how alike we are.

The setting was very important in this novel . We immerse ourselves in a small Indian Village and move on from there. I have not read many novels with this setting during the 1950s and I learned so much. That is one reason I love historical fiction. I love to learn about other cultures and history. This book will be recommended to many that I know like the same type of book. It is one my favorite reads of the year. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review this novel.

This is historical fiction set in India during a tumultuous time politically with a lot of class warfare. The characters from a wealthy family and its servants kept me interested and engaged in a story that otherwise was a little over my head and way beyond my knowledge. Great scene-setting and descriptions. Definitely a hard, sad read, but I’m glad I did. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for sharing this e-ARC with me!

I liked the character exploration and the writing was propulsive. I would read more from this author.

Genre: historical fiction
Telangana, India, 1955-1970

This was a gorgeous, difficult read.

Vijaya is the least beloved daughter. She'll never be as perfect as her younger sister Sree. Daughters of prominent landowners in Irumi, India in the latter half of the 20th century, they have privilege and comfort where the sharecroppers and servants struggle. Vijaya befriends Krishna, the son of a servant, and his older brother Ranga. When, as children, the 4 of them trek to the jungle in search of a legend, disaster strikes. This sweeping novel follows them through the next decades of their lives, where some are better able to escape the burden of the past, set against a backdrop of class warfare and communist party rebellions in southern India.

The Fertile Earth is an impressive and expansive debut. As primarily a romance reader, my heart clenched for the pining between Krishna and Vijaya, but as someone fascinated by mid-century politics, watching the rise of differing political interests and the immediate impact on the lives of people from different classes held my interest. The writing is beautiful, with lush, descriptive prose and strong character development. That said, it was my second book in a row where a mother has specifically degraded her least favorite daughter causing the main character desperate heartbreak and the inability to see herself as anything better than her younger more perfect sister. It's not an adjacent theme I love reading, but it is critical to Vijaya's character and her choices throughout the novel.

The Fertile Earth is a book you can pick up without much knowledge of 1960s post-partition India, as Rao supplies all political background necessary for the narrative from village life to the bustling cities of Madras and Hyderabad.

Huge thank you to Flatiron Books for providing me with an ARC of this truly special debut novel. I'll do my best to give it the praise it deserves.

This book is the story of Krishna and his brother, Ranga, who live on land owned by the Deshmukh family. Krishna is the child of tenant farmers, though his father has died and his mother now supports her two children by working as a laundress in the Deshmukh's home. As a child, Krishna meets and befriends Vijaya, the older of the Deshmukh's two daughters. Their childish friendship is kept secret because it was socially unacceptable, apparently, for a low-born like Krishna to form a friendship with the landlord's daughter.

In the early days of Krishna's friendship with Vijaya, the community is haunted by a man-eating tiger. Vijaya's father and uncle are actively hunting the beast, but Krishna and Vijaya crave this glory for themselves. They, along with Ranga and Vijaya's younger sister, Sree, set off into the wilds of Telangana in search of a tiger. Tragedy strikes, and neither family is ever the same again. Sree is horribly injured during the children's excursion into the forest. Ranga takes the blame. Vijaya suffers the wrath and vitriol of her entire family, especially her mother.

Years pass. In order to separate Vijaya and Krishna, the Deshmukhs strike a deal with Krishna's mother: They will pay for Krishna to attend boarding school in Hyderabad as long as he never returns to the Deshmukh property. Ranga, however, will remain indentured to the Deshmukhs for the rest of his life.

The story moves forward to Krishna's early adulthood. He is a PhD candidate in mathematics. His best friend, Gagan, is an aspiring politician who is warning fellow students against the dangers of the Naxalite movement, the Maoist insurgency that is rapidly gaining appeal among India's youth and disadvantaged. But political activiity is dangerous; even Krishna's association with Gagan attracts the attention of the wrong people.

The love story between Krishna and Vijaya is never far from the surface of this book. Krishna still pines for his friend. Vijaya can't forget Krishna. Yet a decade passes until they see each other again. They settle into a letter-writing routine that eventually rekindles the connection they experienced as children.

Fate intervenes once again, and Vijaya and Krishna are once again separated. At this point, the book does become a bit soapy, but it's still well-written and ultimately a joy to read.

The most immediate comparison that came to mind was Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland, but Rao's book does a much deeper dive into the horrors of 1970s India, at the peak of the Naxalite uprising - both the brutality of Naxalite tactics and the inhuman treatment that inspired the movement in the first place. In this respect, this book is the best historical fiction I've read in quite a long time. But it also succeeds as a coming-of-age, a romance, and darn good literary fiction. I'm hopeful to see this one on many longlists in the future. I think it's a great candidate for the Women's Prize in the United Kingdom.

Heartbreaking. Compelling. Beautiful,. Engaging, This story changed me, I recommend this story to anyone who loves historical fiction, This book will truly stay with me for a lifetime.

This is an incredible debut by South Asian author Ruthvika Rao. It is a historical fiction about two families whose lives are interconnected from the beginning in the roles of master and servant. However, due to these differences their paths are separated by their goals and destinies.

This novel provided a glimpse into Indian political history unbeknownst to me. The narrative sheds light on the rise of communism and dives into the violence derived from the uprising of laborers against the landowners in the South. The politics and violence is also a backdrop into the story about sisters, trauma, jealousy, birth rights, and forbidden love.

This beautiful story is meticulously well-written, has strong character development, and thoughtfully blends in archival research to provide a narrative on politics, class divide, and land laws (although I wish there was more).

While, I do have a few questions about certain aspects of the novel, overall it is one of the best books I have read in 2024.

A gorgeous love story against the backdrop of the feudal system prevalent in India and spanning several decades from the 1950s to the 1970s. Vijaya and Stree are the privileged, somewhat spoilt daughters of the Deshmukh family. The Deshmukh family are feudal landlords, the self-proclaimed kings of the Irumi village, prone to persecuting their sharecroppers. The sharecroppers are literally their slaves. Ranga and Krishna are the sons of Pichamma and indentured servant of the Deshmukh household. As a close bond of friendship develops between Vijaya and Krishna, the events unfold with disastrous and far-reaching consequences. This debut novel from Ruthvika Rao is at once a poignant coming of age story, a literary romance and a candid portrayal of India's caste and feudal hierarchies. It highlights the origins and rise of the Naxalite movement. While I had heard about this movement in North India I had no idea it was prevalent in the south as well. The enchanting descriptions of the village life reminded me about The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese and the family dynamics and politics of a post-independence India are reminiscent of A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. This may well turn out to be one of most favourite reads of 2024 and I am definitely looking out for more writing from this author. I loved it.

Thank you Netgalley, Flatiron Books and Ruthvika Rao for the ARC.

Beautiful, heartbreaking, and unforgettable. This story has left a deep impression on my heart, and I will definitely be recommending it to friends.
This book will absolutely make me pick up more of the author’s work.

In this compelling novel, set amidst the political tumult of 1960s India, an impoverished young man and a rich young woman are irresistably drawn together.

i couldn't believe this was the author's debut, i thought she'd been writing for years. as much as i loved the adventure and the family aspects of this novel, the pacing could be better. it was too slow

the author was an incredible ability to capture the sights , sounds and colors of the setting . This was an absolute pleasure to read .
Thank you for the eArc .

The Fertile Earth -Ruthvika Rao
5 ⭐️
This book was written so beautifully. The details in everything, from the smells to the colors, made me feel like I was watching it all happen before my eyes. I felt all of their joy and all of their pain. The imagery was beautiful. The friendships were beautiful. Even the complicated relationships were beautiful. I highly recommend this wonderful piece of historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

An impressive debut that makes you feel the sights and sounds and tastes of the era. Looking forward to future works from the author

a gorgeous literary fiction tale that smelt likea mango grove and felt like blooming. thanks so much for the earc.

This is an elegant yet brutal tale of love and political violence. I enjoyed the novel beginning with the perspective of a young Untouchable boy, witnessing the local zamindar family's downfall in the nighttime before delving into the intricacies which led to said downfall--and then at the very end of the novel, swooping back to this boy's perspective (but as a young man now). Each chapter is full of vivid, haunting imagery and beautiful, complex characters, full of flaws and longing and loss. The character dynamics are so provocative--How can a mother hate her daughter? How does a sister live with the guilt of causing such life long pain for her little sister? Vijaya, Krishna, Sree, and Ranga are characters that will linger in your mind even after the book has ended.

Thank you to Flatiron Press and NetGalley for providing an arc of this book.

I savored this novel. The imagery was insane. At times there was almost too much detail and it took away from the moment. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded. Immediately after being introduced to the village of Irumi, BAM, heads hanging on pikes! It was a great beginning. What follows are the events that lead to the heads. The story is told through friendship, adventure, exile, resistance, and love. As I previously mentioned, at times there was too much detail. I found this to be especially true in part 2 and I actually skipped entire paragraphs because of the overwhelming amount of detail. I will be reading this novel again and have already recommended it to other bibliophiles.

Wow. An absolutely phenomenal debut novel by Ruthvika Rao that is so beautifully written. I can clearly picture the orchards and the gadi, taste the sweet mangoes, feel the immense loss, pain and moments of joy these characters experienced. What an exceptional story and so worth a read. Thank you, NetGalley!

I loved the author’s take on this Romeo and Juliet kind of romance. This book explores a forbidden love that crosses so many lines including political and socioeconomic. The genre this is under is quite broad. I feel like this is more than just literary fiction as there’s a historical hand in play as well as a romance that endures.