Coming from Asia, I understood the scenario of the story I think better than most. The complicated relationships of an extended family, and the fact that the whole family is important more than the individuals who comprise it maybe something difficult to assimilate for some. I enjoyed the book, the descriptiveness of both Lahore and Amritsar at a time both before and after Partition.

A good novel about a woman caught in the crossroads of history and between family and self. Ida's mother Virmati has just passed away. Though not close in life, Ida returns to the places where her mother lived to learn more about her history. The story is primarily that of Virmati and her childhood and early adulthood. Virmati was the oldest daughter of a well-off merchant family with 11 children, living in Amritsar in the 1930s. Her family were staunch supporters of education for girls, so Virmati was able to obtain a higher level of learning than many women of her time, but was still expected to take care of the household that her mother was unable to do due to her excessive pregnancies. Although her family is progressive in its stance on education, it is very traditional in other ways. The main events of the novel are set between the late 1930s and 1947 when India gained independence from Britain and the Partition occurred. It is set in Amritsar and Lahore, cities in the Punjab, one of which is in present day India and the other is in Pakistan.

Originally published in 1998, Difficult Daughters was Manju Kapur's first novel, and it reads a a little rough at times. The transitions between points of view are often awkward, and the pacing sometimes seems off. However, that was forgotten as I was pulled into the story. I am drawn to fiction set in foreign locales and stories that feature strong female characters and a sense of history in the making, and this book had all three of these things.
I would have liked to see a bit more of the characters' inner lives. Ida in particular seems like a missed opportunity. We see very little of her relationship with her mother. I would have loved to see more of Virmati's educated, single cousin who never married also, who was another "difficult daughter". All in all, a good book, particularly for those interested in India during that time period.

Tradition, tradition, tradition... why is it in so many cultures women are suppressed because of tradition? I felt the frustration of being forced to watch siblings, to mother them when you never had the choice. Choice is something many people take for granted. Disobedient Daughters could very well be the title, and when our main character Virmati falls in love with a forbidden fruit (married man) you know it's going to go sour. For many readers with the freedom to stupidly love where we chose, and blaze a trail anywhere we please it's often hard to imagine the suppression of the self. I find with this novel, the treasure isn't so much in love as it is in the struggle to chose your own way. Tradition can be a beautiful thing, but it can also murder the soul. It's not just in Indian culture that women were kept from furthering their learning (I will note that today, often Indian families I have known in America push their daughters to be educated) if you look into history women were often seen as the weaker sex and 'not clever enough to learn'. It's hard to imagine it was 'shocking' when a woman wanted to further her education when compared today's standards. Then again, maybe not. Women still have trails to blaze... I could feel the fire in this novel, the fire for more. Virmati's mother's life is confining to her, a life where the purpose is to please one's spouse and family. Her mother knew that in the end, it was only necessary to marry and forget one's own desires. Virmati wanted escape and freedom and of course, her own daughter Ida doesn't wish to be like her mother either. Her mother who fell prey to a man who was a different sort of trap. Three generations of women trying to escape the destiny of each other. I enjoyed this novel, it was thought provoking and full of suffering. I think it will be something book clubs can really bite into.