On January 3, at 6:30 p.m. the Rockport Public Library’s book club will discuss Rajasree Variyar’s debut novel The Daughters of Madurai. The novel was selected to coincide with this year’s Camden Conference topic, “INDIA: Rising Ambitions, Challenges at Home.” The book discussion serves as one of the many free community events at local libraries leading up to the Conference week, February 16-18, 2024.

The Daughters of Madurai is both a page-turning mystery and a heartrending story of the fraught family dynamics and desperate choices that face a young mother in India. Spanning 1990s South India and present-day Australia, the novel follows Janani, a mother who will do anything to save her unborn daughter, and Nila, a young woman who embarks on a life-changing journey of self-discovery.

While the book explores harrowing issues like female infanticide, it’s also a universal story about the bond between mothers and daughters, the strength of women, the power of love in overcoming all obstacles—and the secrets we must keep to protect the ones we hold dear.

Rajasree Variyar was born in India, raised in Australia, and now resides in London where she is working on her second novel. She completed a Bachelor of Arts and Commerce double degree, followed by a degree in Psychology, and an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.

The book discussion event is free and open to the public. It will be held in person at the Rockport Library, but participants may also elect to attend on Zoom. Email scurcione@rockportmaine.gov if you would like to receive a Zoom link. Note: Copies of the book are limited in the library system. Please email scurcione@rockportmaine.gov if you would like to be notified when a copy of the book becomes available to borrow.