Cast Me Out If You Will: Inspirational Stories and Memoir Collection - Perfect for Book Clubs, Personal Growth & Gift Giving
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SKU:75450296
Product Description
"There have been no women in our part of the country whose names posterity found it worthwhile to cherish," writes Lalithambika Antherjanam (1909-1985) in "Come Back", her fictional account of an Indian woman activist's life. In Cast Me Out If You Will, however, Antherjanam's stories bring to life the experiences of women living at all levels of Indian society. From the faithful and devoted nanny of "Wooden Cradles" to the lonely young bride of "In the Moonlight", Antherjanam's characters are keenly observed and faithfully rendered. This unique collection of short stories and personal memoirs—a compilation representing half a century of writing and activism—is the ideal introduction to one of India's best-loved and foremost feminist authors.Antherjanam was an early feminist of Kerala, at the tip of India's subcontinent, at the beginning of the 20th century. Her family was supportive, encouraging her education and writing, but as a Brahmin woman she was confined to seclusion until her marriage, fortunately arranged to a man sympathetic to her pursuit of women's rights. Antherjanam's stories offer clear-eyed and chilling testimony to the brutal oppression suffered by Indian women "cast out" if they dared to stray from enforced subjugation. At the same time, they celebrate their resilience, resistance, and vitality of these individuals. This volume includes a selection of her fiction and memoir, which captures early moments in India's nationalist and feminist movements.
Customer Reviews
It was refreshing to read the stories again. I had read them in pieces earlier. Lalithambika Antherjanam shows a rare sensitivity in her stories while portraying the recess of the hindu household, the kitchen and the soul of many antharjanam's(ever inside).The stories are a rare insight into the trauma and agony which results in the silence of the characters which only the Author is able to explain. Many of them bring back memories of an exotic land rich and deep in its spirituality but at the same time perplexed by the complexity of it all... Gender relations are at a balance when the women is repressed! Men walk around chanting 'vedas' while the womenfolk long to see the light of the day... The stories are extemely readable and the collection is a gem.Her memoirs mark the courage and the conviction of an Antherjanam to speak out and to think the way she does. Lalithambika's life story( or stories from her life) is a rare one. One that speaks volumes about the graceful men(women) fighting systems and social structures for the freedom of mankind. She writes for women but never does she fall into the trap of steriotyping. Great works come from great lifes and here a great live can be read from a great work.The translation maintains the clarity of the theme and the beauty of the language as in the original.
