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Inheritance
On the surface, fifteen-year-old Sonil has come to her adored grandmother's house on a small island off the coast of India to mend her shaky health. Secretly, however, she longs to find out why her mysteriously distant mother agreed to have her sent away as a child.
She spends her time studying Italian with her absentminded uncle and talking about boys and clothes with her favorite cousin until she finds the perfect escape from her mother’s rejection--a passionate affair with a young American. But the affair will have a surprising outcome, forcing Sonil to forgive her mother and to look to herself for the answers she will need in the coming years.
She spends her time studying Italian with her absentminded uncle and talking about boys and clothes with her favorite cousin until she finds the perfect escape from her mother’s rejection--a passionate affair with a young American. But the affair will have a surprising outcome, forcing Sonil to forgive her mother and to look to herself for the answers she will need in the coming years.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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About the author
Indira Ganesan
8 books31 followersIndira Ganesan's newest novel, As Sweet As Honey (NY: AlfredA. Knopf), was released in February, 2013. She is the author of Inheritance (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998) and The Journey (NY: Alfred A. Knopf,1990.) Her books are available in trade paper from Beacon Books, and have been translated into French, Japanese, Greek, and German. She is a 1998 Bunting Fellow.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 13, 2024
Quick read, idea interesting but the timing, pacing was hard to follow in an awkward way.
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November 29, 2008Quote: “And my mother’s fault- for wasn’t it she from whom I’d inherited this passion?” (Ganesan 127).
This event happened right after Richard left her. She wonders to herself did she inherit these traits from her mother. The word inherit relates to the title Inheritance. The idea and them of identity is figuring out who she is. My prediction of Sonil is she will find her identity when she will have a relationship with Richard but it turns out Richard left her to go to India. This idea of identity and relationships happens in the teenage world being confuse in what we are, our journey of life. Right now, Sonil describes Richard is too strong, too present and too new that he is not what she was looking for although she loves him. What is identity? Who is it that determines our identity?
Sonil is a fifteen year old, when so much things have happened, her grandmother died, her mother is no where in sight and her boyfriend left her now she feels safe kissing a girl that is her cousin. At her stage, she is trying to find her identity but yet confuse. She will mature as a woman at the end of the novel. How the author writes, shows us the protagonist, Sonil’s feeling throughout each chapter. It comforts the reader later on. At first, the author gives us background information on the protagonist and her surroundings.
She soon grows to a mature woman.
This event happened right after Richard left her. She wonders to herself did she inherit these traits from her mother. The word inherit relates to the title Inheritance. The idea and them of identity is figuring out who she is. My prediction of Sonil is she will find her identity when she will have a relationship with Richard but it turns out Richard left her to go to India. This idea of identity and relationships happens in the teenage world being confuse in what we are, our journey of life. Right now, Sonil describes Richard is too strong, too present and too new that he is not what she was looking for although she loves him. What is identity? Who is it that determines our identity?
Sonil is a fifteen year old, when so much things have happened, her grandmother died, her mother is no where in sight and her boyfriend left her now she feels safe kissing a girl that is her cousin. At her stage, she is trying to find her identity but yet confuse. She will mature as a woman at the end of the novel. How the author writes, shows us the protagonist, Sonil’s feeling throughout each chapter. It comforts the reader later on. At first, the author gives us background information on the protagonist and her surroundings.
She soon grows to a mature woman.
February 12, 2014
This was a fast and easy read, however, I had problems with the progression of the plot. A lot of the detail seemed out of place, and I couldn't clearly decide what would be the climax of the novel. Additionally, the POV of the narrator isn't really explained- you can't clearly tell at the beginning of the novel what time period she is writing from (if the book is a look many years in the past or a detailing of recent events). Besides these complaints, it was an interesting look at a progressive Indian story.
I received this as a Goodreads Firstread
I received this as a Goodreads Firstread
August 9, 2017
I absolutely loved this book; five stars just isnt enough. It's so funny to me that I bought this book at least seven years ago and I'd seen it sitting there on my shelf this whole time and kept putting it off. And now I understand why. Not only was this a beautiful story about culture and customs; interpersonal relationships; familial relationships, but a book that held me spellbound as I recognized the relationship I had with my own mom, in the mother-daughter relationship between Sonil and her mom.
Sonil is 15, though because of how bright and articulate she is, I thought she was older at first, perhaps with an immaturity that comes from being sheltered. She was being raised by her aunts until ill health found her living with her maternal grandmother, whom she adores, and the mother who seems to have not only physically abandoned her, but also emotionally. We know for sure that her mom had been involved in an arranged marriage and became a widow. She was then married to a man who had many mistresses and was abusive. It was then that Sonil's American dad came into the picture, but had to leave and go back to the states when his family needed him. It was after this that her mom seemed to become somewhat of a recluse. She stayed close to home during the day and socialized only with her own mother and at night went wandering. Everyone it seems, including Sonil, believes that her mom goes to many lovers, returning sometime in the middle of the night or at the break of dawn.
As Sonil watches this and her mom's zero attention toward her daughter, she feels sadness, mixed with resentment, and it's in this rejected state that she meets an American man, Richard who is twice her age. As I was reading about them hanging out, I knew in the back of my mind that they would become lovers, even though the protective mom and grandma in me was screaming "dont do it!" Of course it doesn't last and Sonil holds onto him and holds him in high esteem throughout the book. I dont think she ever questions the fact that this was a man, who in his home country would be seen, in the very least, as a pervert.
It isnt until Sonil's beloved grandmother dies that she gets to see her mom in a different light. Im not sure why the mom felt like she couldnt truly blossom as a mom or even just as a woman until her own mom died, but that's what happened. Sonil grows closer to her mom and in that closeness her mom opens up to her more about her life with her husbands and Sonil's own father.
I have to say this book was very emotional for me as I had a very similar relationship with my mom, though here in the US we call people like my mom the blacksheep. I always wondered if I were "doomed" to repeat my mom's own life; I have always heard things such as "you are just like your mother." I never thought I could escape the generational mistakes, the strained mother/daughter thing. I seemed to have easily slipped into the role of my mother, though never comfortable in it. The end page had me in tears and I had to read it several times just to be able to rise above the raw emotions and take in the words and their meaning.
"I had to stop trying to figure them out; they were changeable and in motion. I had thought for so long that they defined me, that I would be a repetition of them. I had thought that inheritance was inescapable.....my family is ingrained in my actions; they are uppermost in my mind. Yet there are parts of me that are nothing like them; I am a random mix of genes and attributes."
What an undeniable gift this dusty, long unread book was for me!!!!
Sonil is 15, though because of how bright and articulate she is, I thought she was older at first, perhaps with an immaturity that comes from being sheltered. She was being raised by her aunts until ill health found her living with her maternal grandmother, whom she adores, and the mother who seems to have not only physically abandoned her, but also emotionally. We know for sure that her mom had been involved in an arranged marriage and became a widow. She was then married to a man who had many mistresses and was abusive. It was then that Sonil's American dad came into the picture, but had to leave and go back to the states when his family needed him. It was after this that her mom seemed to become somewhat of a recluse. She stayed close to home during the day and socialized only with her own mother and at night went wandering. Everyone it seems, including Sonil, believes that her mom goes to many lovers, returning sometime in the middle of the night or at the break of dawn.
As Sonil watches this and her mom's zero attention toward her daughter, she feels sadness, mixed with resentment, and it's in this rejected state that she meets an American man, Richard who is twice her age. As I was reading about them hanging out, I knew in the back of my mind that they would become lovers, even though the protective mom and grandma in me was screaming "dont do it!" Of course it doesn't last and Sonil holds onto him and holds him in high esteem throughout the book. I dont think she ever questions the fact that this was a man, who in his home country would be seen, in the very least, as a pervert.
It isnt until Sonil's beloved grandmother dies that she gets to see her mom in a different light. Im not sure why the mom felt like she couldnt truly blossom as a mom or even just as a woman until her own mom died, but that's what happened. Sonil grows closer to her mom and in that closeness her mom opens up to her more about her life with her husbands and Sonil's own father.
I have to say this book was very emotional for me as I had a very similar relationship with my mom, though here in the US we call people like my mom the blacksheep. I always wondered if I were "doomed" to repeat my mom's own life; I have always heard things such as "you are just like your mother." I never thought I could escape the generational mistakes, the strained mother/daughter thing. I seemed to have easily slipped into the role of my mother, though never comfortable in it. The end page had me in tears and I had to read it several times just to be able to rise above the raw emotions and take in the words and their meaning.
"I had to stop trying to figure them out; they were changeable and in motion. I had thought for so long that they defined me, that I would be a repetition of them. I had thought that inheritance was inescapable.....my family is ingrained in my actions; they are uppermost in my mind. Yet there are parts of me that are nothing like them; I am a random mix of genes and attributes."
What an undeniable gift this dusty, long unread book was for me!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2018
I fell in love with this short novel. A fifteen year old girl in India trying to understand her mother’s past, learning what it means to be a woman and falling in love, and learning about her unnamed father.
March 8, 2020
Easy to read, the story is a bit slow; however, it is a beautiful description of a magical place in India and the choices we make when we learn to accept our past.
March 15, 2014
I received this novel from Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for my honest review.
This was a very well-written (at times poetic) coming of age story about a bright teenaged girl in 1980's India who is struggling with her mother's unsavory reputation, not knowing who her father is, and other family, religious, and cultural conflicts, while also experiencing her first sexual and romantic relationship with an older man.
The mysterious figure of the protagonist's mother moves like a ghost throughout the novel's background. It was definitely my favorite part of the novel, beautifully executed. The character of the mother was excellently drawn and I really felt what the protagonist was feeling toward her mother, the full range conflicting emotions. I wanted more of her and was absorbed when she appeared on the page!
While there was a lot going on in the story (maybe too much), at times I wondered where the plot was going. Whether intentional or not, the novel has that traditional Indian literary trait of being almost a collection of little tales instead of a Western plot progression with single dramatic climax. So, I suppose the plot progression was intended to evoke classical Indian literature, rather than fail to deliver a worthy climax. There is a climax, but it fails to deliver. It lacked punch. With such a fascinating character as the mother, I was expecting some kind of bigger revelation.
A good novel with excellent writing and a few flashes of brilliance. I look forward to checking out more by Ms. Ganesan in the future.
This was a very well-written (at times poetic) coming of age story about a bright teenaged girl in 1980's India who is struggling with her mother's unsavory reputation, not knowing who her father is, and other family, religious, and cultural conflicts, while also experiencing her first sexual and romantic relationship with an older man.
The mysterious figure of the protagonist's mother moves like a ghost throughout the novel's background. It was definitely my favorite part of the novel, beautifully executed. The character of the mother was excellently drawn and I really felt what the protagonist was feeling toward her mother, the full range conflicting emotions. I wanted more of her and was absorbed when she appeared on the page!
While there was a lot going on in the story (maybe too much), at times I wondered where the plot was going. Whether intentional or not, the novel has that traditional Indian literary trait of being almost a collection of little tales instead of a Western plot progression with single dramatic climax. So, I suppose the plot progression was intended to evoke classical Indian literature, rather than fail to deliver a worthy climax. There is a climax, but it fails to deliver. It lacked punch. With such a fascinating character as the mother, I was expecting some kind of bigger revelation.
A good novel with excellent writing and a few flashes of brilliance. I look forward to checking out more by Ms. Ganesan in the future.
May 23, 2011
The book called "Inheritance" is about this 15 year old girl named Sonil who lives with her mother and relatives on an Island called Pi (India). Recently recovered from Bronchitis, Sonil lives in a world with a mother who resented her on the day she was born. Determined, Sonil meets an American man named Richard who was twice her age! Sonil automatically falls in love with Richard and haves sex with him! Sadly, Richard tells Sonil that he was leaving to another country. Heartbroken, Sonil continues to improve her education and leads an successful life.
This book was amazing! However, the character is too young to have sex with a man who is twice her age! That is not right! I feel like young people who tend to date at an early age, are oblivious to who they love. Its either that they don't want to confess that s/he doesn't like him/her, or they are blinded by their love on that one person. That's how I felt about Sonil. Richard was not her true lover. Overall, if I would've rate this book on a scale between 1-10, I would give it a 8 because of it's plot, setting, family issues and devotion.
This book was amazing! However, the character is too young to have sex with a man who is twice her age! That is not right! I feel like young people who tend to date at an early age, are oblivious to who they love. Its either that they don't want to confess that s/he doesn't like him/her, or they are blinded by their love on that one person. That's how I felt about Sonil. Richard was not her true lover. Overall, if I would've rate this book on a scale between 1-10, I would give it a 8 because of it's plot, setting, family issues and devotion.
June 15, 2011
A novel with problems of the truth being hidden. The protagonist, Sonil, who's 15 years old lives with her mother and grandmother. You could say her grandmother took care of her for the many years not her own mother because she just ignores Sonil and doesn't even speak a word to her own daughter. one thing that started to turn her life around was her closest cousin, Jani didn't want to marry C.P. So she wants to go the the convent to become a nun and this left Sonil very depressed. But later she discovered that Jani was a lesbian that's why she didn't want to get married. A couple days later when Sonil found out that her cousin was a lesbian she got a call from her mother. That was also the first time she has spoken to Sonil informing her that her grandmother has passed away. This was surprising to hear since the last time Sonil was with her grandmother she was fine. All along Sonil only thought this would have affected her until she found her mother carrying in the kitchen while preparing food for the guests after the funeral. Later, that's when her mother decides to speak up. In the end, Sonil did get to find her father in America and discovered why couldn't he see her.
June 2, 2011
Sonil is a 15 year old girl who lived with her great - uncle, grandmother, cousin Jani and her "evil" mother. Her life is never come easy to her. When she was little, she got so manu diseases that she have to go to the island Pi to live with her grandmother; after she settled down, her lovely cousin Jani decided to served in the church and joined the nun group; unfortunally, her grandmother became sick and got in danger, Sonil started to draw Mandalas in order to keep grandmother's live; finally, grandmother recovered, and Sonil met Richard, a 30 years old man, even though they have a large distance, but they believed they can overcome it. But suddently, Richard decided to move to Ethopia and broke up with Sonil. The most conflict is that Sonil's mother doesn't willing to talk to Sonil which make Sonil feels detestable. This is a great Indian novel which contains the issues that reveal our own lives such as family issues, love, etc.
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June 2, 2008This girl name sonil. she is trying her best to find out the truth about her pass between her and her mother. They have been distance and it is weird and hard for them to have a good relationship. her mother would not speak to her but to spy on her sometimes. she wants to know why. sonil meets this guy name richard who is two times her age; which is 30. they had sex and this WOWED me o.0 the way her life is going is very weird. she goes on searching for the truth and i think all she need is love.
February 11, 2014
Weaving an exotic coming-of-age story, Indira Ganesan's book, Inheritance, transports the reader to the island of Pi, off the India coast, and introduces us to Sonil, a fifteen-year-old girl searching for her place in the world. I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and was enchanted with the story. The characters are colorful and real and the writing draws you in right away. Sonil's search for love is at the forefront, from her strained relationship with her mother to her bittersweet affair with Richard. I would recommend this book to everyone!
May 26, 2008
I purchased this book at the Donelson public library annual sale, which was more a production than I bargained. "Inheritance" is the first book of the author and she has written follow-up books set on the same imaginary island of "Pi". This book is a nice coming of age story of a young Indian-Caucasian girl reconciling herself to her family, particularly her non-attentive mother. I appreciated the imagery of Indian life and culture and could relate to the young girl's coming of age.
January 1, 2012
Is anyone else bothered that this 15 year old becomes emotionally and sexually attached to a man twice her age? And that there is nothing in the narrative that suggests that contraceptives might be in order? Or that the risk of pregnancy might have been thought about in some small way? Or just how inappropriate this relationship is?
There is more in this book that bothers me, particularly regarding the mother, but I don't want to give this book any more effort.
There is more in this book that bothers me, particularly regarding the mother, but I don't want to give this book any more effort.
June 11, 2008
This book is about a girl named Sonil,half Indian and half American that's trying to figure out the truth about her parents. No one wants to tell her the truth about them and her mother is ignoring her. Sonil had to go through trageties to figure out the truth. To figure out how Sonil found out the truth of her parents, read this book. It's a great book!
July 12, 2008
A coming of age story set in India. I liked the glimpses of Indian culture, and I appreciated the meandering storytelling. There isn't really a plot here, just a story. The characters, though, I don't remember and I just finished the book.
June 12, 2010
I read this book as an assignment for my Global Studies class, and it did give me more information about the customs and culture of the region. I liked the coming of age story, but the plot was a little slow and boring at times, which didn't make me really want to pick it up again.
October 12, 2014
I loved this book. A touching and mysterious novel about a daughter and her mother. Beautiful and poetic images throughout the story. Lovely explorations of various relationships between the very realistic characters. I read it twice!
April 18, 2008
there wasn't any there there.
October 21, 2008
i read it in GL
February 22, 2009
"Veena" is a musical instrument. I also learned that editors are Really Important. I knew that, but illustration reinforces things we already know.
May 28, 2011
I read it but the details are completely fuzzy. I didn't take notes or write reviews way back in 1998.
January 30, 2016
Enchanting!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews