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March 2025 FBR - KU/LC Read: The Secret of Elephants by Vasundra Tailor
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I'm about halfway through and really enjoying this. I think Sharmila Devar really brings this story to life. I recommend listening to the audiobook if you have the option.The scene with the drowning really affected me. It brought back a memory of when I lost my 3 year old on a crowded pier and the guilt I felt.. Luckily she was found safe and sound but I can't imagine how awful it must feel to carry the guilt of a death. Then to have your mother blame you and treat you so poorly. That part really upset me.
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I was excited to find that the KU book has the audio included, so I can read and listen at the same time. Which I am doing. I just started this morning!
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Oooof... I agree. This scene and the narrative following it was awful. I really need to understand the anger she is carrying around, because it must be something awful to have her behaving this way. If not, what an unredeemable character.
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Jessica wrote: "I'm about halfway through and really enjoying this. I think Sharmila Devar really brings this story to life. I recommend listening to the audiobook if you have the option.The scene with the drown..."
It's hard to read a book that brings back a sad memory. Sometimes I have to stop if it starts to trigger an episode.
Jessica wrote: "I'm about halfway through and really enjoying this. I think Sharmila Devar really brings this story to life. I recommend listening to the audiobook if you have the option.The scene with the drown..."
The drowning scene is very powerful and heart-wrenching. Jessica, I can understand your feelings. Mine involves a trip to Sesame Place (a family friendly theme-park based entirely on Sesame Street). My daughter was probably about 5 and I was there with her, my nephew and my mother-in-law. The kids went into a water splash area and went out a different entrance than they went in an I lost sight of them. It was open on all sides. I could not find them among the many kids. We anxiously searched & searched. Finally, I heard an announcement asking me to come to the Lost Parents area. The kids weren't lost, the parents were!
I was happy to find that the KU book had the audio included, so I was able to read and listen at the same time and reference to back to the book when needed – a bonus! The audiobook narration was very good.I did have to look up the definition of invigilating - supervise candidates during an examination – not a word I have heard before.
The table of Honorific Suffixes was useful, as the Indian names are so confusing; with all those suffixes, you better pay attention or have a good memory – I really did neither, I just listened and tried to figure out who was who from the conversation.
The scene with the drowning was powerful and heart-wrenching. To have your mother blame you for the death of your sister is awful, the guilt sticks with a child forever.
It was a realistic social and cultural environment that Nirmala was faced with and the challenges she had to deal with in forging her path for herself and her son. In Nirmala’s family case it led to family separations and an unhappy marriage. The caste system and arranged marriages may seem like something we don’t deal with in the United States, but they exist, just with other names.
The book is full of secrets, betrayal and forgiveness -Family and secrets, what a combination.
I had a feeling a drowning would happen when the father was overriding the mother to have kids go swim in a lake alone. I wouldn't have been able to forgive him either - I finished the book tonight, and I wouldn't have been able to not hate him either time. I was always really strict with water safety though, and remember freaking out at my dad, who tends to be on the ignorant side, by overriding me to put my son in the bath when I had told him to wait because I had to do something outside first. I come inside to find my dad had started the bathwater and left my son unattended in the water. He was way too young and I freaked out, to say the least.But actually I know someone who has a similar drowning story - my best friend's husband, Bo. He was raised in Sweden and there's four of the kids and the two parents. He and his brother went swimming alone and his brother drowned in front of them when they were 10. His mom has always treated him with a distance compared to his siblings. I'm not sure if this is the reason why, but it's crossed my mind.
He also has since teenage years been several overweight with food addition, being over 500 lbs in his 20's (doctors scale couldn't tell) and is now in his late 40's and still over 400. I'm wondering if this is something to do with the trauma that happened to him. I couldn't imagine being alone with my sibling and they died in front of me drowning when we were both swimming. How nightmarish.
As awful as it sounds, more makes sense with the end reveal in the book too. But I do have to say as hard as it is to imagine, grief can twist a person and kill emotions to such a degree this can happen - as much as it would be nice if people could love their kiddos unconditionally no matter what, that's just not the case a lot of the time.
And also from personal experiences. My mom was wonderful when I was small and we were super close until around end of 4th grade when she got hit by her major PTSD. Her siblings did too and they kept activating each otehr. She turned into a different person and I felt like she hated and didn't love me. We lost bonds for majority of years unitl I was about 30. She told me later that she, due to needing to heal and being so overwhelmed, lost most of her emotions and coudn't feel anything for me for a long time. We're now very close again.
Finished the book. I liked it. Found the characters and style a bit simple, but the main storylines stayed interesting. I dislike when books keep jumping ahead in time like that but it calmed down a bit.
I'm halfway through the book. I felt the drowning scene was written well. I don't think I have the same thoughts on that scene as a lot of people. I had a feeling something was going to happen but I also watched my brothers a lot growing up and was about those ages when we I started watching them. We grew up on a lake so we were water safety trained but I could totally see an accident happening. We swam a lot when my parents were at work. I'm also past the part with her son's wedding choice. She knew that she wasn't the choice for her husband and she still was so tough on her son. I'm not a fan of the Mother. I don't attribute that to her grief. I contribute that to her just not being the best person.
I should have this book finished tonight. I'm curious to see what keeps happening with the next generation.
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Ashley, The Tipsy Challenger
(last edited Mar 23, 2025 12:02PM)
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rated it 2 stars
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The Secret of Elephants by Vasundra Tailor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book had a promising start, and I was eager to uncover the family secrets at its core. However, the execution didn’t quite work for me, making it difficult to stay engaged or fully connect with the characters. The shifting timelines were sometimes confusing, though I will say that reading along with the audiobook (included with Kindle Unlimited) helped smooth out some of that disjointedness. The narration itself was excellent, adding depth to the story.
One moment that truly stood out was the drowning scene—it was deeply moving and brought up intense feelings of helplessness, especially as a mother. That was one of the few times I really felt the weight of the story.
What made it even more devastating was how Sonal, consumed by grief, directed her pain toward the surviving child, Viren. Instead of clinging to him, she resented him, eventually disowning him. This generational trauma rippled through the family, shaping the relationships and secrecy that Jaya later uncovers.
Despite these strong emotional moments, the story often felt scattered. I struggled to stay invested, and by the end, I wasn’t sure if the characters had truly found resolution. If you enjoy multi-generational family dramas with deeply buried secrets, this might work better for you. But for me, it was a difficult and, at times, frustrating read.
I just finished it also. I gave it a 3 because I was able to read it fast. So many family secrets that just kept pouring out. I would have liked to know more about what made some of those secrets happen. I know culture and expectations played a part in some but still would like more people's points of view. I felt the most for Nirmala. She had no idea so many secrets were going on in her family and so many of those secrets shaped her life. I don't think the book ended in a good spot and I would've liked more but it was a quick read.
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I agree with ALL of this.
This book really seems to get into the class system and prejudice, can be found all over the world. I am on the side of the mom trying to save her child and move to Zimbabwe. (view spoiler)
Welcome to the March "Kindle Unlimited/Low Cost" Buddy Read!
starts 1-Mar-2025, ends 31-Mar-2025
As we step into March, we are excited to announce our Formal Buddy Read for this month, inspired by the vibrant and colorful celebration of Holi, the Festival of Colors! This month, we’ll explore themes of resilience and transformation, where powerful forces collide and hidden secrets shape journeys of self-discovery.
The Secret of Elephants by Vasundra Tailor
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