"A stunning chronicle of an Indian woman's coming-of-age. The story
opens with Meena, a 14-year-old girl from Darbhanga, preparing for her
wedding to Manmohan, a 21-year-old Nepalese student. . . . Many Indian
and Nepali stories, songs, and myths anchor the narrative, and by the
end, which circles back to the witch story, their meaning in relation to
Meena becomes increasingly complex. This is
electrifying."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Is this a ghost story?" Meena asked the barber's wife who told the
tale. "I don't want to hear scary stories one night before I marry."
"Not all ghost stories are scary," said the barber's wife, laughing at
Meena. "Besides, we have a long time before us, and stories are little
baskets to carry time away in."
Exquisitely written, a blend of ghost stories, myths, and song, The
Woman Who Climbed Trees is a haunting, deeply felt multi-generational
story that illuminates the transitional nature of women's lives and the
feeling of loss they experience, as they give up one home and family to
become part of another.
When she marries a man from Nepal, Meena must leave behind her family
and home in India and forge a new identity in a strange place. The
Woman Who Climbed Trees follows her, the women who surround her, and
the daughter she eventually raises, as they carefully navigate the
uncertain tides of their diasporic lives.
