Book of the Week: The Goddess in the Living Room

We thought it would be nice to end a year that saw women making a change with a collection of stories about women dealing with change. 

It's written by a woman who has been dubbed the female voice of Tamil literature in Singapore: K. Kanagalatha, also known as Latha.

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT? Originally written in Tamil and translated into English, the book follows the lives of various women through 14 different stories – from a girl left to live with her grandparents on Pulau Ubin, a wife who wonders about her role in the family, a daughter tasked to care for her terminally ill mother, and a grandmother who wishes to carry the kavadi.

In each tale, the women must make a decision to deal with the changes that life has handed them.

WHY SHOULD YOU GET IT? For one thing, it’s a great read!

Latha, who is also the associate editor of Tamil Murasu – Singapore's only Tamil-language newspaper – won the Singapore Literature Prize for the Tamil version of this book. Latha has said that the stories were written to highlight the sensitivities of Tamil women in Singapore and their response to the varying situations in life.

But more importantly, it’s a great read!

Get The Goddess in the Living Room here.