Book Review

Title: The Story of a Widow

Author: Musharraf Ali Farooqi  

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Publication Date: August 12, 2008

Number of Pages: 262

ISBN: 978-0-307-39718-8

Reviewed By: Monika Wierzbicki (Vancouver Correspondent – Canada)

The Story of a Widow by Musharraf Ali Farooqi delves into the unexpected complexities and dramas of one woman’s widowhood. This beautifully understated story follows the life of Mona a recently widowed mother of two adult daughters. As the story opens, Mona is still adjusting to living without her regimented and uninteresting recently deceased husband. Mona’s new living arrangements and many small rebellions against a husband who is no longer there to control her is already interesting (and amusing) enough on its own.

The language is subtle and gracefully to the point and the protagonist’s intelligence and humour come shining through. Mona, despite being an ideal and dutiful Indian wife displays flashes of rebellion and a reluctant sense of humour that makes the story an enjoyable one.

Into this new life enters a mysterious next door neighbour whose rather forward advances are off putting to the initially shy Mona. As his interest and bravado increases Mona tentatively feels some interest despite the extreme disapproval of her close and extended family. This is a view into a unique and largely unexplored family dynamic which remains somewhat of a mystery to many people in the West. Mona is confronted by everyone from her daughter’s mother in law to her great uncle’s second wife. The characters are vivid and interesting with enough life in them to make you want to remember every person’s name. The tension in Mona’s life increases sharply when she receives an offer of marriage from her somewhat unorthodox next door neighbour and it is interesting to follow her train of thought as she contemplates making a decision that is usually not left up to the woman in such situations.

Her determination to find happiness again and the decisiveness of her actions are all aspects that make Mona endearing as the main character. The various twists and turns of her life are not always pleasant but they keep the story from falling into typical happily ever after predictability. How Mona comes to terms with the effects of her actions and their consequences makes this an engrossing, and wonderful tale led by a multi faceted and ultimately empowered female protagonist.