PLOT: 3/5
CHARACTERS: 4/5
WRITING: 4/5
OVERALL: 3.5/5
GENRE & THEMES: Literary Fiction, Novella, Indian Literature, Mother-Daughter relationships

An honest-to-God bookish confession – of the 15+ books that the author is known for, the only one I’ve read is Fasting, Feasting. I had been very casually delaying catching up on this author’s works in favour of picking up more recent releases. This book, Rosarita, which comes from the author’s kitty after a lengthy gap of more than a decade, caught my attention for two reasons: 1) it is a novella, and 2) it is a recent publication.

In Rosarita, the three-time Booker-shortlisted, 87-year-old Indian-origin writer bridges the gap between two different worlds at opposite ends of the globe through a narrative infused with so much history, culture, art, expression, and memories.

What is the story all about?

Bonita is a young Indian girl who has travelled all the way to San Miguel, Mexico in order to learn the Spanish language. As she sits on a park bench, leafing through a local Spanish newspaper, surrounded by beautiful flora in a public area, she is approached by a rather flamboyantly dressed woman Vicky (aka the Trickster) who suddenly recognizes Bonita because she happens to be the spitting image of her mother.

Rosarita, as this woman calls her mother, just like her daughter now, had come to Mexico years ago to learn art. Bonita, who on her part had never seen her mother with even a paintbrush cannot believe this. As far as she knows, her mother had never ever travelled to Mexico, and yet this strange woman continues to draw Bonita into this hitherto hidden side of her mother.

Soon, Bonita has no choice but to follow the Trickster on this unknown journey of history, culture, familial ties, and memories.

The writing

The highlight of the novella is its characters – Vicky, Bonita, and majorly Rosarita (even though she is dead, she is very much a part of their lives). Rosarita thus becomes the lingering mystery that both Vicky and Bonita want to unravel; that both want to be a part of. Bonita through her vivid imagination of Vicky’s unsure tales, and Vicky through visiting old memories in the company of this new face.

It is impossible for Bonita to view her mother in this new light—as an art student in Mexico—and so, at first, she refuses to believe a word of what Vicky says. Even though there couldn’t be a better explanation for this whole episode, she denies this unknown part of her mother’s existence, first to herself and then to Vicky. Yet, she decides to follow Vicky as she promises to give her a glimpse of Rosarita’s supposed life in Mexico.

This story thus becomes a tale of discovery, told through a daughter chasing the memory of her mother in a distant and unfamiliar land. In a place where she had hoped to escape from every possible connection (to her people, culture, history, and family), she finds an important part of her mother’s, and by extension, her own, history. Her search for her mother’s memories is richly contrasted with her own recollections of childhood. She remembers how subdued her mother always used to be and recalls how she succumbed to the demands of domesticity imposed upon her by a commanding husband.

But then, she also has a faint inkling of a sketch on a wall, in faded rose pink and lavenders, which, just like her mother, had assumed a place in the background of things. Now that she thinks of it, it never occurred to her to ask about that sketch.

This elusive search takes her from the bustling drama of San Miguel to a now-abandoned artists’ commune on the outskirts of town, to Vicky’s once-palatial family home in Colima, before finally coming to an abrupt end in La Manzanilla, a seaside town that serves as a regular haunt for many artists.

Through the captivating story of Rosarita, the book draws a connection between the women of the older generation and the new, all the while showcasing their desire to escape the clutches of domesticity in order to find their own place in the world. This is as evident in Bonita’s story as it is in Rosarita’s.

In the end, it is a book that will appeal to fans of literary fiction who enjoy stories about mother-daughter relationships, the quest for identity, books set in Mexico, and a love for art.

Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of Rosarita using the link below.

44%
₹499.00 (₹2.38 / Grams)