My latest book is The One Who Swam With The Fishes.

"A mesmerizing account of the well-known story of Matsyagandha ... and her transformation from fisherman’s daughter to Satyavati, Santanu’s royal consort and the Mother/Progenitor of the Kuru clan." - Hindustan Times

"Themes of fate, morality and power overlay a subtle and essential feminism to make this lyrical book a must-read. If this is Madhavan’s first book in the Girls from the Mahabharata series, there is much to look forward to in the months to come." - Open Magazine

"A gleeful dollop of Blytonian magic ... Reddy Madhavan is also able to tackle some fairly sensitive subjects such as identity, the love of and karmic ties with parents, adoption, the first sexual encounter, loneliness, and my favourite, feminist rage." - Scroll



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2 October 2020

What I'm Reading


This was interesting. Not the most engaging read, mostly a treatise on why women should work, illustrated by five different characters: maiden aunt sisters (one of whom takes to drink), a young girl in a bad marriage, two women who run a sort of secretarial school and a young man who wants to be married but hasn't sorted his head out yet. Oddly feminist novel by a man, i learn from the introduction, who didn't even like women that much. He thought women should be educated and so on so that he could find a good partner, his first marriage being disastrous and this book is far from perfect, littered with casual sexism that make your hackles rise until you're like "Hang on, waittt a minute. This was written in the 1890s!" So modern is the language, so contemporary the concerns, that you're forgiven for wanting the author to be less mealy-mouthed about his opinions. It's a book that you should read, just to round out your ideas of 19th century novels, and it's quick and it'll give you a lot to think about. #theoddwomen #georgegissing #bookstagram #mrmbookclub #120in2020

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