The Mother I Never Knew is my second book by Sudha Murthy. The first one was Mahashweta and I think it was a nice read. But, for this book, I am not sure if I can say the same.
The Mother I Never Knew is a set of two novellas, based on nearly same theme. Finding (Rather discovering) a mother the protagonist never knew.
The first story is about Venkatesh, a rich bank employee, who stumbles upon his lookalike one day. This leads him to the hidden past of his father, which includes an abandoned wife and a child, living in a shabby condition. What would he do now?
The second story is about Mukesh, a rich, young, married man living in London. He gets an agonizing shock after his father's death. He was actually adopted! He is determined to find his biological mother without knowing that this quest is going to confuse him emotionally.
Stories are not just based on same themes but they are filmy as well. They seem straight from 70's old-fashioned movies, and you may not relate with the situations and characters. The blurbs on the cover don't leave any surprise element. You know what is waiting ahead.
The language is very simple. It's fine. I don't have any problem with that. The main problem is writing style. I am surprised. It's too ordinary for a novella. Things that could have been described in crisp narration are told through insignificant dialogues. The author has focused on telling rather than showing. There's a POV glitch.
I would have liked it if the stories were told in first person. If they had specific titles. If the author had chosen one female protagonist.
I liked the book cover very much! It matches the title perfectly.
Overall, considering the author and publishing house (Penguin Books India), I am disappointed. But, then, if you like reading the author, you can pick this light read.
I received this book from Penguin Random House India for an honest review.
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