India, 1929 – to be a woman is to be little more than a possession. The nation is riot-torn, with the Hindu majority fighting both the Muslim population and the British colonisers. Within that environment, three young women are married off to three brothers. This part of the narrative revolves around the youngest wife, Mehar, who is soon enslaved under her authoritarian mother-in-law, Mai.

England, 2019, and Mehar’s great-grandson remembers travelling to India 20 years previously. His first-person narration interweaves with the story of Mehar’s early married life. The great-grandson is fighting a heroin addiction. In India, he initially lives with his mother’s brother, but moves to the now derelict farm where Mehar lived. He is visited by a young female doctor, Rhadika, and together they repair the farmhouse – the renewal matching his own repair.

The three brides sleep together in the china room, where the porcelain is stacked. Like the porcelain, they are hidden away and easily broken. They live with downcast eyes behind veils and never told which brother is their husband. Sex with their respective husbands is carried out in a dark room. The wives whisper to each other, which of the brothers is theirs?

Jeet, the eldest son, is actually Mehar’s husband, but the youngest brother, Suraj, has eyes for Mehar and takes advantage of her innocence and the darkened room to seduce her. She is powerless to resist. The 70-year difference in narratives allows for a comparison of life for women in India. Male superiority still exists, but Rhadika refuses to be subservient.

This magnificent novel holds a mirror to Indian society and the empathy shown to Mehar’s character is integral to its beauty.

Reviewed by Bob Moore