I recommend: A few of my favourite reads
Editor’s Note: As you well know, splainer subscribers are terribly erudite and very well-read—which is why we have to put on our A game to keep up. We asked some of them to share their reading recommendations—which reflects their unique interests and preoccupations.
First up, we have Paris-based media professional and journalist Maithreyi Kamalanathan whose list ranges from Tamil epics to alternative mythologies—and the first-ever autobiography to have been written by a Dalit woman.
Written by: Maithreyi Kamalanathan is a Paris-based media coordinator and journalist. You can follow her on her Instagram @maithy94 and X (Twitter) @MaithreyiKamal1
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Baker. I love books that offer an alternative perspective on mythologies, and this is one of them. The first in a three-part series, this one is a feminist retelling of events from the Trojan War through the perspective of Briseis, the queen of Lyrnessus, enslaved by Achilles after the fall of her city. I loved how the author depicted the mundane reality of war and what it would have meant to women living in rape camps treated merely as properties owned by men, in contrast to the popular narratives that glorify men who died on battlefields.
A Lab of One's Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War by Patricia Fara. This book is truly underrated. It’s the first non-fiction that I binge-read at a stretch and was so deeply involved in. I learned so much about the unnoticed and unrecognised yet extremely fascinating, sometimes secret, lives of female mathematicians, doctors, and scientists who lived during the First World War. After reading this book, I couldn’t help but wonder about the countless untold stories of women in science worldwide that none of us will ever know about.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. It is hands-down one of the most gripping and powerful novels I have ever read. It begins in 18th-century Gold Coast and follows the fates of two sisters: one sold into slavery and the other married to a slave trader. Although this is a fictional work, it’s one of those books that gives us a glimpse of various historical events to explore the intergenerational trauma and the irreparable consequences of slavery that haunts a family through centuries. Yaa Gyasi’s writing is so poetic and seamless that it’s so hard to put it down once you start reading.
Manimekhalaï: The Dancer with the Magic Bowl by Alain Daniélou. Manimekhalai is one of the five Tamil epics from the Sangam era originally authored by Seethalai Sathanar. But I read the simplified version in Tamil by the author named N Chokkan. While I did find some ideas preached in the book extremely patriarchal, what fascinated me also was the fact that the majority of the characters in the book were women, including the protagonist, Manimekalai.
It was quite refreshing to read a book, especially from so long ago, where the heroine breaks so many stereotypes. She chooses to become a Buddhist monk, has an identity crisis, and casually flies across countries to learn about her past life. If anything, it was the antithesis of the stereotypical female prototypes in old tales, which made it a complete joy to read.
The Prisons We Broke by Babytai Kamble. This is yet another book that I wish was more popular and made me wish that I knew Marathi to be able to read it in Babytai’s voice. I am not sure about the factual accuracy of this, but this is supposed to be the first-ever autobiography to have been written by a Dalit woman in India. While it’s an autobiography, it’s an important piece of feminist literature that unapologetically critiques the caste system, dwells into the intersections of caste and patriarchy, and, most importantly, illustrates the power that education can unleash to the liberation of marginalised people. If you plan to read at least one book this year, I strongly suggest that it be this one.
