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The House of Hidden Mothers

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About this listen

Little India, East London: Shyama, aged forty-four, has fallen for a younger man. They want a child together.

Meanwhile, in a rural village in India, young Mala, trapped in an oppressive marriage, dreams of escape.

When Shyama and Mala meet, they help each other realise their dreams. But will fate guarantee them both happiness?

Brimming with warmth, wit and indignation, Meera Syal immerses us in a devastating story of friendship, family and the lengths a woman will go to have a child.

The House of Hidden Mothers is her long-awaited third novel and shows Meera Syal at the height of her literary powers. Meera Syal, CBE, is one of our most acclaimed actors and writers of stage and screen. She starred in the hit series The Kumars at No. 42 and recently in the BBC film of David Walliams' The Boy in the Dress. She is currently in David Hare's play Behind the Beautiful Forevers at the National Theatre and in the latest series of Broadchurch.

Meera Syal is also highly regarded for her funny, sharp and provocative fiction. Her earlier novels are Anita and Me and Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee (now available as a reissue). The House of Hidden Mothers is her long-awaited new novel.

©2015 Chestwig & Flares Productions Ltd (P)2015 Random House Audiobooks Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction South Asian Creators Women's Fiction Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Dream Village

Critic reviews

"Dazzling. Intense and gritty at times, sparkling and hilarious at others. I found it absorbing, witty, joyous and moving...and that’s all I really want from a book!' (Jo Brand)
"Brilliant. It is destined to be a best seller. There is so much in it too. Beautiful writing, human frailty, love, vanity, friendship - but most importantly the shocking reminder of how women are abused the world over." (Esther Freud)
All stars
Most relevant
I cannot recommend this book enough! Each character is expertly and realistically crafted with clear differences in performance to distinguish them from each other. From the brilliance of the authors performance to the sympathetic and politically current storyline, this production has been my favourite audio book so far! So much so that I've written my first review. 5 stars all the way!!

Wonderful!!

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Loved this book, engaging at times, definitely thought provoking, also difficult subjects tackled in a sensitive unsensational way. I felt like I had been on a journey with the characters in this book. Loved the narration also

A story that gave me a glimpse into another culture

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I really enjoyed this journey with all the beautifully written and complex family. Very insightful and moving

Great book

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I loved this audio book. I have read both of Meera Syal's previous books and have found her to be perceptive, witty and real. She does not shy away from addressing difficult subjects. Yet, she manages to do it without sounding preachy or judgemental. The characters are so well written that you can imagine them as real life people. I was blown away by the quality of her writing.

The narration is brilliant and engaging. She brings the characters to life. Listening to it on audio for people who are unfamiliar with Punjabi or Hindi, is probably useful as it helps to hear the pronunciations.

a fantastic novel. the characters feel real

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I loved this story. I found it very honest and moving and hard to take in some places and devastating in others.
narration was fantastic but it would have been good to have a note to state when it changed between the women in the story.
recommend the book unless you are struggling to conceive as the emotions are very realistic !

moving

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