Reading Group - One Part Woman

Set in 1940s Tamil Nadu, this is the story of Ponna and Kali, a farming couple whose happiness is marred by their inability to have a child. Ponna is a doting, obedient, subservient wife, the kind who comes running at a snap of her husband’s fingers, and who only exists in the Tamil male imagination. Kali treats her with utmost affection, and has a primal, reflexive desire for her that cannot quite qualify as love.  For a book that earned its author death threats and was burned by mobs, One Part Woman is a surprisingly tranquil, sensuous read.