China Room by Sunjeev Sahota - review

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Title: China Room

Author: Sunjeev Sahota

Genre: Literary Fiction/Historical Fiction

Pages: 256

My rating: ★★★★☆

Other notable works by author: Ours Are the Streets; The Year of the Runaways

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2021.

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China Room tells the story of Mehar, a teenage girl in rural Punjab, in 1929, who is married to one of three brothers in a triple ceremony. She lives in the china room with the other two brides, spending her days working on the farm and trying to figure out which brother is her husband. After witnessing an exchange, she arrives at an assumption, which sets into motion a whole series of events.

Paralleling Mehar's story is the story, set in 1999, of a teenage boy, on the cusp of adulthood, sent to India from England to stay with relatives, to detoxify from a soul-crushing addiction. While battling the horrific symptoms of withdrawal, he decides to relocate from his uncle's house to the old family farm, now fallen into ruin. While there he discovers the china room and hears whisperings of the woman who used to live inside it.

Mehar's story was by far the superior. It was way more developed and fleshed-out than that of the young mans'. His almost seemed to be added as an aftermath, a way to pad up a short novel. It didn't really add anything to the story, and I found myself skimming over his parts, eager to get back to Mehar. I felt like his storyline had a lot of wasted potential, it could have been so much more.

Mehar's on the other hand was intriguing and, at times, suspenseful. I felt connected to her in a way I didn't expect, and it turned out to be a very emotional read. My only complaint would be that I felt like the ending was a little rushed, I wish we could've known more about what happened in her life after the events at the end of the book.

A recurring theme in both timelines is about the role of the woman, and how she is treated in society: Mehar has no rights, and is the property of her husband, yet she gains status and respect if married to the eldest son - much like Mai, mother of the three brothers and matriarch of the family, who commands respect and obedience. In the other storyline we see the protagonist befriending a young female doctor, an independent woman, but who finds it difficult to find work and respect in her field. Then there is the sad story of his aunt, a bitter woman, frustrated in her life and marriage because forced to forgo her true love and marry someone else.

In both storylines, characters speak with hope about a modernising India, one that will come with change for the better.

It was an enjoyable, emotional and easy read. It's four stars from me.