A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian @mathangiwrites @AlgonquinBooks #bookreview #apeopleshistoryofheaven

Happy Friday bibliophiles!

Delighted to share with you today my review for this compelling story that was Rich with culture and love!🦋

My Thoughts

an exceptional story drenched in culture and hope!

Mathangi Subramanian has intricately woven together the threads of these five girls lives into a beautiful story. Five extraordinary girls living in a slum called Heaven in Bangalore India. Now a slum is probably the furthest thing from heaven for most of us, but I think these girls might beg to differ. Surrounded with friendship and love these girls were an impenetrable support system for one another. There was so much beauty in how unconditionally these five friends excepted one another. I don’t know about you but I find that priceless! That was my biggest take away from this book the bond that all the women shared in this book was seriously enviable.

Heaven is being threatened with being bulldozed down, the women rally to fight and in doing so we learn the backstory of each of these incredible girls and the women in their lives. Each of these girls is trying to find their place in the world just like any girl anywhere, however they have quite a few more obstacles than others including religion, poverty, culture, and politics. Each girl has their own unique circumstances: an artist, a visually impaired girl Who loves to dance, a transgender girl, a girl struggling with her sexuality, and a girl that has been forced to grow up too fast with the burden of her family on her shoulders. Each girl’s story was unique and powerful, I really enjoyed every minute I spend with each of these young ladies. Their circumstances were so incredibly different from my own, but at the very heart there was so much that was similar. I love learning about other cultures it is another benefit of being a reader. But the more I read the more I realize that we are all more similar than different.We want to be loved, we want to find a place where we belong, and we all hold on to hope! Another thing I have learned is the more dire peoples situations are the more resilient they appear to be. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time, I definitely recommend!

*** many thanks to Algonquin for my copy of this book ***

About the Book

Welcome to Heaven, a 30-year-old slum hidden between brand-new high-rise apartment buildings and technology incubators in contemporary Bangalore, one of India’s fastest-growing cities. In Heaven, you will come to know a community of people living hand-to-mouth and constantly struggling against the city government who wants to bulldoze their homes and build yet more glass high-rises. These families, men and women, young and old, gladly support one another, sharing whatever they can. 
A People’s History of Heaven centers on five best friends, girls who go to school together, a diverse group who love and accept one another unconditionally, pulling one another through crises and providing emotional, physical, and financial support. Together they wage war on the bulldozers that would bury their homes, and, ultimately, on the city that does not care what happens to them. 
This is a story about geography, history, and strength, about love and friendship, about fighting for the people and places we love – even if no one else knows they exist. Elegant, poetic, bursting with color, Mathangi Subramanian’s novel is a moving and celebratory story of girls on the cusp of adulthood who find joy just in the basic act of living.

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Have a lovely day!🦋

Berit☀️✨