Ladies Coupé by Anita Nair

Akhila‘s father dies unexpectedly in an accident while she is young. She gets a job as an income tax clerk and starts supporting her entire family. As the breadwinner, she becomes the head of the family, a rather strong and opinionated woman who can eat eggs if she chooses to. (Eggs are taboo for Brahmins.) She is too busy working, and at 45, she is still single – less than a desirable situation for a respectable Brahmin lady. Ungrateful as human beings can be, her younger sister eventually starts thinking of her as a liability. And so she buys a one-way ticket to the seaside town of Kanyakumari , which lies at the very southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. She gets on a train and listens to stories of five other women in the ladies coupé. At times, the book is tedious, as the stories of everyday life of Indian families drag on and on. But maybe this is necessary for you to get an idea of the rigidity of Indian society, and the endless routine that Indian housewives have to endure. During her journey, Akhila explores the question: “Can a woman stay single and be happy or does a woman need a man to complete her?”

You can buy the book here on Amazon.

As one of my friends, fittingly, mentioned, this is another one of those “woman against the whole world” books. Seems like I have a pattern?