THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW by VAISHALI HAMLAI

This is a poignant, compelling and unflinching depiction of the powerful yet delicate bond between a mother and her daughters. Through the Open Window follows the lives of three independent women—Jannat Kaur and her daughters, Mahira and Tamannah—who lead life on their own terms. The story is as much about love and longing as it is about three women, who are able to look at their mistakes honestly, even if the realization happens later. The novel goes back and forth in time and looks at how Jannat came to be where she is today—a managing partner in a leading company, with twin daughters in college. The strand of the past starts during Jannat’s college days, with her getting pregnant and then rejected by her then-boyfriend. From the worries of becoming a single mother, to falling in love again with a man who accepts her daughters as his own, her life is shattered yet again and she is forced to raise the twins on her own. Tamannah and Mahira have to deal with their own share of complex and sometimes emotionally wrenching situations. For Tamannah it’s the men in her life (much like her mother) and for Mahira it is the everyday fight for her sense of self and her battle to emerge out of the shadow of two fiercely assertive and headstrong female influences she’s had all her life. Through the Open Window is a depiction of how love can create, destroy and recreate.