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Does the world care because you do what you want to?
maybe a 2.5
Not a unique story
Women's universe

Ladies Coupe
Anita Nair
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312320876

Book Description

Published in over seventeen countries around the world, Ladies Coup is 'one of the most important feminist novels to come out of South Asia' (Daily Telegraph) disguised as an entertaining, delightful read. Akhila is forty-five and single, an income-tax clerk, and a woman who has always been the backbone of her impossibly demanding family-until the day she gets herself a one-way ticket to a resort town. In the intimate atmosphere of the all-women sleeping car-the Ladies Coup-Akhila asks the five women the question that has been haunting her all her adult life: can a woman stay single and be happy, or does she need a man to feel complete? This wonderfully warm novel is the story of a group of women who find comfort and strength in sharing the details of their lives.

Customer Reviews:

review.......2007-05-16

It was well written and i kept my interest in the book till the end.

Does the world care because you do what you want to?.......2006-12-22

Up until a few years ago in India, the Indian Railways maintained a separate coupe -- a ladies' coupe -- on every train to allow unfettered travel across the subcontinent for women travelling alone. This coupe becomes the backdrop for Anita Nair's book. The story is told in first person by Akhila, the protagonist, who is at first presented as a sympathetic figure: she sacrificed her life's dreams to maintain a modicum of normalcy for her sister and two brothers after her father was struck by a passing commuter bus (or did he intentionally step into its path, too tired to continue with life?) Her story is contrasted with that of five other women in the coupe. Some sories are sad (especially that of the last narrator who was raped and subsequently ostracized from her community), others are rather funny (like the one where the wife figures out that the Achilles heel of her fit-and-trim husband is food, and cooks delicious food for him so he become obese because (1) he is a terribly malicious, petty, and evil person, and (2) this is the only way she knows how to get back at him.) I suppose the intent of these stories is to assuage Akhila's self-pity, but towards the end of the novel, I get the feeling that Akhila is simply one of those people who think that martyring oneslf is the only way to give pleasure to those you love (or at least are supposed to take care of). Certainly, her life would not have turned out too bad if she would have followed her heart and did what it told her to. Society, relatives, and family would have come to terms with it. But a hallmark of those who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a principle is that they think the world revolves around them, and somehow everything would stop if they did not live upto the expectations others have in them. The world will not stop.

maybe a 2.5.......2006-09-03

I had a hard time deciding whether this book deserved a 2 or a 3. I thought I'd err on the side of being more generous.

While I do agree with one reviewer that it seems like Nair took a bunch of already-done stories and rehashed them in this novel (same dog, different haircut), her writing style won her back some points. It is an immensely readable book. Well-worded. I don't usually like books that move around abruptly in time, but this was presented in a very palatable manner here.

Once again, however, I encountered the same problem that I've had with many recent novels--I just couldn't bring myself to care a whole lot about most of the characters. Perhaps the market has been saturated with tragic stories of people being mistreated (or mistreating themselves) in foreign countries (or even here in the U.S.). It's really a genre of its own. Or maybe the author didn't flesh them out enough to make us care about them.

There's nothing new here, but it is well-written and worth an afternoon. If you haven't read anything like this before, this would be a great book to introduce you to the genre.

Not a unique story.......2006-03-22

I've read a number of novels chronicaling the south asian female experience, and I didn't find this story to be original at all, save for the "5 women traveling on a train" bit. It seems like Nair took all those other stories out there, put a new bow on it and published it. Each of the women's stories follow the same tragic, sad path. I kept waiting for, hoping for, well, the hope. I also found Nair's language trite and disconnected. At one instance, the main character is incredibly self-aware, in the very next she's crippled by fear and insecurity. I'll offer that perhaps this could be a translation issue? Not sure if this was orginally published in another language...I found a number of typos too (I think the last line of the book was a major typo - how does that happen?!?)

Overall, I'd say that if you're new to this genre, you'll probably find this interesting. If you've already read others in this genre (e.g., Anita Desai's books, Clear Light of Day, etc.), I'd soooo skip this one. Lots more compelling and original stories out there (Brick Lane, White Teeth, The Namesake -- they don't take place in India, but all incredibly compelling stories about the Asian experience). Hope this helps!

Women's universe .......2006-02-25

This is an excellent book. It has an interesting narrative: in six stories different women are presented. Akhila's story, a 45-year old woman, who is seeking contentment in life, is the thread through the book and indeed we read it to the end curious to find out if she will be able to make the necessary decisions. This is a great book in which to find the common denominator in the universe of women's experiences. We are invited to consider if cultural, regional differences are indeed not just outward, cosmetic as it were, differences. And in the process discover that whether the woman is named Akhila, in India, Nicole in France, Mary Ann in the US or Mercedes in Mexico their stories can and often are very similar. This is a book filled with strong women, who took the reins of their lives in their hands and conquered. Sometimes it was just some small territory but enough to give each of them more power in her life. They suffer the consequences, but they LIVED! This is a book that liberates a woman's soul. Five stars!

Average customer rating:

Ladies Coupe
Anita Nair
Manufacturer: Chatto and Windus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0701173157

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LADIES COUPE
ANITA NAIR
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHO2C6

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El vagon de las mujeres / Ladies Coupe
Anita Nair
Manufacturer: Alfaguara
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

Meet Akhila: forty-five and single, an income-tax clerk, and a woman who has never been allowed to live her own life until the day she purchases a one-way train ticket. In an intimate all-women sleeping car, Akhila asks five women the question that has been haunting her: can a woman stay single and be happy, or does she need a man to feel complete? This wonderfully atmospheric, deliciously warm novel takes the reader into the heart of women's lives in contemporary India, whose dilemmas are the same as others around the world.

Description in Spanish: Akhila, una mujer de cuarenta y tantos años, soltera, y de quien ha dependido siempre su familia, siente un repentino impulso de huir de todo. En el furgón de un tren que atraviesa la India en dirección al sur, se encuentra con otras cinco viajeras con las que comparte confidencias.

Janaki, una madre confundida; Margaret, una profesora de química con un marido tiránico; Prabha, una sumisa esposa que busca su verdadera identidad; Sheela, una muchacha de catorce años que comprende los últimos deseos de su abuela mejor que nadie; Marikolanthu, que ha vivido más experiencias que todas ellas juntas; y Akhila, que espera que sus historias cambien su vida. Seis personajes que se encuentran en esta cálida novela para descubrir el amor, el matrimonio, la familia, la amistad y el trabajo en la India y en el mundo.

Ladies Coupe: A Novel in Parts
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Ladies Coupe: A Novel in Parts
Anita Nair
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJHE9W

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