MARIA JUST MARIA

'A rare novel.' - S. HAREESH'A must-read!' - DAISY ROCKWELLFollowing the death of her grandfather Maria has stopped speaking - not because she can't but because she doesn't want to. Now in a psychiatric hospital as she begins the process of 'reconnecting with reality' Maria recalls her journey of being 'just Maria' - a girl born into a Syrian Christian family in Kerala whose companions were a grandfather who took her along to wander around the village and its toddy shops a great-aunt with dementia who challenged Maria's position as the youngest in the family a dog with a penchant for philosophy various long-dead family members including a great-grandmother with a knack for prophecies a patron saint who insisted on interfering in people's affairs and Karthav Eesho Mishiha with whom Maria has regular conversations.Sandhya Mary's novel Maria Just Maria - masterfully translated by the award-winning Jayasree Kalathil - is an insightful and humorous take on ideas like normal-abnormal natural-human love-hate etc. that define contemporary society and the exuberant and moving story of a woman trying to find her place in this world.