Lisa Goodmurphy's Reviews > My Beloved Life

3.5 stars
My Beloved Life is the story of Jadunath (Jadu) Kunwar's life from birth in a small village in the Indian state of Bihar in 1935 to death from Covid-19 in 2020. Jadu is an ordinary man whose life story begins before his birth when his mother survives a snake bite while she's pregnant with him. As a young man, he moves to Patna for college, becomes a history professor, marries, has a daughter and travels to the U.S. for a year as a Fulbright scholar. His daughter, Jugnu, leaves India after separating from her husband and travels to Atlanta, Georgia for graduate school and stays to work as a journalist at CNN seeing her father only occasionally over the passing years as she settles into her life as an immigrant in America.

My Beloved Life is a well-written novel that is ambitious in scope as it endeavours to tell the story of 85 years of India's history through the lens of one modest man's life. Jadu is very much a story teller at heart and, as he relays his own, he takes frequent tangents to tell the stories of the many people who have crossed his path over the course of his life.

Historical events and famous people are blended into Jadu's story as he lives through many of the pivotal events that took place in India in the 20th century. I found it all quite interesting, however, I didn't feel much in the way of an emotional connection to the story until Jugnu takes over as narrator and continues to tell their story but in a more personal way. Jugnu's point of view particularly as it related to the onset of the pandemic and the Covid lockdowns that kept her separated from her father was quite moving and relatable as I also lost my father to Covid.

Overall My Beloved Life was a satisfying read - well-written, informative, and interesting but I would have felt more engaged if there had been more emotional depth.