Ladies Coupe

"Nair is a powerful writer . . . she has created what must be one of the most important feminist novels to come out of South Asia."—Daily Telegraph

"Modern India's vivid, sticky beauty is evolved beautifully . . . Nair's compassion for her characters shines through every carefully chosen word."—Sunday Tribune

"Nair's strength lies in bringing alive the everyday thoughts, desires, and doubts of these six ordinary women."—The Times Literary Supplement

"Nair focuses on the seemingly restricted lives of contemporary Indian women. Akhila is a 45-year-old spinster who has supported her family since her father's death 26 years ago. Needing to examine her unfulfilled life, she buys a one-way ticket to a resort town. During the train ride, Akhila and the five other women in her compartment intimately share details about their relationships with husbands and families and their sexual experiences. Each woman's tale is a crystalline gem of knowledge and insight. While Margaret deliberately fattened her husband to take the nasty edge off his bullying personality, Sheela adorned her grandmother's corpse because she understood the old woman's vanity and fear of aging; Mari rejected the son who was born of a rape. A sensitive exploration of the tension of self-actualization vs. familial responsibility in a society with traditional values, this novel—first published in India and a best seller in France and Italy—will surely resonate with readers everywhere. For all fiction collections."—Library Journal

"Indian author Nair's first U.S. publication offers a quietly powerful feminist message in the story of a middle-aged spinster, one who finds the courage and support to live independently as she and her fellow passengers on an overnight train share their stories."—Kirkus Reviews