// Dirty Women by @bhattacharyya.madhumita

Dirty Women is a feminist novel with a kidnapping mystery at the centre of it. The protagonist is a woman and the person around whom the story is built is also a woman. This fast paced book represents the societal views of independent, bold and single mothers. There's a lot of stigma attached to how divorcees and single mothers are treated even to this date in our country. They are denied accomodation because of the assumption that they are fallen or dirty women. People are quick to label women who do not fold themselves to fit into the standard rules that are laid down by men about how they should ideally behave. These labels are almost never associated when it comes to men. Dirty Women is a cleverly written novel that puts all the above factors into a well shaped story.

The story begins with a fictional kidnapping incident that happens back in 2002. Tara, a four year old child of a famous singer named Drishti goes missing from her own home. The narrator is Ahana, a young journalist who somehow gets roped in to cover the kidnapping case. What begins as a kidnapping case slowly turns into a judgemental one as people condemn Drishti's lifestyle. As a single mother, she is constantly in the limelight for defying the norms of a 'decent woman'. Ahana's connection with the singer only grows stronger as the investigation goes on. There are unexpected twists, a steady pace and good character development. But most importantly I enjoyed reading about women being allies to each other rather than being jealous. Dirty Women paints a real picture of how women are constantly made to fit into certain male built boxes to suit their needs. The two women in this story not only break that illusion into pieces but are also incredibly confident of their decisions.

I definitely recommend this. It's refreshing and also a very enjoyable read.

Thank you for the copy @rolibooks