Outlook India

Set in Kerala, the stories of Nair’s heroines span multiple castes, classes and religions as if to underscore the point that women of all hues and from all backgrounds are confronted with problems which are more or less universal.As the book’s descriptor argues: “No one chooses to eat a wasp. But what if it were to fly into your mouth? Would you let it sting your tongue or bite down on it? Would you spit or swallow? Would you crumple or fight? The lives of women everywhere is about such decisions and the consequences thereof.”The novel is set in contemporary times and is replete with references to social technology and its mediums Tinder, Instagram, etc., and the role they play in our lives today. On the whole, it is yet another rich literary discourse on Indian feminism by Nair.