Review: Daughter of the Ganges by Asha Miro

Genre: Memoir
Series: No
Pages: 274
Copyright: 2007
Publisher: Atria Books
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Growing up in an Indian orphanage, Asha Miró dreamed that someday she would be adopted. At the age of six, her wish finally came true, but only at the misfortune of another. A Catalan family was in the process of adopting twins when one of the children suddenly fell ill and died -- a twist of fate that led the family to adopt Asha instead. Leaving a life of poverty behind, Asha was given a second chance.

Twenty-one years later, Asha takes a heart-wrenching trip back to India to uncover her native roots. Full of unexpected encounters, this adventure informs and touches Asha beyond her expectations. She visits her old orphanage, speaks with her former caretakers, explores the land that she might not have ever left, and comes to form a more solid identity. Yet one trip is not enough. Eight years later she returns, this time visiting the small rural village where she was born. While uncovering the details behind her adoption, Asha discovers the only living member of her immediate Indian family: a sister she never knew she had.

Feelings: 
This felt a lot like a journal to me. When I got to the end, I found out that it was take from a journal. The writing was very easy to read and didn't have the complexity of story that many memoirs have. I would have enjoyed this more if it had been written with more imagery. I felt like I was told everything and I didn't see the scenery of the story except on rare occasions. There were parts that were very detailed but for the most part it was simply written and didn't do a good job giving a feel for the places the author wrote about.

This book contains two shorter essays put together. The second added closure to the story that the first didn't have. It also showed how easy it is to get the story wrong when there are not good records. 

Margaret says that my father, Radhu Ghoderao, loved me a lot, so much so that he came to Mumbai to see me before I was adopted by my parents in Barcelona, but I did not recognize him. "Who is this man?" Mother Adelina asked me. "The Postman!" I apparently answered. p. 150

Asha does not find out about this on her first visit when she ask Mother Adelina about her past.

I find it difficult to understand how Mother Adelina managed to conceal such an incredible anecdote. I can't deny the anger that I feel. A father--my father--who traveled all the way to the city to see his daughter for the last time before she set off for a distant country to be adopted by a family, is an image from my story that is completely unknown to me and has a huge impact. p.151

She struggles with the fact that she wasn't given all the facts and that others kept what they knew from her. I'm glad that in the end she is able to meet her sister and they are able to talk about the past and it answers many of Asha's questions. However, the story didn't have the emotion that I was looking for.

This was written for families adopting a child from a foreign country or children who were adopted into a different country and are wanting to know what it was like for someone else. I recommend this to those readers. However, if you are looking for a good memoir this would not be one I would recommend.