I love the specificity of the book as the stories cycles through the generations of women in the Tamil Brahmin community. On the one hand, there’s all the immersive cultural details the food, practices, social rituals, and so on. These certainly made it an enjoyable read. But how did I, as a Muslim woman, relate to a book that was so culturally specific? Precisely because it was so truthful in its specificity that it felt universal.

Take for example religious trauma—casteism and tradition were something especially the younger characters chafed and struggled against (I also enjoyed how the gender element is present, while for the male it is more of an issue of individual expression and identity, for women religious trauma is literally because she felt oppressed in material and social ways). Then there is the perennial fraught mother-daughter dynamic when the mother wants to enforce patriarchal order or values that she herself had been victimised by. But the stories are not didactic, they peel the real, complex ways these issues play out in real life, as women try to build their own lives, dreams, families amongst loved ones that may disappoint them but whose affection and approval remain so important. Things iur heritage, upbringing, cultural values are so baked into our beings and ties, how do we strike out on our own as women while still honouring and loving what sometimes cannot love us as we are? Do we discard? Transform? (one story has sarees transform into modern pieces!)

A landmark book for sure. One that is about “brown” existence in Singapore but as how life simply is and not as centrally concerned with the most explicit, adversarial experiences. Not that this is bad to do of course! It’s necessary, Prasanthi’s book is just markedly different and I appreciate the diversity it brings to brown narratives here while also unpacking topics fatphobia, casteism, religious trauma, sexual violence and queer joy, amongst so many other topics.
5 s Jolin129 50

5 stars. Prasanthi Ram has captured so much emotion in these pages, skillfully representing the feeling of “all the things left unsaid” within relationships, especially familial ones. I believe these stories will inspire everyone differently, but for me, it made me miss my mother, reflect on the ways she has shielded me throughout the years, and encouraged me to articulate my gratitude towards her more often.

Seeing what these women have been through and ning them to my own experiences also gave me strength. The similarities made me feel closer to this collective yet more defined as an individual at the same time; it made me recognise how every part of our identity propels us forward in some way, consciously or not.

On top of that, I must also commend Ram for her ability to subtly relay cultural and religious details, such that someone completely uneducated in the matter, me, can understand. The way she’s able to step back and consider all the context required for the story is astonishing, and it’s one of the many things that makes her writing a joy to read.

I strongly encourage everyone to read this book. I feel it captures so much of what life is about—grief, injustice, kinship—all from the eyes of women. I laughed, I cried, and I sobbed, and I am so thankful to Ram for bringing this to life and to Ethos Books for publishing and sending it over. All opinions are my own.

“She might have been just a girl, but she was her mother's Draupadi, a miracle child. So, she bloomed, strong and unshakeable.”

“They seem to have understood death much better than even I have at this age, for un my own daughters, I am inconsolable. Then again, I am grieving for then and now at once.”

20232 s Bren | Wordwanderlust97 6

“As a women, and especially as a mother, society will make you believe that everything that happens to your family is your fault. Why? Because women are meant to be infallible pillars of every home. But you and I both know you’ve tried your best despite everything. So, what more can you do?”
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First of all, I would to thank Ethos Books for providing us with a copy of this gorgeous and elegantly written book of short stories. Reading Nine Yard Sarees was such an enriching and almost nostalgic journey where the different short stories are intricately weaved together to present a narrative about women, migration and identity in a Singaporean Tamil Brahmin family across a span of decades. I am so glad that I managed to finish this book just in time for Deepavali so that I can share my review on this festive occasion.

Prasanthi Ram certainly has a way with words, as seen by how she was able to delicately weave together a complex array of topics to present an intriguing narrative of the journeys experienced by the different women in the stories. I found myself relating to various elements in the different short stories as well, especially in the context of familial relationships and community. Even though I am not part of a Tamil Brahmin family in Singapore (as I am a Singaporean Indian), I realised that I still understood the struggles and experiences portrayed throughout the different stories. For instance, Ram’s portrayal of Keerthana was definitely my favourite, as her journey of growing up with an endearing yet somewhat controlling mother was something that definitely hit home with me. Also not to forget, the inclusion of several Tamil phrases made me so happy!! Seeing my language in fiction books isn’t something that I am used to, so this really made the collection of stories extra meaningful to me.

Overall, I am still coming down from the highs of finishing this magnificent masterpiece, and as I sit down today to collect my thoughts and emotions, one thing that I wish to convey in my review is the raw, meaningful, yet comforting nature of Prasanthi Ram’s work. I hope to read more of her work in future, and I urge everyone who is interested in Nine Yard Sarees to please take the time and indulge in this book! You can thank me later
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