Song of the Cuckoo Bird is the second novel by Amulya Malladi I've read this year. I chose Song because it is described as a 'sweeping epic', 'an intergenerational saga' - descriptions like these rarely fail to pull me in. This is the story of an ashram, Tella Meda, located in India, full of people who are there because they really have no other place to go. Men and women, young and old, widowed, and unmarried, they live and grow up together in this separate world. The book covers the period from 1960 to 2000 and each chapter is proceeded by a few sentences about the political and social situation in India at the time. At times the residents of Tella Meda are affected by and discuss these events, but in many cases we see how their insular existence keeps them a world apart.

I had a bit of trouble at the beginning of the novel, and thought I might even put it aside. The first several chapters felt somewhat like short stories to me, with several consistent characters, each one bringing in a new person whose history is explained. At the end of several of these chapters, a statement would often be made - that they never saw this person again. I was just at a loss each time these chapters ended. Why introduce a character only to pull him or her away again, which did not propel the story forward? I persevered and was rewarded as Malladi found her pace and told a tale of lives intersecting in various ways, and how family does not always mean being related by blood. Ultimately, I found this to be a satisfying read. ( )

Song of the Cuckoo Bird is not just Kokila's story. It is the story of many of the residents and visitors of Tella Meda.

There is Ramanandam Sastri whose proclamation that his daughter Charvi is touched by the gods would dictate the rest of her life. People would flock to her for counsel and healing, her status as guru and goddess well known throughout the community. There is the loyal and faithful Subhadra, a surrogate mother to Kokila and her best friend, the outcast Chetana, the daughter of a prostitute. Then there is also the bitter, traditional widow who resents her life and strikes out at those who are different. Kokila herself is a bright woman, responsible and thoughtful. Her own life is not an easy one. The sacrifice of her marriage early one sets her up for a lonely life. And yet, she rarely complains, accepting her fate while at the same time seeking to make the best of what she does have and moving forward.

These are just a fraction of the cast of characters that walk through the pages of Amulya Malladi’s book. She paints them each with a careful brush, touching on their lives and offering the reader a look into their every day life and a glimpse into their thoughts. And yet the writing seemed a bit dry at times; the events in the novel unfold, time passes, and yet it is as if these events are being laid out for the reader in a matter of fact way rather than drawing the reader completely in. It was impossible not to come to care for the characters, however, and to feel invested in their individual stories, all of which were weaved so intricately together.

Life ebbs and flows in Tella Meda as Kokila and Chetana grow from girls into women, each coming into their own and facing the consequences of their own decisions. Song of the Cuckoo Bird is a novel that spans through 50 years of India’s history up until the modern day. As in real life, occasionally the events of the outside world influence life inside the ashram while other times they go by completely unnoticed. Amulya Malladi provides a timeline at the beginning of each chapter to set the stage for the chapter ahead, grounding the story in reality. She is effective in her use of historical facts and the cultural issues surrounding the country and the time period as well.

Because of the type of place Tella Meda is, readers are introduced to all sorts of societal outcasts, seeing more clearly the prejudices and injustices in general society. And yet it is also within this setting, that acceptance and the cultural richness are found. ( )