Mother Mary Comes To Me

Image credit: Penguin Books Australia

Reading a memoir can be a daunting thing, especially if you know nothing about the author/subject. On the one hand, it could inspire you to find out more about the subject: read their books, listen to their music, watch their films, etc. On the other hand, it could also deter you from adventuring down this unknown avenue, depending on how well the memoir is written or if the subject’s story is one that is appealing or relatable.

And then sometimes you sit flat in the middle of the road between the two. This was my experience with this month’s book club read: Mother Mary Comes To Me by Arundhati Roy.

Mother Mary Comes To Me chronicles the emotional, environmental, and circumstantial events that shaped Arundhati Roy into the woman and writer that she is today, with many of her life’s most significant events either directly involving or drawing her mind to her mother whom she describes as both her “shelter and storm”. From a turbulent relationship stems an eye-opening and almost impossible mother-daughter love story between two strong, defiant, and inspiring Indian women.

I was not aware of any of Roy’s work before reading this book. And while I found Mother Mary Comes To Me to be an engaging and truly amazing book of love, admiration, and incredible narratives, I cannot honestly say that I am itching to get myself a copy of The God of Small Things or The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.

Image credit: Wikipedia

The book’s poignancy comes from the respect with which Roy writes about her mother, even when she is describing moments of abuse, drama, or neglect. Throughout its chapters, the book changes tone with the telling of different, incredible life narratives from Roy ranging from studying architecture, becoming an actress, and laughing off the ridiculous arguments that powerful men put forward for her arrest. While the tone changes from anecdotal, to mocking, to reminiscent, throughout the entire book there is this underlying current of love and respect for her mother that carries the book along and through it, the book also becomes a little bit of a memoir of Mary Roy as well. We learn about this strong-willed Indian woman who opened a school, took down/reshaped inheritance laws, and built a community around herself despite her loud and dramatic personality. What keeps you turning the pages is the way in which Roy writes about these seriously scary events that either she or her mother were at the centre of: there is a distinct lack of fear, almost nonchalance, in her descriptions of her court appearances, her traversing jungles with guerilla fighters, and way in which authorities tried to silence her or her mother. It’s awesome.

While it hasn’t completely inspired me to rush right out and acquire Roy’s fictional or non-fictional collection of works, Mother Mary Comes To Me has made me glad that I now know that these awesome women are real.

Author: Arundhati Roy, 2025

Published: Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House UK, 2025