Book Review: THE GUEST

By Suneetha Balakrishnan

In this novella ‘The Guest’ author Suneetha Balan gives us an unusual take on a mother-in-law. Mothers-in-law are a much-maligned tribe. We hear endless seedy jokes about them, and often the jokes are unkind and cruel. We hear of horror stories of how they ill-treat their daughters-in-law often siding with their spoilt sons. We hear of them wrecking marriages. But in ‘The Guest’ we come across a different kind of mother-in-law. Here we come across the mother of a young man who falls in love with her son’s the bride to be. After their marriage the couple move in to live with the widowed mother. We follow this story of love in which the mother-in-law treats the wife of her selfish and often inconsiderate son with much attention and precious care. Together, the mother and the wife manage to convert the young man into a caring and family orientated person. Read this unusual tale, follow the twists and turns, enjoy.