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A House for Happy Mothers
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
16 posts | 21 read | 16 to read
A stunning new novel--full of wit and warmth--from the bestselling author of The Mango Season. In trendy Silicon Valley, Priya has everything she needs--a loving husband, a career, and a home--but the one thing she wants most is the child she's unable to have. In a Southern Indian village, Asha doesn't have much--raising two children in a tiny hut, she and her husband can barely keep a tin roof over their heads--but she wants a better education for her gifted son. Pressured by her family, Asha reluctantly checks into the Happy Mothers House: a baby farm where she can rent her only asset--her womb--to a childless couple overseas. To the dismay of friends and family, Priya places her faith in a woman she's never met to make her dreams of motherhood come true. Together, the two women discover the best and the worst that India's rising surrogacy industry has to offer, bridging continents and cultures to bring a new life into the world--and renewed hope to each other.
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review
WorldsOkayestStepMom
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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Mehso-so

Enjoyable book, but not great in my opinion.

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Suet624
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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After finishing a book about the slums in Mumbai I thought I‘d read something light. I didn‘t get the memo on this book! The story that‘s told is of surrogacy - a woman in California pays a woman in India to give birth to her child. The appeal for the Indian woman is the large sum of money she will receive which will go toward her son‘s education. When I got to this quote I just had to stop reading the book. What women must do for money. 😩😩😩

TheBookHippie 😭😭😭😭😭😭 5y
TheBookHippie I read it. It tore me up. 5y
kspenmoll 😱😭 5y
See All 6 Comments
Reggie You know what‘s crazy is that in China there are some well to do women having their babies carried by American women and because if society found out their truth they would be shamed for it so they disappear for months saying they‘re visiting overseas so no one knows they didn‘t have their baby. And then they just show back up with a baby. Most of the time it‘s for health reasons. I just thought how fcking exhausting this world is. 5y
saresmoore Good grief. @Reggie Exhausting is just the word for it. 5y
Suet624 @Reggie I had forgotten about the Chinese/American connection. The whole thing is just a mindblower to me and your last sentence says it all. 5y
59 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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schaubke
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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Falling in love with this book over a hot cup of coffee and a roaring fire.

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christineandbooks
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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Pickpick

An interesting story about a topic I didn't know much about. Great narration in the audiobook.

55 likes4 stack adds
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christineandbooks
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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Found a great new way to get lots of listening in on my current audio book... #audiowallpaperstripping Last of the old wallpaper coming down from our powder room... Can't wait to renovate it and come into the 21st century! Oh, and the book continues to be good... 😀

Cortg Oooh, I love a good house project! Good luck and enjoy the audiobook! 7y
48 likes1 comment
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christineandbooks
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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My current audiobook, purchased during an Audible 2 for 1 deal. Pretty good so far. Great narrator and told in alternating chapters ( so far) by two main characters. Anyone read this?

ReadingEnvy I haven't heard of this one! 7y
Ruri_kaichou I just started this today. I like it so far! 7y
29 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Gissy
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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For those of you who celebrate this day and are mothers, or are going to celebrate or remember a person who is, was or was like a mother, Happy Mothers Day! 💕💞If not, then have a happy reading Sunday!

25 likes1 stack add
review
Gezemice
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
Bailedbailed

This book could have been a great exploration of surrogacy in India, its ethics, its emotional toll, cultural differences, morality, etc. Instead it is a collection of trite conversations and terrible parties where people judge each other and talk about materialistic things.

I always hated those parties. After too much of the irritating whining, I said, I am going home from this terrible party and read a good book.
#bookclubfail

ErinC Good to know. It's on my kindle waiting and I keep skipping it. I no longer feel bad about that. 8y
Gezemice @ErinC You might like it, it has good reviews. It might be just me. 8y
bookishkai I started it for my book club, and I only got through the first chapter before walking away. I also wanted much more from this book than what it delivered. 8y
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Gezemice @bookishkris I was put off by the first scene, where Priya wakes up and nags her husband just because she can't sleep and he can. How self-centered, robbing him of his sleep! I stuck with it for a while because book club, but the rest of the characters were even more self-centered or complete doormats. I just could not go on. 8y
emmanoble I felt the same way! Glad it wasn't just me 8y
Gezemice @emmanoble There are so many good books to read, no need to read one we don't enjoy :) 8y
37 likes1 stack add6 comments
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Gezemice
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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My book club selection came in from the library faster than expected, so I need to read this next.

My book club reads are a hit and miss. Some I love and would not have read otherwise; others I can't finish. I hope this will be the first kind.

How do you like your book club selections? #bookclub

Lacythebookworm My book club picks are generally ok, but we usually have some members who really love the books and for others it's so-so. Our last read was 8y
ErinC I think I got this as a kindle first and I need to read it! I can't wait to see your review. 8y
Books_Wine_Repeat Our book club picks are hit and miss. The last couple books have been duds imo. Oh well, there's always wine. 😏🍷 8y
See All 19 Comments
ramyasbookshelf I haven't read this one but I've read another book by the author and I liked that one. 8y
BookTent Mine are hit and miss too. I'm currently skim-reading the latest book club choice. I know that's bad, but I don't want to not read it and I've got so many great books waiting to be read. I won't mention the skim-reading at book club though - it feels a bit rude to the person who picked it. 8y
MrBook I run 3 book clubs with @BookBabe , and we belong to 2 others. We've been trying to get a postal book club going as well, but we only have a couple other prospective participants, and we want 6-12 *sighs*. I find that if a book polarizes its audience, the discussions tend to be longer and more fun; books that everyone likes produce shorter discussions and still rather fun; and books that everyone dislikes, horrible, lol. My clubs are democratic. 8y
Vblancsbooks I tried to keep a book club for the last couple years...I would pick 3 books, send a email for the other to pick one outta the bunch...but no one would read them so I gave up! I wish I was in a virtual book club but haven't found any. 8y
Merethebookgal I'm with you, but thankfully more have been hits than misses! I've been with my book club for almost 6 years and there's been plenty of picks that I might not have read otherwise that I ended up loving and then some duds scattered throughout. 😉 I agree with @MrBook that sometimes polarizing books lead to better discussion! And even some books I didn't like much I ended up liking better after our meeting because of the good discussion. 8y
Gezemice @Lacythebookworm @Books_Wine_Repeat @BookTent @Merethebookgal @MrBook I guess all book clubs will have differences, that's what makes them good. Ours have not really had polarizing ones, more like ones some love and others don't care for. The best discussions are on ones about serious topics - like Americanah or In Cold Blood. 8y
Merethebookgal @Vblancsbooks If you're interested, my book club has a virtual element to it. There's 4 of us that have a podcast based on our book club pick for the month and then have a group on Goodreads for listeners to join in on the discussion. (I may try to put discussion questions up on Litsy as well.) We're The Eclectic Readers Book Club on Goodreads & the podcast is on iTunes & sunriserobot.net/eclecticreaders & our next book is The Name of the Wind 😃 8y
Gezemice @ErinC @ramyasbookshelf By far I feel like it is so-so. Good idea but she tells instead of showing, and it seems like this would have been better as a short story or novella. 8y
Gezemice @Vblancsbooks There are plenty on Goodreads! I belong to a couple that does reading challenges, and one that reads classics. We are reading Moby Dick. 8y
Well-ReadNeck I've been in lots of different book clubs and the quality seems to depend upon both the tastes of the members, and how books are selected. I'm in two bc's now and the better selections are in the one where we rotate selection among members. Everyone gets 1 pick/year and tends to make informed selections. There are some duds, of course, but more 👍🏼 than 👎🏻 8y
MrBook @Merethebookgal Awesome! @BookBabe & I will check it out! 8y
Gezemice @Well-ReadNeck I agree! We used to just pick a book on meetings, but we went to a rotating system where one person picks 3-5 books and the rest vote from that. Seems to work pretty well. Last one was a dud but the few before were all excellent. 8y
Merethebookgal @MrBook @BookBabe Woohoo! More people joining the discussion is always welcome! 😃 8y
Vblancsbooks @Merethebookgal that sounds awesome!! I'm find the podcast and group on GR !! 8y
Gezemice @Vblancsbooks This is my most active group on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/174195-around-the-year-in-52-books . We do a 52 books per year challenge, but there is a book of the month, too (every two months), and each book members have read has a thread. 8y
Merethebookgal @Vblancsbooks Yay, welcome! Feel free to listen and comment on any of our previous books that you've read- we're always up for chatting! 8y
45 likes2 stack adds19 comments
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bookishkai
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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My third TBR Tuesday is the next book for my alumna book club. I'm behind in my reading, what else is new. #mohoswithlibros

58 likes1 stack add
review
Kathyd
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
Pickpick

An eye-opening look into fertility, surrogacy, and the hope that one woman can help another in this narcissistic world.

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Mamashep
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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Racing to get through this one for review on Thursday. It would make a great book club choice. A lot to talk about, a lot of moral questions.

ReadingOver50 Sounds like such an interesting book. 8y
19 likes1 comment
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LisaHarringtonMunley
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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"Asha touched her jittery stomach; there was no bulge yet. Nothing indicated the change she was going through. She stroked her belly and then stopped; it was a futile gesture. This wasn't hers. She couldn't fall in love with this baby as she had with her own. She just had to let it grow."

5 likes1 stack add
review
Gena
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
Pickpick

Interesting look into Indian culture, as well a great story.

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Sydneyeditor1
A House for Happy Mothers | Amulya Malladi
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I found this over on Literary Feline's blog and love this quote as much as it makes me sad: the desperation for a child is overpowering isn't it?