Moons Far, Far Away Book Review
by Srividya
“Moons Far Far Away” is set in post-independence India. This memoir of Bharatha’s childhood, set in an agricultural village called Meenakshipuram, takes us through a very real, raw, and unbiased life from a different perspective. Its style is very different from other similar works I have read. Instead of walking the reader through a sequence of events, the memoir is a burst of incidents from the author’s life, and it flows very well, like a novel. The book has no exaggerated details or life-changing moments, yet the incidents are powerful and give a complete picture of the landscape and life in the village. Another distinctive feature of this narration is that the whole book is written from the viewpoint of Bharatha and her group of friends, never from a single individual’s angle or self-oriented. What really appeals to me is that this is a book of an ordinary person. It does not recount incidents like that of famous personalities, but as it is precisely the opposite, it feels even more special, relatable, and it brings the reader closer. The translation has preserved the rawness of both the landscape and the characters.
Bharatha’s mother is portrayed as a hard, austere woman from the very beginning, even before the death of Bharatha’s father. After his passing, the family moves to her mother’s hometown, where the landscape is harsh, unforgiving, and almost uninhabitable. The struggle for survival is so acute that people slit open the stomachs of roosters that have eaten the grain and stitch them back up, simply so the family can reclaim the food. And yet, Bharatha and her brother Raja gradually befriend the other children and relatives, slowly acclimatising themselves to life in this unforgiving terrain.
Bharatha is bright and hungry for education. Her father, while he was alive, wanted her to become a lawyer, but that slowly faded into a dream. Like the other girls, she is sent to school only so that she can look after her younger siblings and the boys in the family permitted to pursue their studies. Once they reach a certain age, the girls are sent out to herd cattle and earn money. This new life is punishing for the children, yet they find their own ways of happiness in wandering across the arid landscape, chasing fantasies, such as the search for a tailed human. In their own small, defiant ways, Bharatha and her friends are rebels, carving out a space for wonder and freedom in a world that offers them little of either.
Despite often having barely enough to eat themselves, the children are remarkably empathetic. They let the calves loose to suckle before dawn, wanting them to drink their fill, only to discover later that too much milk proves fatal to the young animals. In another instance, they puncture the bicycle of a cruel farmer who drags a cow on the brink of death. These acts reveal the children’s instinctive tenderness towards animals, a compassion that persists despite their own deprivation and their limited understanding of its consequences. Their gestures of kindness often come at a cost; they are beaten or punished for acting on their impulses. Yet, the children reveal an innocence and moral instinct.
The children in the village are expected to be disciplined and conform to its patriarchal norms, yet they are often left to fend for themselves. Neglected by adults, they remain vulnerable to exploitation and injustice, learning instead to confront their fears and protect one another. This vulnerability is evident in the incident involving Velan Chiyan, who harasses the children by demanding kisses. Despite the children’s pleas for help, the villagers dismiss their concerns, exposing the community’s failure to safeguard its youngest members. The episode highlights the hypocrisy of a patriarchal society that imposes strict expectations on children while failing to provide them with care, protection, and justice.
The book also explores the origins and significance of various village deities, some of whom are notorious for their wrathful and malevolent nature. The villagers often invoke these deities and devils to justify their actions and manipulate others, whether by extorting money through superstition or concealing illicit relationships that violate societal norms.
Bharatha’s mother comes across as a harsh and stern woman from the very beginning, even before Bharatha’s father passes away. Perhaps the hardships she experienced during her own childhood shaped her personality and contributed to her severe nature.
One of the saddest aspects of the book is the way women are treated by society. Although this is explored through individual incidents rather than explicitly discussed, these moments left a lasting impact on me. From Saraswathi, a young widow who takes her own life while society remains indifferent to her suffering, to Sarasu, who is physically and mentally abused by Gangayya, the book portrays the harsh realities women are forced to endure. What saddened me most was the community’s response, or rather, the lack of it. People witness these injustices but choose not to intervene, reflecting a society that tolerates women’s suffering rather than standing up for them.
Children in villages are sometimes exposed to situations that many others may never have to experience at such a young age. One such incident is Bharatha’s encounter with the half-burnt body of a relative after a storm. Having never witnessed a body being cremated, thanks to the use of electric crematoriums, I can only imagine how unsettling such an experience might be. I have heard of the ways a body can move in the fire, which is frightening to even think about. It kept me wondering what this must have done to the minds of young children, not mature enough to understand.
Bharatha’s mother is harsh towards her children, especially Bharatha and his brother Raja. Yet, I found myself seeing her differently when she breaks down in tears over a dead cow in the middle of the field. That moment made me wonder whether her strictness stemmed from a fear of her children making mistakes and becoming the subject of village gossip. She is headstrong and takes pride in her independence, refusing to accept pity from others. Although she sends her children to collect leftover food or scrap meat from relatives and neighbours, she beats them if they accept money when it is offered. This contradiction made me wonder whether her aversion to being a burden on others shaped the way she raised her children. Perhaps, as a single mother, she wanted to ensure that they grew up strong, disciplined, and independent in a society that could easily look down on them. It offers another way of understanding her behaviour and the hardships that may have shaped her.
I think these experiences shaped Bharatha’s perception of the village as a curse for women, particularly married women. Marriage did not seem appealing to her, perhaps because she had witnessed so many of its darker realities, from illicit affairs and domestic abuse to suffering and death. This helped me understand why she was reluctant to marry Ganesan, a close friend she had known since childhood. Perhaps it was not just Ganesan himself that she was unwilling to accept, but the life and society that came with staying in the village. To me, leaving the village represented a sense of hope and the possibility of a different life, even if it meant leaving behind the friends and familiar surroundings she had grown up with. Marrying into another village may have offered her a chance to break away from the life she had known and begin anew, with the possibility of a future that was not bound by the same expectations and limitations.