Best Fictional Book as Helmed by SLP2024

Nine Yard Sarees by Prasanthi Ram.

“Their Girl. Their “burden”, Amma had once said.” This book hits a nerve too close to home. A short story cycle that invites readers to a first-hand introspection into the lives of nine women across different generations. I witnessed generational trauma, love, and pain interwoven in complicated familial relationships. Like the nine-yard sarees, love tethers one to their mother’s clothing, lost memories buried in keepsakes and etching in one’s wrinkles and laugh lines.

Superstition, fear of harming one’s reputation among relatives, and gender stereotypes pit women against the walls of the household, confining their existence to the watchful eyes and mouths of family. However, we dive into these women’s deepest thoughts, strengths, fears, and vulnerabilities, which span across texts and manifest differently in each character.

Most importantly, NYS portrayed how familial tensions spark a flame within the safe space we hold for one another in the privacy of our houses, where we should be able to be vulnerable and not be hurt by the ones we trust and love.

I truly took my time devouring this book, and these three stories—Loose Threads, In Her Graveyard She Bloomed, and Before The Rooster Call—will linger in my thoughts for now.

Congratulations @prasanthi for Nine Yard Saree’s win as the Best Fictional Book in SLP 2024!

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