Sully, Jakie, Mae and Lana live in 1940's Lahore during the difficult period of partition. Their life is further compounded by struggling to be the "good children" their controlling and manipulative mother demands them to be.

The book follows their lives as they leave the Punjab to study, find partners, get married and raise families. Despite their intelligence and awareness of how they were all manipulated by their mother, it is apparent that her influence was all pervasive. Throughout their lives it seems they can never escape the need to be seen to be doing the right thing. Even as they return as adults to bury their parents, it is clear that they cannot bury the past and are still programmed to be the good children their mother desired.

I really enjoyed this book and quickly found I was taking sides with the children and hoped that as they grew they would escape their mothers clutches and become their own person. Each child followed a different path with varying degrees of success and it was interesting to follow their progress. Following them from 1940 to the present day also provided an interesting insight into the social mores and prejudices that was part and parcel of growing up as an immigrant. It was also a revealing insight into the changing role of women who become increasing influenced by a Western Culture and refused to submit to the traditional roles their native society placed on them.

If want an interesting read that is informative and thought provoking as well as satisfying and enjoyable then try this book - you won't be disappointed.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
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'the woman who commanded duty, deference and despair. She who must be obeyed, rising up from the past,', January 22, 2015

This review is from: The Good Children (Kindle Edition)
A very compelling read, following the four children of a well-to-do Lahore family from 1938 to the present. With an ineffectual father and a mother who 'was two people; comically girlish or tragically severe', the children have their futures planned: the two boys to study medicine abroad - their sister imagines an ideal son for her as 'the son who would find greatness abroad, and then return to Lahore and marry a pious local girl of good background' - and the two girls to make good marriages.
But their lives go in very different, and sometimes harmful, directions; psychologist Sulaman, emotionally damaged; GP Jakie, with his gay lover; Mae, who chooses her husband because she likes her future mother-in-law; and the rather less clearly defined and convincing Lana.
I think Sulaman in particular was wonderfully drawn - his difficulties in relating to people were utterly believable.Ms Farooki writes in different voices, and brings in snippets of the past as she relates the present. By the end the reader feels s/he knows the characters as real people.
Excellent read. ( )

"There is such a complexity given to each sibling that it makes for hard reading sometimes because you genuinely learn to like each one and their missteps, neuroticism, and frustrating behaviors feel like you’re watching them in person."
read more: http://likeiamfeasting.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-good-children-roopa-farooki.html ( )