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Homeless Bird, by Gloria Whelan
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Leaving Home...forever. Like many girls her age in India, thirteen-year-old Koly is getting married. When she discovers that the husband her parents have chosen for her is sickly boy with wicked parents, Koly wishes she could flee. According to tradition, though, she has no choice. On her wedding day, Koly's fate is sealed.
In the wake of her marriage, however, Koly's life takes an unexpected turn, and she finds herself alone in a strange city of white-sari-clad windows. Her only choice seems to be to shed her name and her future and join the hopeless hordes who chant for food.
Even then, cast out in a current of time-worn tradition, this rare young woman sets out to forge her own exceptional future. And a life, like a beautiful tapestry, comes together for Koly-- one stitch at a time.
Books for the Teen Age 2001 (NYPL) and 2000 National Book Award Winner
- Sales Rank: #217083 in eBooks
- Published on: 2008-12-13
- Released on: 2009-10-06
- Format: Kindle eBook
Amazon.com Review
"What if I don't like him?"
"Of course you will like him."
"But what if I don't?"
Maa impatiently slapped at a fly. "Then you must learn to like him."
But Koly never gets a chance to find out if she does care for her intended groom. Married and promptly widowed at 13, Koly finds herself in the grim position of being cast out by a society that has no place for girls like her. With a seemingly hopeless future in India, this courageous and spirited young woman sets out to forge her own destiny. Through perseverance, resourcefulness, and sheer luck, she manages not only to find a niche for herself, but even to find happiness again.
Gloria Whelan's tale of a remarkable girl in an extraordinary situation will linger with the reader long after the last page is read. The shaping of Koly's life, as anyone's, is in her own hands, as well as the hands of the society in which she lives. Her ability to express herself--and ultimately support herself--with her exceptional skill in embroidery is a symbol of the creative ingenuity that will serve her well throughout her tribulations. (Ages 8 and older) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
Whelan (Miranda's Last Stand) blends modern Hindu culture with age-old Indian traditions as she profiles a poor girl's struggle to survive in a male-dominated society. Only 13 when her parents find her a husband, Koly can't help feeling apprehensive about leaving home to live in a distant village with her in-laws and husband, none of whom she has met. The truth is worse than she could have feared: the groom, Hari, is a sickly child, and his parents have wanted only a dowry, not a wife for him, in order to pay for a trip to Benares so Hari might bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges. Koly is widowed almost immediately; later, she is abandoned in the holy city of Vrindavan by her cruel mother-in-law. Koly, likened to a "homeless bird" in a famous poem by Rabindranath Tagore, embodies the tragic plight of Hindu women without status, family or financial security. She is saved from a dismal fate by her love of beauty, her talent for embroidery and the philanthropy of others--and by Whelan's tidy plotting, which introduces a virtuous young man, a savvy benefactress and a just employer in the nick of time. The feminist theme that dominates the happily-ever-after ending seems more American than Indian, but kids will likely enjoy this dramatic view of an endangered adolescence and cheer Koly's hard-won victories. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Thirteen-year-old Koly's arranged marriage seems a blessing for her impoverished family. Her mother embroiders a wedding sari, while the girl stitches her family memories into a quilt. But when she arrives at the home where, according to custom, she will live for the rest of her life under the supervision of her mother-in-law, she discovers that her 16-year-old husband Hari is gravely ill with tuberculosis. She learns that her dowry was needed to finance a journey to Benares, with the hope that the holy water of the Ganges River will cure him. Hari dies there and she is trapped, a widow with no future. Luckily, her father-in-law recognizes her desire to learn and teaches her to read. A few years later, when he, too, dies, her mother-in-law abandons her in another holy city, Vrindavan. Raji, a young rickshaw driver, helps Koly find a place to live and keeps track of her progress. Eventually, she finds work embroidering saris. Raji has a plan, and a dream. He wants to make enough money to buy seed and tools and return to his village, with Koly as his wife. In a happy ending that suggests that established custom can be challenged in positive ways, she agrees. Whelan has enhanced a simple but satisfying story with loving detail about traditional Indian life, the harsh reality of feudal customs that persist today, and the complexity of cultural change. Readers with a curiosity about other worlds and other ways will find Koly's story fascinating.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Most helpful customer reviews
221 of 253 people found the following review helpful.
Factually wrong and paints a misleading picture of India.
By A Customer
I grew up in India till the age of 24. I was very excited when I saw this book on the NY Times children's bestseller list and bought it for my daughter. However, the excitement soon turned to complete shock and and utter disgust. People of Indian origin have discussed this book and absolutely detest it. The facts are wrong and contradictory, and it portrays a picture of India which is very misleading. It is akin to an Indian writer writing a book for Indian children based in the US where the protagonist is raped by her father - yes, it happens in rare instances in the US, but it is rare, and it is not something that we make the topic of a children's book. Let me point out some factual mistakes - (1) holi is portayed as a festival where people mix color with cow urine and spray it on each other - this is so absurd that when I showed it to other Indians, we were in splits of laughter. On holi, we put natural colored powders like turmeric, or colored flour on each other. Children also have water gun and water baloon fights (just like in the United States), (2) the girl calls her father "baap". This is very unlikely to happen in India. It is a very disrespectful form of addressing a father, (3) the girl protagonist's (Koli's) parents are too poor to feed her but can give a dowry to marry her (the people who want the dowry can afford to feed her, so presumably the dowry is more than the cost of feeding the girl). I wondered whether I could have been mistaken about (1)-(3) - after all, the book has won a prestigious award and presumably they checked on the facts. I assumed that the author had lived in India or had at least travelled there. I found an interview with the author (...)Gloria Whelan very proudly claims that she lives in the wilderness of Northern Michigan and her research on India was limited to local libraries. The book sells based on a heart-wrenching picture of a girl in this poor, downtrodden, third-world country, who fights against all odds to find happiness - I thought that type of theme was reserved for Silhoutte romances, not children's books that go on to win medals - incidentally, didn't the committee for the 2000 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, or the publisher verify the facts of the novel?
33 of 38 people found the following review helpful.
Bird Finds a Home
By A Customer
13 year old Koly leaves her family and a simple but harsh country life when she is married off to a Hindu boy she has never met. She knows she cannot resist because her dowry will help her family financially. To her surprise, she is soon widowed when the groom dies of tuberculosis and is left in the hands of his selfish and greedy Mother. Koly is eventually abandoned in a holy city where unwanted widows are deserted and must use her strength and courage to carve out a life for herself. This is a beautifully written and fully engaging story with imagery that transports the reader directly into Koly's world. Readers will admire this strong female character who must rely on herself and her beautiful gift for embroidery to become self sustainable and find true happiness. Hindi terms and explanations of Indian culture give a fascinating look at life in modern India and the societal limiations of girls and women.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
A great read- for all ages
By A Customer
My 11 year old daughter and I each read this book and came to the same conclusion -- time well spent. We loved it. She read it in one day. Once you begin, you just can't put it down. So many trials are faced and ultimately triumphed over. Koly is a wonderful heroine -- realistic and admirable. The amazing thing to me is that this story takes place in modern times. At first I thought I was reading a story from long ago but then a computer was mentioned. How horrifying that this goes on in our world today. We highly recommend this book.
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