Mother Mary Comes to Me

Bookseller recommendation

“Amazing memoir of motherhood, India and life.”

— Matt • West Side Books

Bookseller recommendation

“A well-written memoir, exploring the dynamics between her and her mother. I was in tears by the end of it. ”

— Zara • Banter Bookshop

Bookseller recommendation

“Devastating and gorgeous, Roy pays such a beautiful tribute to her mother despite the complicated nature of their relationship. I couldn’t stop listening. ”

— Cara • Lake City Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Arundhati Roy’s new book, Mother Mary Comes to Me, is a fascinating read about her tumultuous and conflicting relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, who was a groundbreaking educator; her beginnings as a writer of controversial fiction and political commentary and the subsequent fame and responsibility it brought her; and her two unconventional marriages. The memoir is honest and eloquently written. I have loved all her fiction, and I am filled with appreciation for this intimate look at the person she is today, and why.”

— Mamie • Quail Ridge Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Arundhati Roy writes unsentimentally about her brilliant but cold activist of a mother. Her mother is the epitome of the "wire brush mother" -- one that the child wants to love so much that she hugs her even though she gets hurt from the wire barbs. In Roy's case, she takes her leave of the wire barbs early in life, making her way through architecture school, writing films, acting in films, and marrying twice. This book seemed to more a memoir focused on the author than one focused on her mother. Perhaps that's the crux -- Roy becomes her mother -- a brilliant activist whose main difference from her mother is that she chooses not to have children.”

— Camille • Completely Booked

Bookseller recommendation

“Sometimes memoirs are fascinating due solely to the life lived by their subject; sometimes the lyricism of the prose is what propels you through. But then, you get a book like this and are just slammed by the unbelievable writing, galvanized by the force of life. This memoir, grounded in Roy's relationship with her difficult mother, is a fascinating look into an activist writer's life unlike any you have read. Intimate and uncompromising. ”

— Michelle • Cavalier House Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Absolutely breathtaking, a gorgeous and affecting memoir written and read by the phenomenal Arundhati Roy. Her mother, Mrs Roy, is a force, and learning about this exceptional woman through her daughter's equally impressive story is must-read.”

— Julie • Pocket Books Shop