What Makes Us Alike by Donna Dias Manuel is an interesting novel about three ladies, spanning from different generations. Published by Leadstart, the novel deals with the complications of motherhood. More or less, the novel features three protagonists: Eira Day, her teenage daughter Zasha, and Kanika mother of Eira. They live in one house in the USA. Right since the beginning of the novel, teenage Zasha is crossed with her mother. Their chemistry is highly acerbic and the way dialogues take place between them will surely make readers gasp for breathe. Though the book has a serious undertone, yet it’s written so humorously that one will never run out of fun and sarcasm.
The title of the book makes sense as it ropes in three ladies and we see them in similar predicament. Probably, all women in the house face similar kind of fate, drama, mishaps, and melancholy; thus, the title says What Makes us Alike? The novel possesses a question – are all women alike?
At the façade of the story, we see Eira’s maverick-type complicated life. She got into an unplanned pregnancy before wedlock. She is raising the child alone but that makes her life more difficult. Zasha doesn’t like her mother at all. It is Zasha that has to bear the burden of tirades and insults or stigma from the society. Her mother Eira has been into relationship with quite a number of men. This infuriates Zasha, who insists to have a regular father or no father. All women act according to their time and maturity. Their lives often intersect and this drives the novel ahead.
Will Eira rise above with her complications as a mother? Will Zasha ever come to terms with her mother? What secret Kanika holds that can change the course of lives of all women? A heady mix of twists and turns and irony of relationships, this novel is a sheer entertainment to read.
Buy from Amazon.
About the Author:
Donna Dias Manuel grew up in Mumbai, in an estrogen-dominated family. She has a degree in Geology from St. Xavier’s, Mumbai and an MBA from Deakin University, Melbourne. After working in media, advertising, and finance in Mumbai, she moved to Bangkok and began her writing journey. Her debut novel, Love is Never Easy, was published in 2017. Presently, she lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter. ‘What Makes Us Alike?’ is her second novel.