This book is nice for reasons apart from casteim discussed for it shows the effect of historic events on the lives of protagonists, and there are two protagonists telling their stories one after another.
But on a negative the book is quite verbose, it could have been shortened to less than 200 pages for good.

This book was so well written, I kept forgetting this was a true story.

This was a good story but, sadly, I am not proficient enough in Indian history or vocabulary to fully appreciate it, I think. :( I got too lost in the foreign words, which came about 2-3 every sentence. It was too tiring for me to pick through. :(

I wanted to like it, though. :(

The author writes simply, and there's no great description, etc. but the book works. I think it helps to have been in India and understand the country and her people. The addendum by his daughter was a joke.

The personal memoir guise of this book is used largely as a framework for political history of the Dalit struggle for equality in Indian society between the 1920s and 1950s. The book added to my shallow understanding of Indian history; for example, independence and partition were not the defining moments of this book, and I learned that Gandhi was not universally beloved among the poor (who weren't Hindu nationalists either). The glimpses into village life in the 1920s were really interesting too, and the author's mother was a well-developed character. However, the writing was simplistic (I assume due to translation) and the political play-by-play wore thin.

a very moving book about the power of courage and conviction to overcome the most unimaginable deprivation and humiliation

very good insight into the culture and rules of the caste system in India. very enlightening.

This collective memoir of a Dalit couple during pre and post Independence written by their son.
This book give a very intimate picture of systemic hardships, breaking the shackles of limitations put on them by cast system and the road map of inspiration and imagination Dr. Ambekhar lay down for his people.
Even though this book is few decades old it is still relevant and it has reasserted my interest in learning more about the father of Indian Constitution, Dr. Ambekhar.
I would recommend this to anyone who is interested to learn more about systemic oppression, cast system and other forms of oppressions.

Interesting story and you learn a great deal about the caste system in India. It is discouraging that every culture seems to need to create cultural systems where some people are looked down upon.

Interesting read. Talks about the issues across 3-4 generations in a memoir style.

Great biography/autobiography about one family's story of growing up in India during the era of Ghandi and social reform. Great additional chapters at the end that detail the lives of the children now living in India and how far they came from being the lowest caste.

หนังสือสำนักพิมพ์สันสฤกต จะเป็นอีกหนึ่งสำนักพิมพ์ที่ผมชอบแน่นอนครับ
คุณภาพสูง เลือกงานมาแปลดี และทำให้เข้าใจมนุษย์ และโลกกว้างขึ้นไปอีกระดับ

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