A Kingdom for Women

There is something that defines a literary debut. It not only gives an early intimation of the author’s literary and social concerns but also her style. With a style that is raw and intimate, a concern that is deeply empathetic and felt, Smriti Ravindra—the Nepali Indian writer does enough to announce the uniqueness of her literary craft in The Woman who Climbed Trees. In fact, the book has had a long gestation period. According to Ravindra, she began to write the novel in 2007-08, which started to take concrete shape only during her stay in the United States. The spatio-temporal detachment, both from Nepal and India while in the US allowed the author to contemplate the relationship between Nepal and India rather deeply and critically. Consequently, the book is about people and their struggles, displacement and desire, loss and longing, and above all—a stunning chronicle of female (sexual) desire, her inner and outer life coupled with a deep-rooted desire for female friendship.