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by Padma Venkatraman
Recommended Age: YA (12+ years and above)
Lexile: 750L
Content Warning(s): ableism, police brutality, slurs, violence & war
Book Summary
"During World War II and the last days of British occupation in India, fifteen-year-old Vidya dreams of attending college. But when her forward-thinking father is beaten senseless by the British police, she is forced to live with her grandfather's large traditional family, where the women live apart from the men and are meant to be married off as soon as possible.
Vidya's only refuge becomes her grandfather's upstairs library, which is forbidden to women. There she meets Raman, a young man also living in the house who relishes her intellectual curiosity. But when Vidya's brother decides to fight with the hated British against the Nazis, and when Raman proposes marriage too soon, Vidya must question all she has believed in."
My Thoughts
I read Climbing the Stairs for an English assignment last year in which I had to analyse the book through a specific historical context. In this case, I chose to focus on India's fight for independence from British rule and particularly on the effect her father's involvement in the freedom struggle had on Vidya. Anyways, for this assignment, I had to research extensively on an aspect of 1940s India I hadn't really before—women's education rights and the public's opinion of it.
Vidya's 15 and highly passionate about pursuing a higher education—something pretty unusual for a girl back then. Although her father had allowed her to attend university, he then receives severe injuries to his head from the police amidst freedom riots and so his opinion is deemed no longer valid. Now that he can't provide for their family, they move to Chennai to live with her father's side of the family, and suddenly, her dreams of going to college all but vanish.
Venkatraman does an excellent job of contrasting the before and after of Vidya's life so that readers can relate to the stifling feeling Vidya has at her grandparents' house. They have firm beliefs on what exactly a girl should and shouldn't do—and going to college falls in the latter. It was really eye-opening and inspiring to see that through the change and loss Vidya's going through, she's still so passionate about this one thing and is willing to fight hard for it. With the harsh expectations of her role in the house, she finds refuge in her grandfather's library and an ally in Raman.
All in all, I enjoyed reading Climbing the Stairs, especially because it shows how, during the freedom movement, Vidya transitions from childish behaviour and naivety to being more aware of her surroundings.
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