But I Smile Anyway…

Today I am hosting the blog tour for Vasundra Tailor’s book, The Secret Of Elephants.

The Blurb

Two sides of the same family—one living in luxury in a magnificent mansion,
the other penniless in its shadow. Could a mysterious letter from the past help
Nirmala and her young son take back what is rightfully theirs?
Navsari, India. Penniless and trapped in a loveless marriage, Nirmala spends
her days anxiously caring for her sick young son, Varun. Looming over Nirmala’s
impoverished home is an imposing mansion built by her grandfather, and from its
balcony, her cruel aunt scorns them, refusing to help in any way.
But when a mysterious letter addressed to her long-dead father arrives from
Zimbabwe, it opens a door to a past Nirmala never knew existed and a future she
never imagined possible. If the contents of the letter can be believed, not only
does she have family in Africa, but they might also hold the answers to a family
mystery that spans three generations.
While travelling to Zimbabwe might lead to a brighter future for Nirmala and her
son, it could also reignite the bitter family feud that condemned her family to
poverty. Nirmala is ready to risk it all to uncover the truth, but how will she cope
when this journey changes her life forever?

My Review

The Secret of Elephants by Vasundra Tailor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautifully crafted story about a woman’s search for the answers to so many questions raised as she grew up.
Nirmala lives in a small, ramshackle house opposite the mansion where the rest of her family lives.
She’s alone in this world, apart from her young unwell son, Varun, her good-for-nothing husband, and her aunt, who lives a life of luxury in the large family home.
Always wondering, but never knowing, why her father was cast out of his family home, Nirmala is given a letter addressed to her deceased father, sent from a faraway foreign country, Zimbabwe.
Somehow, she finds herself on a journey of discovery, to uncover the secrets that her family have been hiding for many, many years and from many different people.
This was a well-crafted story that tugged at my heartstrings. I read it over a day, because the whole tale captured me.
The secrecy and lies regarding birth stories, birth rights, and how many uneducated men regard their wives in India rang true. It’s not unheard of for these things to happen.
I loved the parts where the timeline split slightly and took us back to learn more about this family, so today’s story made even more sense. The descriptions of Zimbabwe reminded me of some of my family trips back home to Kenya.
Well worth the read!

About the Author

Vasundra Tailor was born in India, and was just a few weeks old when her parents brought her to Zimbabwe (then Southern
Rhodesia) in 1954. Though set against a backdrop British colonial rule and segregation in the area, Vasundra had a happy
childhood, surrounded by a large extended family.
She qualified as a pharmacist in 1977, and was eager to leave Zimbabwe for the UK to escape the fighting between the minority
white government and local freedom fighters. She arrived at Heathrow in the Spring of 1978, and moved to Strathclyde for her
Masters in Pharmaceutical Microbiology, before settling in London a year later, where she is still based today.
Vasundra started writing in 2016, after enrolling onto an online Creative Writing
course, joining book groups and local writing groups, which gave her the feedback
and confidence to tackle her first book. Fascinated by human relationships, Vasundra’s
writing is interested in characters from diverse backgrounds and explores how people
connect with those around them.
The inspiration for The Secret of Elephants, Vasundra’s debut novel, came from the
families currently living in a property in India which once belonged to her father. In
November 2019, an extract of The Secret of Elephants won the second runner-up
prize for the Mo Siewcharran Fiction Competition, to help discover unpublished fiction
writers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.