Lindsay Jayne Ashford

"[I]nspired by the real-life story of movie actress Merle Oberon, what follows is my interpretation of the facts, interwoven with some sequences that are purely imaginary..." --"Author's note" (4 pages before page 1).

Whisper of the Moon Moth

Sahi K

I didn’t know about Merle Oberon before I started reading this. So, I can’t attest for the validity of any of the incidents described in this book. I only read this as any other historical fiction novel. The book follows Estelle Thompson, an Anglo-Indian young woman aspiring to become an actress. After some unforeseen heartbreak, she lands up in London hoping to find any acting job. She luckily finds a small part in a production, impresses the director so much that she gets the part to play the famous literary heroine Cathy in Wuthering Heights. She also finally finds the love that she has always been looking for even though the reveal of her family secrets are devastating. And then – the book was over. I was surprised when I reached the last line because I didn’t expect it be over so soon. Not because I was engrossed in it but because the book just didn’t feel complete yet. The writing is good and I was not bored. The story was a little simplistic but still enjoyable. The aspect I really found interesting was the plight of Anglo-Indians in India before our independence. I wasn’t aware that they were treated with such apathy by both the communities and it was fascinating to get to know something different about India’s history. Finally, this is a good book that can be enjoyed if you go in without many expectations.

PS: Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Whisper of the Moon Moth

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