'Valli' means a vine and also a young girl from what I gathered. It's set in Wayanad and starts sometime in the 1970s where the hills and forests were pristine and untouched. Then the exploitation of the land and the people began and things change.
The story is told through a diary of Susan who is the daughter of two teachers, one Hindu and one Christian (Padmanabhan and Sara?) who elope and set up home in Wayanad. Those are the times of naxal activities and the teachers are questioned during their journey. Their story is intertwined with the stories of the forests. Lots of characters spanning four generations so I got a bit confused about who was where and who belongs where. However the main plot is between Susan and her daughter Tessa who is living and working in London and who is reading her mother's diary and making sense of her past and her present. There's a lot of description of the forest and its treasures, exploitation of both the forest and the weak and vulnerable - adivasis and the women - and perhaps Tessa is handed over the legacy of Wayanad to guard in her time.
Valli's complex world is deep and enticing. A book to be savored at leisure.
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