We first meet young Mivvi and her mother Belle in 1979, with Belle having her good days and bad. Belle has an up and down relationship with her husband Fairfax, she’s frequently unhappy, can act strangely and is often disconnected from everything. Belle has struggled in England ever since she comes to this country from Mombasa ( her family are originally from India) to marry Fairfax. Because of the difficulties at home, Fairfax is often absent which further exacerbates Belle’s issues, which in fact, worsen considerably. Can Mivvi work out what lies at the heart of her mother’s obvious problems? If she can unpick these, will she be able to understand her mother better? The novel is told principally through Mivvi and Belle‘s eyes but also from a couple of other perspectives.

I believe this is BBC News journalist Reeta Chakrabarti’s first full length novel and she can write beautifully. This is a slow burner, emotional novel which draws me in and makes me want to understand the principal characters who are all very well portrayed. Their feelings come across strongly, you sense the turbulence at home and witness how Mivvi copes (or otherwise), there’s a state of constant anxiety and of treading on eggshells. It’s frequently poignant but with feelings of sadness, inner anger and turmoil but there’s empathy too for what they’re going through. My sympathy goes backwards and forwards between the key characters especially Mivvi who has so many shocks and experiences much at such a young age but my heart goes out to Belle as she doesn’t fit in well in England and she suffers greatly as a consequence.

It covers a number of important issues such as racism which Mivvi experiences at school but that leads to an important friendship and much kindness. There’s loneliness, isolation, mental health issues, infidelity, loss and dysfunction, all of which are dealt with well and with great sensitivity.

It’s not exactly a happy novel as you would expect but there are moments of joy via love and children. Part of the storytelling takes place in Kolkata and I thoroughly enjoy that.

Overall, I can recommend the book as it shines a spotlight on complicated and complex situations and relationships and does so thoughtfully.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins/Harper Fiction for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

Publishes in the United Kingdom on the 8/5.

Finding Belle by Reeta Chakrabarti is a poignant and beautifully written novel about family, identity, and the impact of mental illness. At its heart is Mivvi, a young woman caught between two parents—Belle, her mother, who struggles with her mental health, and Fairfax, her father, who is too wrapped up in appearances to acknowledge the depth of his wife’s suffering.

Belle, an Indian woman raised in Mombasa, marries Fairfax after a whirlwind romance and moves to England, only to find herself isolated and adrift in an unfamiliar world. The cultural shock, combined with a lack of support, gradually pulls her away from reality, leaving Mivvi to navigate the emotional fallout of her parents’ turbulent relationship. Through Mivvi’s eyes, we see the complexities of love, duty, and the search for understanding, as she pieces together the hidden truths of her family while trying to shape a future of her own.

Chakrabarti’s writing is elegant and immersive, drawing the reader into Mivvi’s journey of re-evaluating her relationships and making sense of her past. The novel explores important themes of mental health, cultural displacement, and the long shadows that family secrets can cast.

An engrossing and emotionally resonant read, Finding Belle is a deeply moving exploration of the ties that bind us and the courage it takes to untangle them. I’d happily read more from this author.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A story of a cross cultural marriage, post-natal depression, miscarriage of another baby, and of growing up in a dysfunctional family and trying to understand why one is as one is. Narrated sometimes in the first person, sometimes in the third, it is occasionally interspersed with snippets of a journal from the past. There is an intriguing plot, and for much of the book I was wondering just where and how the author was intending to bring it to a conclusion. And by the end, one feels enormous sadness for the woman (Belle) who underwent such a massive upheaval from her African-Indian heritage to cold unwelcoming England, and who was isolated from her home with such a huge jolt, only to discover she had an unfaithful husband and then developed post-natal depression and sank lower into mental illness.
I found it a sadly depressing book, intensely self-absorbed and very inward looking. Yet is a true glimpse of how life is for some and how others can ignore what is really going on in the lives of others. Not to be read if you are already depressed, I think, nor if you are looking for a 'feel-good' book. But interesting to read and thought-provoking. It raises questions such as how much one should interfere in the lives of others, if one senses there are things amiss. Or how to understand what goes on in the minds of others, and how to interpret what one sees or even just senses.
And all though runs the question of whether Mivvi, the daughter, will ever really know Belle, her mother, and find out what happened to turn the fun loving young girl into the remote and depressed mother who was unable to love deeply.


With thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC.

I found this book a compelling read. Belle, a young Indian woman brought up in Mombasa, marries an Englishman and comes to the UK. The culture shock is huge, and when she struggles with mental illness, her husband is too concerned with appearances to get her the help she needs. Much of this tale is told from the point of view of their daughter, Mivvi. The story results in her re-evaluating her feelings for each parent. I found it an engrossing look at the different branches of a complex family. I loved the writing style too. I'd happily read more like this from the author.

This is the poignant story of Belle who travelled to the UK from Mombasa after her marriage to Fairfax, a friend of her parents. The narrator is Belle's daughter Mivvi and there are flashbacks through Belle's diaries.
Throughout her childhood, Mivvi is puzzled by the difficulties that her parents are facing. Things become clearer for Mivvi towards the end of the book when she meets her grandfather in Calcutta.
The novel is well-written but with Belle's illnesses and Fairfax's serial infidelities it is not an easy read. Although Belle is the focus of the novel, I would have liked some detail about Fairfax's background. He just seemed to arrive fully-formed, ready for the wedding.
The big reveal at the end of the book was a bit underwhelming and I felt there were still a lot of unanswered questions.
This novel would be a good choice for a bookclub as it offers much scope for discussion.
A promising debut novel. I hope to read more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Troubling for the child a mother misplaced and anxious the trials of growing up with added grief on her side. Doubtful itll get better for her with an over whelmed parent to look up to. A running monologue of what she faces.

Gripping page turner of a book, excellent writing,

Descriptions of the characters are second to none, you feel as if you get to know them personally. A daughters love for her father is tested when her mother falls ill with mental illness. Why will her father not help his wife?

This book grips you right until the end. Excellent debut novel.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

This is a story that spans continents and follows the progress of one family and a very special love story - from its inception to its near disintegration - on a canvas thats spans Africa, Europe and Asia.

It is a story of shifting locations, complex family dynamics, clashing cultures and the coming of age of a young girl struggling to understand her troubled, charismatic mother. Despite the particularities of her situation, the difficulties that Mivvi faces in growing up without the kind of support that she needs from her mother Belle is something that will resonate with many.

This is a tender and touching story with a strong multicultural element, which will appeal to many readers. It gets 3. 5 stars.