The White Lotus
Written by Aditi Krishnakumar
Reviewed by Anandita Rao
A murder mystery that unfolds in the early twentieth century and circles social hierarchies.
| Publishing Date: 2025
ISBN: 978-0-143-46907-0 Page Count: 318 Publisher: Duckbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House Review Posted Online: June 2026 QBR Reviews Issue: Q2 2026 Categories: Historical Fiction | Mystery | Social Hierarchies |
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Set in 1901 in a village in Tamil Nadu, The White Lotus is narrated from the perspective of fourteen-year-old Arali. On the eve of moving into the home of her husband, Sundaram, to whom she was married at the age of six , her life takes a sudden turn. The novel unfolds as a mystery when Sundaram is found dead the very next day, coinciding with the disappearance of a sacred necklace normally worn by the village temple goddess. Predictably, suspicion falls on Sundaram, with many quick to assume that he stole the necklace and was justly punished. Arali, whose life as a widow would otherwise have been confined and restricted, finds her circumstances changed when the Mirazdar family, feudal landholders, invite her to stay with them and care for their grandmother.
During her stay with the Mirazdar family, Arali gains access to education through private lessons. Their seemingly progressive stance appears to offer her a path toward independence, in contrast to the restrictive norms she would have continued to face at home. While this change brings greater freedom, it also reiterates a familiar hierarchy: the Mirazdar family as “kind” benefactors who take Arali under their wing, rather than Arali claiming freedom through her own agency. This may explain the choice to set the story in a historical period.
Amidst all this, Arali and her friend Balu, a cowherd, are also trying to solve the mystery of Sundaram’s death in an effort to clear his name. As she draws closer to the truth, she becomes entangled in suspicious events that appear to make her a target for the murderer herself.
The novel’s movement from restriction to empowerment feels somewhat predictable, and the power dynamics remain largely constant throughout. Two caste communities are clearly represented: Arali’s and the Mirazdar’s. The norms depicted within Arali’s community centre on restriction, unquestioning adherence to custom, and caution around education, particularly for girls. The Mirazdar family, by contrast, hold power, practise what were radical values for the time, and play a central role in Arali’s journey from widowhood to educated independence. We found ourselves wondering whether it would have been possible, and more disruptive, to imagine assertion and agency arising from Arali herself, even within this historical period. Historical evidence does point to many such acts of assertion.
The narrative does little to challenge or complicate this caste-based distribution of power. Instead, the plot reinforces a structure in which agency and change emerge from upper-caste, privileged spaces. This limits the novel’s capacity to provoke deeper questioning of caste hierarchies. Another way that the plot aligned with power structures, was how a lighter punishment was meted out to the identified villain in the story, aligning with the narrative of those in power evading consequences. One wonders whether subverting these expectations might have prompted readers to think differently.
The novel is divided into five parts, with a prologue and an epilogue, and is presented entirely through Arali’s diary entries. This singular perspective narrates events and thoughts solely through her voice – one of strength, intelligence, and curiosity in the face of everything her life holds.
The story is framed as historical fiction. Yet beyond the early twentieth-century social norms around gender and widowhood , which would certainly have been in practice in parts of Tamil Nadu, the historical setting functions more as backdrop than as a core element of the plot. The central plot could perhaps also be set in a contemporary context where similar social restrictions persist. We missed a sense of the historical setting being indispensable within the plot and not functioning only as the environment of the story.
A few plot choices did not quite add up. At one point, Arali agrees to undertake a late-night journey with Balu to his home to meet his sister, who claims to have information about Sundaram’s death. This decision feels at odds with the earlier emphasis on the very real dangers facing a young widow who moves freely, especially in the company of a man. The choice feels inconsistent with the risks the author has made vividly clear to the reader in previous chapters.
The portrayal of women across the novel is a genuine strength. Female characters are present and strong across caste structures: Arali, her mother, the Mirazdar’s mother, and the Mirazdar’s daughter – all take decisions that navigate societal structures in intelligent and thoughtful ways. The decision for Arali to begin her own journey of education is supported in genuine ways by each of these characters.
In conversation with a young reader, he felt that the title resonated for its layered significance within the book , from the stolen temple jewel at the centre of the plot, to the lotuses painted in Sundaram’s home, to the lotus becoming a key clue in discovering where the necklace was hidden. The lotus is also a symbol of rising above murky water to bloom; one wonders whether this carries meaning for Arali’s own shifting circumstances.
The White Lotus is an engaging mystery led by a strong protagonist. It left us, however, with questions , particularly around who is permitted agency within the story, and whether the narrative might have unsettled more deeply the caste and power hierarchies it portrays. We would recommend it as a discussion text, where representations of caste and dimensions of power can be openly interrogated.
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- What Maya Saw by Shabnam Minwalla, HarperCollins India, 2017
- That Year at Manikoil by Aditi Krishnakumar, Duckbill Books, 2022
- Zen by Shabnam Minwalla, Duckbill Books, 2023
- When the World Went Dark by Jane de Suza, Puffin Books, 2021