An enchanting, harrowing book, a kaleidoscope of dark and light.

I was struck most by the hazy confusion, the painful pureness, which the book paints of the world through the eyes of the children. Unadulterated by the strictures of adulthood, the twins are free of thought, though they think as one.

But the barriers adults put up are for protection, and we see too how vulnerable innocence is. Time and again, adults use a child’s dependence to hurt them, their purity to abuse.

I can’t think of a book that reminded me better of the pain of being small, with wonder and little protection. Trust and no agency.

The book circles the idea of “love laws”, the rightful recipients of love, the appropriate quantities. Sophie Mol deserves love, the twins are loved less. Baby never got expression of her love, and lives like nobody deserves it. Ammu can love a man in her heart, and forbid her children from, being seen with him.

Adults live with their bitterness and apply the laws unrelentingly, wishing truly they could be as free as children to love and be loved without restraint.