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Age of Mondays: A Novel
'Consummate, confident and original'--Kavery Nambisan
'A heartbreaking read.'--Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
'A narrative universe of shocking beauty.'--Saikat Majumdar
Ten-year-old Narois wakes up to find that her mother is preparing to go to a mysterious place---a place neither too far nor too close. It is a motherless Monday. The first of many.
As Narois's father struggles to adapt; as her parents' marriage comes apart; as Narois herself tries to make sense of the goings-on---is her mother having an affair; is she planning to abandon the family forever?---she creeps away into the dark, magical-real Jahanpanah forest to escape. Here, she encounters the Jugnus---legendary healers and weather-workers. Silver Samir, their handsome leader, Mian Pagla who followed the river, Kochi who is bendy when sad, and Velu the gentle murderer mesmerize Narois with their tales; she will do what she can to belong to them.
It is a world on the brink, where the mother Narois leans on may be unable to protect her and where betrayal can be love in disguise. Lyrical, precocious and devastatingly tender, Age of Mondays is a story of star-crossed friendships and childhood in a trembling, terrifying era.
'A heartbreaking read.'--Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
'A narrative universe of shocking beauty.'--Saikat Majumdar
Ten-year-old Narois wakes up to find that her mother is preparing to go to a mysterious place---a place neither too far nor too close. It is a motherless Monday. The first of many.
As Narois's father struggles to adapt; as her parents' marriage comes apart; as Narois herself tries to make sense of the goings-on---is her mother having an affair; is she planning to abandon the family forever?---she creeps away into the dark, magical-real Jahanpanah forest to escape. Here, she encounters the Jugnus---legendary healers and weather-workers. Silver Samir, their handsome leader, Mian Pagla who followed the river, Kochi who is bendy when sad, and Velu the gentle murderer mesmerize Narois with their tales; she will do what she can to belong to them.
It is a world on the brink, where the mother Narois leans on may be unable to protect her and where betrayal can be love in disguise. Lyrical, precocious and devastatingly tender, Age of Mondays is a story of star-crossed friendships and childhood in a trembling, terrifying era.
- GenresFiction
323 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 15, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
July 1, 2025
Some books don’t just tell a story—they sit with your silence, crawl into the places you've tucked away, and remind you of every version of yourself you thought you outgrew. " Age of Mondays " is one of those books.
It follows ten-year-old Narois, who’s grieving her mother’s quiet disappearance and a home that’s slowly crumbling around her. In her chaos, she escapes into a magical forest she imagines—where healers, storytellers, and quiet companions give her the belonging she craves. But really, it’s not just her journey. It’s ours. Anyone who’s ever wanted to be understood, to be held in their mess, will find pieces of themselves in her.
I loved this book because it made me feel seen. It didn’t shy away from grief or pain. It wrapped them in poetry. It reminded me how love and betrayal sometimes arrive hand-in-hand. That healing is not always loud—it’s sometimes just staying soft, even when the world hardens you. It made me pause. Breathe. Reflect. It cracked something open in me.
The author doesn’t just write—she bleeds emotion onto the page. Every line feels like a truth you didn’t know you were holding back. Every chapter gently asks you to remember, and then gently lets you go.
" Age of Mondays " isn’t just a book—it’s an experience. One that hurts, heals, and hugs all at once. And for that, I’ll carry it with me, for a long, long time.
It follows ten-year-old Narois, who’s grieving her mother’s quiet disappearance and a home that’s slowly crumbling around her. In her chaos, she escapes into a magical forest she imagines—where healers, storytellers, and quiet companions give her the belonging she craves. But really, it’s not just her journey. It’s ours. Anyone who’s ever wanted to be understood, to be held in their mess, will find pieces of themselves in her.
I loved this book because it made me feel seen. It didn’t shy away from grief or pain. It wrapped them in poetry. It reminded me how love and betrayal sometimes arrive hand-in-hand. That healing is not always loud—it’s sometimes just staying soft, even when the world hardens you. It made me pause. Breathe. Reflect. It cracked something open in me.
The author doesn’t just write—she bleeds emotion onto the page. Every line feels like a truth you didn’t know you were holding back. Every chapter gently asks you to remember, and then gently lets you go.
" Age of Mondays " isn’t just a book—it’s an experience. One that hurts, heals, and hugs all at once. And for that, I’ll carry it with me, for a long, long time.
August 5, 2025
I was filled with equal parts admiration and ache as I entered the microcosm of Age of Mondays. Admiration for how beautifully it is written, with sentences and observations that glow in the dark as fiercely as the fireflies in the forest that the story evokes. The book’s finest stroke is ten year old Narois’s narrator’s voice filled with intelligence, imagination and innocence, with wit, precocious wisdom and extreme vulnerability all at once. An almost equal achievement is the development of her mother Imon’s character- intense and irrational, teetering on the edge but never quite falling apart. Imon brought to my mind ‘Em of Jerry Pinto’s Em and The Big Hoon, another very memorable character.
The book filled me with ache for its theme, for the questions it raises about the uncertain world we are raising our children in and for the additional uncertainties we burden them with our own conflicted relationships with each other and with the issues of our time. Added into the mix are a health battle, class and religious discrimination, politics and pandemic and Narois’s personal feelings of abandonment become a lietmotif for parenting in our age.
The book filled me with ache for its theme, for the questions it raises about the uncertain world we are raising our children in and for the additional uncertainties we burden them with our own conflicted relationships with each other and with the issues of our time. Added into the mix are a health battle, class and religious discrimination, politics and pandemic and Narois’s personal feelings of abandonment become a lietmotif for parenting in our age.
October 3, 2025
BOOK REVIEW: 𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒
AUTHOR: 𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐀 𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐇
GENRE: 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍/ 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐌
🂱 It is not necessary for a book to be only for adults. Sometimes it is about feelings. Feelings for those which cannot be explained. “The first time she went away was on a Monday morning in July. I woke up to the sound of a gathering storm.” 🕊️
🂱 Let's be honest - Mondays are dizzying for everyone. But Narois, a ten years old girl, takes the Mondays with another ache. This plot feels like it is trying to make sense to this world. It is filled with beauty, confusion and heartbreak. And even there is darkness - there's always a hope. This will take you to a child's imagination, grief and resilience.✨
🂱 Living in Delhi, Narois is living with her parents. One day Imon, her mother leaves everything behind and gives Narois a “motherless Monday”. In the forest near her home, Narois meets Jugnus - strange magical beings like Silver Samir and Mian Pagla. Is it real? ❤️🔥
🂱 The author does not only portray family dynamics - she actually establishes what is real. Imon isn’t a perfect mother figure - but she is real and it is all happening. 🥀
🂱 Honestly, it all matters. The book never really tells us what's next. But it actually involves us to think next. What matters the most is how they all help her to make sense of the things that a grown up won't explain. Narois is a narrator here - she is funny, loveable, wise but also wants to explain why love feels trapped?🌾
🂱 If you've read and loved THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS and THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE, then you'll love AGE OF MONDAYS. That is the day when her mother disappears. This book is strange in its best possible way.🦋
AUTHOR: 𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐀 𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐇
GENRE: 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍/ 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐌
🂱 It is not necessary for a book to be only for adults. Sometimes it is about feelings. Feelings for those which cannot be explained. “The first time she went away was on a Monday morning in July. I woke up to the sound of a gathering storm.” 🕊️
🂱 Let's be honest - Mondays are dizzying for everyone. But Narois, a ten years old girl, takes the Mondays with another ache. This plot feels like it is trying to make sense to this world. It is filled with beauty, confusion and heartbreak. And even there is darkness - there's always a hope. This will take you to a child's imagination, grief and resilience.✨
🂱 Living in Delhi, Narois is living with her parents. One day Imon, her mother leaves everything behind and gives Narois a “motherless Monday”. In the forest near her home, Narois meets Jugnus - strange magical beings like Silver Samir and Mian Pagla. Is it real? ❤️🔥
🂱 The author does not only portray family dynamics - she actually establishes what is real. Imon isn’t a perfect mother figure - but she is real and it is all happening. 🥀
🂱 Honestly, it all matters. The book never really tells us what's next. But it actually involves us to think next. What matters the most is how they all help her to make sense of the things that a grown up won't explain. Narois is a narrator here - she is funny, loveable, wise but also wants to explain why love feels trapped?🌾
🂱 If you've read and loved THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS and THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE, then you'll love AGE OF MONDAYS. That is the day when her mother disappears. This book is strange in its best possible way.🦋
August 18, 2025
AGE OF MONDAYS BY LOPA GHOSH
Narrated by a ten year old Narois, the book is a tapestry of loss, imagination, and the haunting stillness of childhood in the face of upheaval. She is a child who is forced to grow up too soon, waking up to a Monday that feels just slightly off, and soon after, permanently motherless. As Narois’ home life quietly crumbles, her father floundering, her mother slipping away into shadows and suggestion. She turns to the Jahanpanah forest, a dreamlike sanctuary filled with the mystical Jugnus. At first the concept of Jugnus was difficult to comprehend. Does it mean fireflies? But they don't look like fireflies. How does one becomes a fire fly?
Narois and Kiran goes through a series of tests to be included in the band of Jugnus. Characters like Silver Samir, Velu, Mian Pagla, and Kochi are not just fantastical beings. They’re embodiments of emotion: longing, freedom, madness, and blurred morality. Narois and Kiran's friendship was also so complex but real. Spoken like an actual child, where you are jealous of your friends other friends.
The interpretation of Magic Realism is often varied. It doesn't provide clear answers to questions but leaves you hints to follow and deduce your own answers. Although the language was easy to follow, the story left me with more questions than answers. But what a tale it was. It perfectly captures a child's innocence, her storytelling through half baked logic, her grief, the way she consoles herself.
Absolutely recommended to all magic realism fans and readers of books like The ocean at the end of the lane. Overall, its a literary treasure of visual imagery and metaphors.
Narrated by a ten year old Narois, the book is a tapestry of loss, imagination, and the haunting stillness of childhood in the face of upheaval. She is a child who is forced to grow up too soon, waking up to a Monday that feels just slightly off, and soon after, permanently motherless. As Narois’ home life quietly crumbles, her father floundering, her mother slipping away into shadows and suggestion. She turns to the Jahanpanah forest, a dreamlike sanctuary filled with the mystical Jugnus. At first the concept of Jugnus was difficult to comprehend. Does it mean fireflies? But they don't look like fireflies. How does one becomes a fire fly?
Narois and Kiran goes through a series of tests to be included in the band of Jugnus. Characters like Silver Samir, Velu, Mian Pagla, and Kochi are not just fantastical beings. They’re embodiments of emotion: longing, freedom, madness, and blurred morality. Narois and Kiran's friendship was also so complex but real. Spoken like an actual child, where you are jealous of your friends other friends.
The interpretation of Magic Realism is often varied. It doesn't provide clear answers to questions but leaves you hints to follow and deduce your own answers. Although the language was easy to follow, the story left me with more questions than answers. But what a tale it was. It perfectly captures a child's innocence, her storytelling through half baked logic, her grief, the way she consoles herself.
Absolutely recommended to all magic realism fans and readers of books like The ocean at the end of the lane. Overall, its a literary treasure of visual imagery and metaphors.
July 10, 2025
There are some books that don’t whisper; they arrive like a quiet storm, unsettling the stillness inside you, and "Age of Mondays" is precisely that. Lopa Ghosh doesn’t just write a story; she excavates a child’s emotional landscape with brutal honesty and fragile tenderness. In a time where trauma is often either romanticized or numbed, this book does something rare, it lets pain sit beside wonder, lets grief share space with magic. It’s literary fiction dipped in magical realism, but at its core, it’s a study of what happens to a child when the people who are supposed to stay with you forever but don’t stay.
At the center of this book is Narois, a ten-year-old girl who finds herself caught in the silent unraveling of her family. Her mother disappears every Monday, and this regular absence soon blooms into a deeper void that no one in the house can ignore. Narois’s father, instead of rising to the occasion, begins to disintegrate himself emotionally absent, wounded, and helpless. What begins as confusion becomes loneliness, and that loneliness eventually needs a language. Narois creates the "Jahanpanah forest", a magical world where sorrow has form, myth meets memory, and trauma is easier to navigate because it isn’t pretending to be something else.
This is not just a coming-of-age story. It is a grief map.
It explores,
✨ Parental abandonment and the psychological toll on children
✨ Mental health within broken families
✨ The duality of betrayal and love
✨ Escapism as a survival instinct
✨ The loneliness of understanding too much at a young age
✨ The need to belong when home stops feeling like home
The author doesn’t shy away from showing how pain lodges itself in the everyday. How ordinary objects become reminders. How silence becomes the loudest scream. And yet, she tempers it with beauty, metaphor, and a surreal tenderness that never lets the darkness fully consume the narrative.
✍️ Where the Story Shines :
🔸The language is the soul of this book. Every sentence feels crafted, not just written. There's a bleeding honesty to the narration that mirrors a child's fragile but stubborn understanding of pain. The imagery is vivid, the metaphors are alive, and the rhythm of the storytelling is poetic without being indulgent.
🔸Narois isn’t written like an adult masquerading as a child, a mistake many writers make when portraying precocious children. Instead, she is rendered with the precise contradictions of girlhood, curious, confused, angry, loving, imaginative. Her pain is raw, unfiltered, and never dressed up for comfort. That’s what makes her unforgettable.
🔸The forest of Jahanpanah and the Jugnus, Silver Samir, Velu, Kochi, and Mian Pagla, are not just fantastical escapes; they are metaphorical embodiments of the emotions Narois can’t process. They’re symbols of hope, fear, healing, and sometimes, danger. The blending of these characters with her reality is masterfully done, it never feels forced, but rather, an organic extension of her need to make sense of the chaos.
🔸The book’s structure, wavering between poetic reflection and grounded narrative, allows the reader to float with Narois’s psyche. The result is a story that doesn’t simply unfold, it flows, like a memory you’re both remembering and discovering at the same time.
✒️ The Cracks in the Mirror :
▪️The lyrical style, while stunning, occasionally overwhelms the narrative momentum. The middle sections meander, and while this mirrors Narois’s own lostness, it risks testing the patience of readers who seek a more structured progression. The balance between poetry and plot could have been tighter.
▪️While ambiguity is a stylistic choice that suits the story, a few emotional threads particularly around the mother’s backstory and the deeper function of the magical realm could’ve used more resolution or clarity. It’s understandable that the child’s perspective limits the scope, but as a reader, one yearns for a bit more grounding toward the end.
In conclusion, it is not an easy read, but it’s an essential one. It doesn’t offer escape in the traditional sense; instead, it gives you a forest filled with truths disguised as tales. Narois becomes more than a character, she becomes the echo of every child who had to grow up too soon, of every heart that learned love can leave without warning. The book is soaked in sadness but also laced with unexpected warmth, gentle magic, and aching hope. If you’ve ever felt left behind, if you’ve ever wondered where the people you loved disappeared to physically or emotionally this book will sit beside you in that silence. And maybe, just maybe, it will tell you that even sadness has a story. That even goodbye can be a beginning. That even the darkest Mondays can carry the weight of something worth remembering.
At the center of this book is Narois, a ten-year-old girl who finds herself caught in the silent unraveling of her family. Her mother disappears every Monday, and this regular absence soon blooms into a deeper void that no one in the house can ignore. Narois’s father, instead of rising to the occasion, begins to disintegrate himself emotionally absent, wounded, and helpless. What begins as confusion becomes loneliness, and that loneliness eventually needs a language. Narois creates the "Jahanpanah forest", a magical world where sorrow has form, myth meets memory, and trauma is easier to navigate because it isn’t pretending to be something else.
This is not just a coming-of-age story. It is a grief map.
It explores,
✨ Parental abandonment and the psychological toll on children
✨ Mental health within broken families
✨ The duality of betrayal and love
✨ Escapism as a survival instinct
✨ The loneliness of understanding too much at a young age
✨ The need to belong when home stops feeling like home
The author doesn’t shy away from showing how pain lodges itself in the everyday. How ordinary objects become reminders. How silence becomes the loudest scream. And yet, she tempers it with beauty, metaphor, and a surreal tenderness that never lets the darkness fully consume the narrative.
✍️ Where the Story Shines :
🔸The language is the soul of this book. Every sentence feels crafted, not just written. There's a bleeding honesty to the narration that mirrors a child's fragile but stubborn understanding of pain. The imagery is vivid, the metaphors are alive, and the rhythm of the storytelling is poetic without being indulgent.
🔸Narois isn’t written like an adult masquerading as a child, a mistake many writers make when portraying precocious children. Instead, she is rendered with the precise contradictions of girlhood, curious, confused, angry, loving, imaginative. Her pain is raw, unfiltered, and never dressed up for comfort. That’s what makes her unforgettable.
🔸The forest of Jahanpanah and the Jugnus, Silver Samir, Velu, Kochi, and Mian Pagla, are not just fantastical escapes; they are metaphorical embodiments of the emotions Narois can’t process. They’re symbols of hope, fear, healing, and sometimes, danger. The blending of these characters with her reality is masterfully done, it never feels forced, but rather, an organic extension of her need to make sense of the chaos.
🔸The book’s structure, wavering between poetic reflection and grounded narrative, allows the reader to float with Narois’s psyche. The result is a story that doesn’t simply unfold, it flows, like a memory you’re both remembering and discovering at the same time.
✒️ The Cracks in the Mirror :
▪️The lyrical style, while stunning, occasionally overwhelms the narrative momentum. The middle sections meander, and while this mirrors Narois’s own lostness, it risks testing the patience of readers who seek a more structured progression. The balance between poetry and plot could have been tighter.
▪️While ambiguity is a stylistic choice that suits the story, a few emotional threads particularly around the mother’s backstory and the deeper function of the magical realm could’ve used more resolution or clarity. It’s understandable that the child’s perspective limits the scope, but as a reader, one yearns for a bit more grounding toward the end.
In conclusion, it is not an easy read, but it’s an essential one. It doesn’t offer escape in the traditional sense; instead, it gives you a forest filled with truths disguised as tales. Narois becomes more than a character, she becomes the echo of every child who had to grow up too soon, of every heart that learned love can leave without warning. The book is soaked in sadness but also laced with unexpected warmth, gentle magic, and aching hope. If you’ve ever felt left behind, if you’ve ever wondered where the people you loved disappeared to physically or emotionally this book will sit beside you in that silence. And maybe, just maybe, it will tell you that even sadness has a story. That even goodbye can be a beginning. That even the darkest Mondays can carry the weight of something worth remembering.
June 17, 2025
-Heartbreak with just the right dash of Magic-
Review of 'Age of Mondays'
Quote Alert
"𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫, 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫. 𝐎𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭. 𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐨: 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰, 𝐩𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭."
'Age of Mondays' is rife with sadness, struggle, grief and goodbye. But at the same time, it also carries magic in the centre of its tender, papery heart. Stories about mothers and daughters are always packed with an explosion of emotions but Age of Mondays has a tender, bleeding, beating heart at its spine. It's moving, it's magical and it's going to stay with you for a long, long time.
Narois, ten year old, struggles with her mother's disappearce. Her father is struggling too, fighting and arguing with his wife. Their marriage is in shambles. Amidst this mess, she retreats to a magical place she makes up in her mind, the Jahapanah forest.
This world is magical indeed. Narois visits a dark, magical-real Jahanpanah forest to escape. Here, she encounters the Jugnus---legendary healers and weather-workers. Silver Samir, their handsome leader, Mian Pagla who followed the river, Kochi who is bendy when sad, and Velu the gentle murderer mesmerize Narois with their tales. she wishes to belong to them.
Author weaves her magic in creating a magical world. But more than that, she has created a solid flesh and blood character that has the power to tug at your heartstrings. She moves you. You want Narois' world to be fulfilling, to be more than 'enough' or 'sufficient'. And when you feel that gamut of emotions, you know the writer has woven a web around yourself too, pulling you in with her quill, immersing you in a world she created.
The author writes this about friends and sadness - 'Friends may make you sad, friends who betray. You may in turn betray your friends and that can make you sadder. It is possible to be sad no matter whose team you are on. Sadness is what makes you wonder what comes at the end and what comes after.'
And this is my favourite quote - 'How about starting from the end? What if, in life, we could be taught to run a sprint, check out the ending, run back and be wise? Would it make life one dreary dull time?'
A book with a tender beating heart.
Review of 'Age of Mondays'
Quote Alert
"𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫, 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫. 𝐎𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭. 𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐨: 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰, 𝐩𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭."
'Age of Mondays' is rife with sadness, struggle, grief and goodbye. But at the same time, it also carries magic in the centre of its tender, papery heart. Stories about mothers and daughters are always packed with an explosion of emotions but Age of Mondays has a tender, bleeding, beating heart at its spine. It's moving, it's magical and it's going to stay with you for a long, long time.
Narois, ten year old, struggles with her mother's disappearce. Her father is struggling too, fighting and arguing with his wife. Their marriage is in shambles. Amidst this mess, she retreats to a magical place she makes up in her mind, the Jahapanah forest.
This world is magical indeed. Narois visits a dark, magical-real Jahanpanah forest to escape. Here, she encounters the Jugnus---legendary healers and weather-workers. Silver Samir, their handsome leader, Mian Pagla who followed the river, Kochi who is bendy when sad, and Velu the gentle murderer mesmerize Narois with their tales. she wishes to belong to them.
Author weaves her magic in creating a magical world. But more than that, she has created a solid flesh and blood character that has the power to tug at your heartstrings. She moves you. You want Narois' world to be fulfilling, to be more than 'enough' or 'sufficient'. And when you feel that gamut of emotions, you know the writer has woven a web around yourself too, pulling you in with her quill, immersing you in a world she created.
The author writes this about friends and sadness - 'Friends may make you sad, friends who betray. You may in turn betray your friends and that can make you sadder. It is possible to be sad no matter whose team you are on. Sadness is what makes you wonder what comes at the end and what comes after.'
And this is my favourite quote - 'How about starting from the end? What if, in life, we could be taught to run a sprint, check out the ending, run back and be wise? Would it make life one dreary dull time?'
A book with a tender beating heart.
December 2, 2025
Vera Narois, ten-year-old pianist, who thought she had a friend problem, is the only child of Imon and Danish. On one rainy Monday she realised her mother(Mama-mon) left home abruptly, and that soon became a constant phenomenon of ‘Motherless Mondays’. While her Mama blamed her father of a double life, Narois is confused by her mother’s recurring disappearances; while she struggled to adjust to this new life, her father also silently suffered as their marriage slowly fell apart.
To escape the emotional trauma, Narois seeks refuge in the Jahanpanah forest where she encounters the Jugnus, a legendary community of healers and weather-workers. Narois is immediately drawn them and hopes to be one of them — the lack of belonging at home pushes her to try to belong elsewhere. What is the reason for Imon’s disappearances and how will Narois cope with it, forms the rest of the story.
The story has many fresh aspects — a ten-year-old narrating her life story along with her struggles and observations of people around her, with a maturity beyond her age; a magical forest in the middle of the country’s capital; and most importantly the metaphor drawn between Narois’s life, the forest and its inhabitants. The writing is unique and has a lyrical quality, as the prose and narrative flows effortlessly and the reader is left turning the pages.
The comparison of Narois struggling with her mother’s disappearances versus her best friend’s life is also portrayed subtly by the author. The whole world building by the author is as magical as the secret forest. There are multiple characters and each leaves their mark but I personally liked the author using a young girl’s emotions and voice for driving the narrative.
While we often see kids at Narois age portrayed as simple and innocent, the author brings forward the reality of how kids also experience trauma due to dys-functional families. The intrigue around Imon’s disappearance keeps the reader guessing.With a fresh backdrop, Age of Mondays is an immersive reading experience which is a must read for fans of literary fiction
To escape the emotional trauma, Narois seeks refuge in the Jahanpanah forest where she encounters the Jugnus, a legendary community of healers and weather-workers. Narois is immediately drawn them and hopes to be one of them — the lack of belonging at home pushes her to try to belong elsewhere. What is the reason for Imon’s disappearances and how will Narois cope with it, forms the rest of the story.
The story has many fresh aspects — a ten-year-old narrating her life story along with her struggles and observations of people around her, with a maturity beyond her age; a magical forest in the middle of the country’s capital; and most importantly the metaphor drawn between Narois’s life, the forest and its inhabitants. The writing is unique and has a lyrical quality, as the prose and narrative flows effortlessly and the reader is left turning the pages.
The comparison of Narois struggling with her mother’s disappearances versus her best friend’s life is also portrayed subtly by the author. The whole world building by the author is as magical as the secret forest. There are multiple characters and each leaves their mark but I personally liked the author using a young girl’s emotions and voice for driving the narrative.
While we often see kids at Narois age portrayed as simple and innocent, the author brings forward the reality of how kids also experience trauma due to dys-functional families. The intrigue around Imon’s disappearance keeps the reader guessing.With a fresh backdrop, Age of Mondays is an immersive reading experience which is a must read for fans of literary fiction
November 10, 2025
🍀Book- Age of Mondays
🍀Author- Lopa Ghosh
“What if, in life, we could be taught to run a sprint, check out the ending, run back and be wise? Would it make life one dreary dull time? No surprises, no scary moments. What if your parents are sitting on a sofa under which a timebomb ticks? In that case, would it be such a bad idea to know? To know how it is all going to end?”
🍀Plot -The story revolves around a small ten year old girl , Narois. She is concerned about her mother leaving the home every Monday .
Every Monday her heart aches seeing her mother leave .
Narois tries to be with her father but he is also emotionally going through a bad phase. The arguments between her parents is out of her control .
Little Narois tries to find solace with her friend Kiran and the Jahanpanah forest where she could see the jugnus . This place seemed to her like a magic and acts as a healer for her.
🍀Review -
- As the story is narrated from the point of view of Vera Narois, so while reading many times you feel the pain of Narois .
- The story is set up in Delhi and the imaginary Jahanpanah forest , which causes the narrative to move between real and imaginative.
- It talks about practical issues like mother daughter relationship, parental conflicts and the emotional pain of the child.
- The language is lyrical and metaphor rich which makes this a good piece of literature.
- It talks about friends, friendship, trust , betrayal and being lonely .
- It is an emotional read which offers a deep insight about the relationships which seem to be simple but in reality they are tangled .
🍀Audience- This emotional read is for everyone who loves a tender story narrated in beautiful language .
🍀Author- Lopa Ghosh
“What if, in life, we could be taught to run a sprint, check out the ending, run back and be wise? Would it make life one dreary dull time? No surprises, no scary moments. What if your parents are sitting on a sofa under which a timebomb ticks? In that case, would it be such a bad idea to know? To know how it is all going to end?”
🍀Plot -The story revolves around a small ten year old girl , Narois. She is concerned about her mother leaving the home every Monday .
Every Monday her heart aches seeing her mother leave .
Narois tries to be with her father but he is also emotionally going through a bad phase. The arguments between her parents is out of her control .
Little Narois tries to find solace with her friend Kiran and the Jahanpanah forest where she could see the jugnus . This place seemed to her like a magic and acts as a healer for her.
🍀Review -
- As the story is narrated from the point of view of Vera Narois, so while reading many times you feel the pain of Narois .
- The story is set up in Delhi and the imaginary Jahanpanah forest , which causes the narrative to move between real and imaginative.
- It talks about practical issues like mother daughter relationship, parental conflicts and the emotional pain of the child.
- The language is lyrical and metaphor rich which makes this a good piece of literature.
- It talks about friends, friendship, trust , betrayal and being lonely .
- It is an emotional read which offers a deep insight about the relationships which seem to be simple but in reality they are tangled .
🍀Audience- This emotional read is for everyone who loves a tender story narrated in beautiful language .
June 18, 2025
Some books don’t just tell a story — they crawl under your skin, make a home in your heart, and whisper truths you’ve long forgotten or were too afraid to confront. "Age of Mondays" is one of those books.
From the very first line, I was pulled into the trembling world of ten-year-old Narois — a world cracked open by her mother’s quiet departure on a Monday that would become a haunting pattern. It’s the story of what remains. Of the silence in a home where footsteps once echoed. Of a father slipping into helplessness. Of a girl caught between understanding and grief, logic and longing.
Author writes with an unsettling tenderness. Her language is raw, as if every word has been pulled from a wound that hasn’t quite healed. And you can feel Narois aching to belong, to make sense of a world that seems to shift every time she blinks.
What struck me most was how betrayal and love could be tangled so closely together — how sometimes, the people who break us also teach us how to survive. The forest, the myths, the weather-workers — all of it blends into a surreal, emotional landscape that mirrors Narois's inner chaos. You’re never quite sure where reality ends and imagination begins, and maybe that’s the point.
This isn’t a book to be rushed. It’s to be felt — page by page, ache by ache. And when you close it, you don’t quite leave it behind. Because "Age of Mondays" doesn’t just tell you a story. It makes you "feel" like the child left behind, the parent who couldn’t stay, the friend who stayed anyway. This book provides positivity.
It’s not a comforting read. But it’s an honest one. And sometimes, that’s what we need most.
From the very first line, I was pulled into the trembling world of ten-year-old Narois — a world cracked open by her mother’s quiet departure on a Monday that would become a haunting pattern. It’s the story of what remains. Of the silence in a home where footsteps once echoed. Of a father slipping into helplessness. Of a girl caught between understanding and grief, logic and longing.
Author writes with an unsettling tenderness. Her language is raw, as if every word has been pulled from a wound that hasn’t quite healed. And you can feel Narois aching to belong, to make sense of a world that seems to shift every time she blinks.
What struck me most was how betrayal and love could be tangled so closely together — how sometimes, the people who break us also teach us how to survive. The forest, the myths, the weather-workers — all of it blends into a surreal, emotional landscape that mirrors Narois's inner chaos. You’re never quite sure where reality ends and imagination begins, and maybe that’s the point.
This isn’t a book to be rushed. It’s to be felt — page by page, ache by ache. And when you close it, you don’t quite leave it behind. Because "Age of Mondays" doesn’t just tell you a story. It makes you "feel" like the child left behind, the parent who couldn’t stay, the friend who stayed anyway. This book provides positivity.
It’s not a comforting read. But it’s an honest one. And sometimes, that’s what we need most.
December 2, 2025
I just finished Age of Mondays and I’m honestly sitting here still feeling the weight of it. The story begins with Narois, a ten-year-old girl who wakes up to a Monday that’s suddenly “motherless.” Her mom is leaving for a place that’s not too far but not too close either and that line alone set the tone for the strange, confusing world Narois is pushed into. From the very start, I felt her fear and curiosity, the way any child would try to make sense of the silence that adults hide behind.
The book shines the most when Narois escapes into the Jahanpanah forest. It’s magical but also unsettling, and that balance is handled so well. The Jugnus : Silver Samir, Mian Pagla, Kochi, Velu they’re unlike any characters I’ve read before. They feel like legends, yet they’re broken in their own ways. Their stories and odd powers made the forest feel alive, but also like danger was always around the corner. I loved that the magic never overpowered the emotions it only made them sharper.
This is a story about a child trying to hold on to love while the world around her keeps shifting. The book deals with betrayal, abandonment, and friendship, but in such a gentle and honest way that you don’t ever feel overwhelmed. There were moments that hurt, and moments that felt like taking a deep breath after crying too much.
If I had to point out anything that didn’t completely work for me, I’d say some parts in the middle moved a little slowly. But even then, I didn’t lose interest I wanted to stay with Narois till she found her answers.
Overall, Age of Mondays is tender, strange, and beautifully written. It stays with you like the memory of a Monday that changed everything.
4/5
The book shines the most when Narois escapes into the Jahanpanah forest. It’s magical but also unsettling, and that balance is handled so well. The Jugnus : Silver Samir, Mian Pagla, Kochi, Velu they’re unlike any characters I’ve read before. They feel like legends, yet they’re broken in their own ways. Their stories and odd powers made the forest feel alive, but also like danger was always around the corner. I loved that the magic never overpowered the emotions it only made them sharper.
This is a story about a child trying to hold on to love while the world around her keeps shifting. The book deals with betrayal, abandonment, and friendship, but in such a gentle and honest way that you don’t ever feel overwhelmed. There were moments that hurt, and moments that felt like taking a deep breath after crying too much.
If I had to point out anything that didn’t completely work for me, I’d say some parts in the middle moved a little slowly. But even then, I didn’t lose interest I wanted to stay with Narois till she found her answers.
Overall, Age of Mondays is tender, strange, and beautifully written. It stays with you like the memory of a Monday that changed everything.
4/5
July 9, 2025
Lopa Ghosh’s Age of Mondays is a poetic unravelling of loss, wonder, and fragile resilience. We follow ten-year-old Narois as she wakes up to her mother’s weekly disappearances—rituals shrouded in silence, longing, a trail of questions, and a daughter forced to grow up too soon. Set in a Delhi trembling with emotional and political unrest, the novel blurs the boundary between reality and fable, especially within the haunting Jahanpanah forest.
It’s there that Narois meets the Jugnus—healers, storytellers, weather-workers—who offer comfort and clarity in a world where adults fail to protect and truth is slippery. The forest becomes a refuge to her, where she learns to get across the emotional wreckage of a fractured family. Ghosh crafts childhood not as a place of simplicity but of complexity and contradiction. It clearly does not romanticize childhood. Imon, the mother, is both a fighter and a phantom, teaching survival through absence. Her actions at one side seem protective but are also damaging leaving behind scars.
What makes Age of Mondays powerful is its refusal to offer closure. It asks us to sit with grief, feel our way through the gloom, and embrace the magical possibilities hidden in the mundane. The book is filled with contrasts that make a lasting impact like betrayal and love, reality and fantasy.
This book isn’t just read—it lingers. It echoes. And for those of us who cherish lyrical storytelling that confronts discomfort with grace, this one’s unforgettable.
July 9, 2025
The title Age of Mondays caught my attention first—it felt unusual and a little haunting. Then I saw the cover: deep, moody colours with a lone figure in the forest. It gave a sense of mystery and sadness, which made me curious. I hadn’t read anything by Lopa Ghosh before, but this being my first book of hers, I’m glad I took the chance. The book is published by Harper. and the presentation reflects the quiet depth of the story inside.
The story follows a ten-year-old girl named Narois, whose mother starts disappearing every Monday without explanation. For a child, this is not just confusing but deeply painful. As someone of Indian origin, this hit me hard—how silence around family issues, especially emotional pain, is often accepted without question. Narois’s journey—balancing between a crumbling home and an imaginary magical forest—is both heartbreaking and beautiful. Her longing for love and understanding is so real that I often had to pause and just breathe through the emotions.
What stood out most to me was how the book didn’t shy away from complex feelings. It doesn’t try to "fix" the pain but instead allows us to sit with it. Lopa Ghosh writes with softness, even when the subject is sharp. Her characters feel like people we know—flawed, struggling, sometimes breaking, but still moving forward. If you’ve ever felt the ache of being left behind or have grown up watching family silence stretch too long, this book will speak to you in a very personal way.
The story follows a ten-year-old girl named Narois, whose mother starts disappearing every Monday without explanation. For a child, this is not just confusing but deeply painful. As someone of Indian origin, this hit me hard—how silence around family issues, especially emotional pain, is often accepted without question. Narois’s journey—balancing between a crumbling home and an imaginary magical forest—is both heartbreaking and beautiful. Her longing for love and understanding is so real that I often had to pause and just breathe through the emotions.
What stood out most to me was how the book didn’t shy away from complex feelings. It doesn’t try to "fix" the pain but instead allows us to sit with it. Lopa Ghosh writes with softness, even when the subject is sharp. Her characters feel like people we know—flawed, struggling, sometimes breaking, but still moving forward. If you’ve ever felt the ache of being left behind or have grown up watching family silence stretch too long, this book will speak to you in a very personal way.
November 25, 2025
Age of Mondays brings to you a rather sensitive but not widely discussed topic – childhood loneliness. As children, many of us go through this phase of life, and usually we are not able to talk about it with anyone.
At its centre is a gentle yet heartbreaking exploration of what childhood feels like when love becomes a distant memory and your own home stops being your safe place. A ten-year-old girl, Narois, witnesses a broken family, dramatic arguments, awkward silences and the absence of a parent while her questions remain unanswered through all of these.
Author Lopa Ghosh portrays trauma in an unforgettable and unique way by expanding the confines of reality and weaving it into magical realism where
Forests whisper, fireflies heal, and imagination becomes her refuge. The Jugnus are not just fantasy creatures, but they emote the longings of a hurt child for safety, belongingness and the nurturing presence of her parent.
The writing is sentimental without being intense. It feels like reading about a long-forgotten dream you once had as a child. While the narrative speaks of loneliness and emotional abandonment, it never loses its tenderness.
Stories have always been a medium for humans to escape into a new world and also a tool to survive reality. Age of Monday will feel familiar, reminding you of days you have drifted to a sweet land of your imagination while the world around you remained chaotic.
At its centre is a gentle yet heartbreaking exploration of what childhood feels like when love becomes a distant memory and your own home stops being your safe place. A ten-year-old girl, Narois, witnesses a broken family, dramatic arguments, awkward silences and the absence of a parent while her questions remain unanswered through all of these.
Author Lopa Ghosh portrays trauma in an unforgettable and unique way by expanding the confines of reality and weaving it into magical realism where
Forests whisper, fireflies heal, and imagination becomes her refuge. The Jugnus are not just fantasy creatures, but they emote the longings of a hurt child for safety, belongingness and the nurturing presence of her parent.
The writing is sentimental without being intense. It feels like reading about a long-forgotten dream you once had as a child. While the narrative speaks of loneliness and emotional abandonment, it never loses its tenderness.
Stories have always been a medium for humans to escape into a new world and also a tool to survive reality. Age of Monday will feel familiar, reminding you of days you have drifted to a sweet land of your imagination while the world around you remained chaotic.
June 26, 2025
Narois, a 10-year-old, wakes on a Monday to find her mother preparing to go to an undisclosed place. As family separation intensifies, she turns to a nearby magical forest for solace.
What I liked about this book:-
- [ ] Ghosh's writing is characterized by vivid, metaphor-rich prose, with each line carefully crafted to evoke a specific emotional response. The language is refined yet accessible, never overly dense.
- [ ] The story is told through the eyes of 10-year-old Narois, whose innocence, imagination, and confusion create a tender and impactful reading experience.
- [ ] Imon's character is multifaceted, existing beyond the binary of villain or victim, and her portrayal of imperfect parenting encourages both empathy and discussion.
- [ ] The book almost feels cinematic—especially the scenes in the forest
The novel delves deeply into themes of abandonment, grief, and trauma. So book is quite heavy.
Lopa Ghosh's Age of Mondays is a haunting, exquisitely crafted debut novel that featuring a delicate yet unyielding protagonist whose strength shines through sorrow and magic, leaving a lasting impact on its tender and transformative journey.
What I liked about this book:-
- [ ] Ghosh's writing is characterized by vivid, metaphor-rich prose, with each line carefully crafted to evoke a specific emotional response. The language is refined yet accessible, never overly dense.
- [ ] The story is told through the eyes of 10-year-old Narois, whose innocence, imagination, and confusion create a tender and impactful reading experience.
- [ ] Imon's character is multifaceted, existing beyond the binary of villain or victim, and her portrayal of imperfect parenting encourages both empathy and discussion.
- [ ] The book almost feels cinematic—especially the scenes in the forest
The novel delves deeply into themes of abandonment, grief, and trauma. So book is quite heavy.
Lopa Ghosh's Age of Mondays is a haunting, exquisitely crafted debut novel that featuring a delicate yet unyielding protagonist whose strength shines through sorrow and magic, leaving a lasting impact on its tender and transformative journey.
November 12, 2025
"I longed for guests to come with their sympathies, goodbyes, gifts, and prayers. To sit on the ladder again and drink their wine and fall off the sofa."
When I read the blurb, I knew I had to give this a try. The reason is because it's always the father who goes out without warning in any home. Not the mother. So, my curiosity piqued up and I started reading this. Like, imagine not having the mother at home on mondays. Where on earth does she vanish?
Yes, in the book 'Age of Mondays' by Lopa Ghosh, Narois' mother disappears every Monday. The little tween is scared, obviously. Stunned, she creates a magical Jahanpanah Forest to cope up with the grief and loneliness. Most of us do that on a daily basis, don't we?
The author has clearly gone into the mind of an innocent ten year old, and explained the psychology very beautifully. As per the writing, I really give it up to the author for doing a great job. Now, when I say writing — it's about the writing style and the content. I am referring to the former aspect for this book.
I even commend the soulful book cover that catches the attention of an art lover. Overall, as a psychology fan, I really fell in love with Narois' mind.
When I read the blurb, I knew I had to give this a try. The reason is because it's always the father who goes out without warning in any home. Not the mother. So, my curiosity piqued up and I started reading this. Like, imagine not having the mother at home on mondays. Where on earth does she vanish?
Yes, in the book 'Age of Mondays' by Lopa Ghosh, Narois' mother disappears every Monday. The little tween is scared, obviously. Stunned, she creates a magical Jahanpanah Forest to cope up with the grief and loneliness. Most of us do that on a daily basis, don't we?
The author has clearly gone into the mind of an innocent ten year old, and explained the psychology very beautifully. As per the writing, I really give it up to the author for doing a great job. Now, when I say writing — it's about the writing style and the content. I am referring to the former aspect for this book.
I even commend the soulful book cover that catches the attention of an art lover. Overall, as a psychology fan, I really fell in love with Narois' mind.
November 21, 2025
'Leaves from the tree. When the last one falls, I must go, too...'
This is the story of ten-year-old Narois. In the novel, the mother of the protagonist, Narois, prepares to leave for a secret location on Monday; for Narois, this is the first of many motherless Mondays.
Storyline further follows Narois escape from familial troubles into a magical forest.
Narois's parents' marriage is deteriorating, and she finds it difficult to comprehend the situation. To flee, she enters the "Jahanpanah forest". In the forest, she encounters the Jugnus, famous healers and weather forecasters. Narois is captivated by the Jugnus tales and want to join them.
What I liked about this book -
. How Betrayal can be love in disguise for a few.
. The story sounds lyrical, and it is so captivating that I felt like I am also a part of Narois world.
. Though it a heartbreaking tale but the empathy with which it written touches the heart.
This book is a portrayal of familial tension through the prism of child's mind.
This book teaches that even in the darkest phase one can seek for that ray of hope and light.
This is the story of ten-year-old Narois. In the novel, the mother of the protagonist, Narois, prepares to leave for a secret location on Monday; for Narois, this is the first of many motherless Mondays.
Storyline further follows Narois escape from familial troubles into a magical forest.
Narois's parents' marriage is deteriorating, and she finds it difficult to comprehend the situation. To flee, she enters the "Jahanpanah forest". In the forest, she encounters the Jugnus, famous healers and weather forecasters. Narois is captivated by the Jugnus tales and want to join them.
What I liked about this book -
. How Betrayal can be love in disguise for a few.
. The story sounds lyrical, and it is so captivating that I felt like I am also a part of Narois world.
. Though it a heartbreaking tale but the empathy with which it written touches the heart.
This book is a portrayal of familial tension through the prism of child's mind.
This book teaches that even in the darkest phase one can seek for that ray of hope and light.
December 8, 2025
It is a touching and magical story told through the eyes of a ten-year-old girl named Narois. One day, she wakes up to find that her mother is missing—and this begins a strange pattern called “Motherless Mondays.” Not able to understand why her mother keeps disappearing, and leaves her feeling scared, lonely, and confused.
To escape her painful real life, She creates a magical world called "the Jahanpanah Forest", where she meets strange and beautiful characters called the Jugnus. She is able to cope with her grief, terror, and sense of loneliness thanks to these magical friends. Despite the story's magical elements, the feelings are consistently genuine and powerful. Family issues, betrayal, loneliness, friendship, and hope are all discussed in the book in a kind and warm way. It demonstrates that Even children experience intense pain when adults are unaware of it. The tale moves a bit slowly in the middle, but it never gets dull.
Lastly, it is a lovely, poignant, and enchanted novel that finds a place in your heart over a very long time. Readers who like emotional stories and magical realism will love it.
To escape her painful real life, She creates a magical world called "the Jahanpanah Forest", where she meets strange and beautiful characters called the Jugnus. She is able to cope with her grief, terror, and sense of loneliness thanks to these magical friends. Despite the story's magical elements, the feelings are consistently genuine and powerful. Family issues, betrayal, loneliness, friendship, and hope are all discussed in the book in a kind and warm way. It demonstrates that Even children experience intense pain when adults are unaware of it. The tale moves a bit slowly in the middle, but it never gets dull.
Lastly, it is a lovely, poignant, and enchanted novel that finds a place in your heart over a very long time. Readers who like emotional stories and magical realism will love it.
July 7, 2025
What starts as an ordinary Monday fractures into an abyss as Narois's mother leaves for an ambiguous place. She is facing the challenges of her own life while also witnessing the disintegration of her parents' marriage. Trying to find a fix, she enters the Jahanpanah Forest, which twinkles with magic of its own.
The book has a unique narrative style that felt fresh to me. The way it switches between the mundane and the magical world is idiosyncratic. You’ll enjoy the varied roles of the creatures in the forest (like Jugnu). A little poetic, a little emotional, with hints of metaphorical elements—and the mention of *Persepolis*, which was a heart-stealer for me (it’s one of my favorite graphic novels).
As it leans heavily on its lyrical style, the pacing does drop a tad occasionally in the middle sections. The book explores themes of a childhood heart, deep friendships, and finding solace in unexpected places. I’d place it somewhere between literary fiction and magical realism, with a coming-of-age core. My love for middle-grade returns with this book. 🫶
The book has a unique narrative style that felt fresh to me. The way it switches between the mundane and the magical world is idiosyncratic. You’ll enjoy the varied roles of the creatures in the forest (like Jugnu). A little poetic, a little emotional, with hints of metaphorical elements—and the mention of *Persepolis*, which was a heart-stealer for me (it’s one of my favorite graphic novels).
As it leans heavily on its lyrical style, the pacing does drop a tad occasionally in the middle sections. The book explores themes of a childhood heart, deep friendships, and finding solace in unexpected places. I’d place it somewhere between literary fiction and magical realism, with a coming-of-age core. My love for middle-grade returns with this book. 🫶
July 8, 2025
Some books find their way to you when you least expect them, they unravel the emotions huddled deep within you which needs a passage through imagination and words.
Age of Mondays by Lopa Ghosh voices those emotions, ideas and thoughts. Young Narois, is struggling to cope with her mother's disappearances usually on Mondays and this precociously sincere kid begins to experience a world that blurs between reality and fantasy.
What begins as "Motherless Mondays" for her eventually becomes a life of abandonment and grief. Narois is overshadowed by loss and emptiness. Living in a dysfunctional family, losing a parent while trying to find solutions to problems that are beyond her control. She tries to fill this loss with an imaginative forest she creates in her mind, filled with quirky characters.
Lopa Ghosh has weaved a story that's atmospheric and deeply moving. It delves into the innocence of childhood and the chaos that accompanies growing up. A tale of discovery and loss that breaks your heart.
Age of Mondays by Lopa Ghosh voices those emotions, ideas and thoughts. Young Narois, is struggling to cope with her mother's disappearances usually on Mondays and this precociously sincere kid begins to experience a world that blurs between reality and fantasy.
What begins as "Motherless Mondays" for her eventually becomes a life of abandonment and grief. Narois is overshadowed by loss and emptiness. Living in a dysfunctional family, losing a parent while trying to find solutions to problems that are beyond her control. She tries to fill this loss with an imaginative forest she creates in her mind, filled with quirky characters.
Lopa Ghosh has weaved a story that's atmospheric and deeply moving. It delves into the innocence of childhood and the chaos that accompanies growing up. A tale of discovery and loss that breaks your heart.
July 12, 2025
As we grow older, we often forget how to see the world through a child's perspective with a sense of wonder and innocence. Wouldn't you agree?
In "Age of Mondays," Narois is a ten-year-old girl whose mother disappears every Monday. she observes her father struggle with helplessness in her mother's absence. Who will fill the emptiness in little Narois's life? Torn between the abandonment of her parents and the trauma of finding belonging, she escapes into a magical world of Jahanpanah forest, where she finds solace and healing. But this forest is not just a realm of a child's fairy tale; it is a place where Narois begins to see hope twinkle again.
This is a book that requires patience and contemplation. It is filled with sorrow, pain, and loneliness as its recurring theme throughout the narrative with a touch of magic and hope. The author didn't just weave a story; she blended grief and magic into one poignant space. Her writing style is poetic and rich with metaphor, which paints a vivid emotional landscape.
Overall, Age of Mondays is raw, heavy, and deeply moving—a story that will linger long after you've turned the last page.
In "Age of Mondays," Narois is a ten-year-old girl whose mother disappears every Monday. she observes her father struggle with helplessness in her mother's absence. Who will fill the emptiness in little Narois's life? Torn between the abandonment of her parents and the trauma of finding belonging, she escapes into a magical world of Jahanpanah forest, where she finds solace and healing. But this forest is not just a realm of a child's fairy tale; it is a place where Narois begins to see hope twinkle again.
This is a book that requires patience and contemplation. It is filled with sorrow, pain, and loneliness as its recurring theme throughout the narrative with a touch of magic and hope. The author didn't just weave a story; she blended grief and magic into one poignant space. Her writing style is poetic and rich with metaphor, which paints a vivid emotional landscape.
Overall, Age of Mondays is raw, heavy, and deeply moving—a story that will linger long after you've turned the last page.
November 18, 2025
Age of Mondays by Lopa Ghosh is one of those rare books that lingers long after you finish reading. It is tender, poetic, and haunting in equal measure. The story follows ten-year-old Narois, whose world is shaken when her mother mysteriously leaves home one Monday, the first of many “motherless Mondays.” What unfolds is a moving exploration of loss, love, betrayal, and belonging, all seen through the eyes of a child trying to make sense of a crumbling world.
As Narois wanders into the magical Jahanpanah forest and encounters the Jugnus, mystical healers and storytellers, the narrative slips beautifully between realism and myth. The writing is lyrical, almost musical, and the imagery stays with you like an echo from a dream.
What I loved most:
- The lyrical, almost cinematic prose
- Narois’s innocent yet wise voice
- The blend of folklore and emotion
- The aching portrayal of family and loss
Age of Mondays is not just a story, it’s an experience. Delicate, devastating, and unforgettable. A must-read for lovers of literary fiction with a touch of magic and melancholy.
As Narois wanders into the magical Jahanpanah forest and encounters the Jugnus, mystical healers and storytellers, the narrative slips beautifully between realism and myth. The writing is lyrical, almost musical, and the imagery stays with you like an echo from a dream.
What I loved most:
- The lyrical, almost cinematic prose
- Narois’s innocent yet wise voice
- The blend of folklore and emotion
- The aching portrayal of family and loss
Age of Mondays is not just a story, it’s an experience. Delicate, devastating, and unforgettable. A must-read for lovers of literary fiction with a touch of magic and melancholy.
October 6, 2025
Age of Mondays by Lopa Ghosh is a beautiful narrative that revolves around Narois, a ten-year-old girl grappling with the absence of her mother, who disappears every Monday. In response to her turmoil, Narois creates the "Jahanpanah forest," an enchanted realm where she seeks solace and refuge. Here, amidst the trees and magical creatures of her imagination, she navigates her deep-seated sorrow and trauma.
The story is steeped in elements of magic realism, allowing readers to experience the contrasting worlds of harsh reality and the comforting embrace of Narois's fantasy. The author skillfully weaves together themes of childhood innocence and the complexities of grief and inviting readers to feel the weight of loss through innovative and evocative storytelling. This book stands out as a literary gem, bursting with vivid imagery and rich metaphors that paint a poignant picture of a child's journey through pain and imagination.
The story is steeped in elements of magic realism, allowing readers to experience the contrasting worlds of harsh reality and the comforting embrace of Narois's fantasy. The author skillfully weaves together themes of childhood innocence and the complexities of grief and inviting readers to feel the weight of loss through innovative and evocative storytelling. This book stands out as a literary gem, bursting with vivid imagery and rich metaphors that paint a poignant picture of a child's journey through pain and imagination.
November 13, 2025
Age of Mondays by Lopa Ghosh is the book that quietly steals your heart. It’s tender, haunting, and beautifully written , the kind of story that makes you feel every word.
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Narois, we witness a world where love, loss, and longing blend into something painfully real yet strangely magical. The way her family falls apart, the loneliness she carries, and the little worlds she escapes into everything feels so raw and alive.
The writing is lyrical and gentle, yet it holds a depth that keeps echoing long after you close the book. The characters, especially the mythical ones she meets, feel like they belong to another realm but speak to emotions we all know too well.
Age of Mondays is more than a story , it’s a feeling. It’s about childhood, heartbreak, and the fragile line between reality and dreams. A book that breaks you a little and heals you in the same breath.
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Narois, we witness a world where love, loss, and longing blend into something painfully real yet strangely magical. The way her family falls apart, the loneliness she carries, and the little worlds she escapes into everything feels so raw and alive.
The writing is lyrical and gentle, yet it holds a depth that keeps echoing long after you close the book. The characters, especially the mythical ones she meets, feel like they belong to another realm but speak to emotions we all know too well.
Age of Mondays is more than a story , it’s a feeling. It’s about childhood, heartbreak, and the fragile line between reality and dreams. A book that breaks you a little and heals you in the same breath.
July 13, 2025
Reading Age of Mondays felt like holding a memory that was never mine, but still deeply familiar. Narois, just ten, wakes up to a life slowly slipping out of her hands and Lopa Ghosh writes her world with such haunting tenderness that I felt her confusion, her ache, her need to escape.
The Jahanpanah forest and the Jugnus aren’t just magical elements they’re metaphors for survival, for how children build wonder out of abandonment. The prose is lyrical without ever being too much, and the emotional undercurrent is sharp and real. I kept underlining lines, not because they were pretty, but because they hurt in the exact way truth does.
This isn’t just a story about a girl losing her mother it’s about the quiet, slow undoing of safety, and the stories we find to hold ourselves together.
The Jahanpanah forest and the Jugnus aren’t just magical elements they’re metaphors for survival, for how children build wonder out of abandonment. The prose is lyrical without ever being too much, and the emotional undercurrent is sharp and real. I kept underlining lines, not because they were pretty, but because they hurt in the exact way truth does.
This isn’t just a story about a girl losing her mother it’s about the quiet, slow undoing of safety, and the stories we find to hold ourselves together.
November 21, 2025
The story follows ten‑year‑old Narois and you’ll find yourself falling in love with her world instantly. It’s the kind of book you’ll want to reread, each time catching a new hidden gem.
Set in Delhi, Narois wakes up to a Monday that feels a little off as her mother has vanished, leaving a house full of silence. Her dad is floundering, and the city seems to forget that children grieve too. It’s raw, it’s real and it pulls you in.
When the real world gets too heavy, Narois slips into the Jahanpanah Forest, a dreamy hide‑out filled with glowing Jugnus that are part‑healer, part‑guide. There she meets Silver Samir, Velu, Mian Pagla, Kochi and a whole cast of oddball friends who feel like emotions made flesh.
The book isn’t just a magical‑realism adventure; it’s a quiet study of loss, love, and the tangled way we survive. You’ll laugh, you’ll ache, and you’ll wonder where the forest ends and reality begins.
If you love stories that linger like a favorite song then this book is for you. It is perfect for fans of magical realism and anyone who’s ever felt a little lost on a Monday.
Set in Delhi, Narois wakes up to a Monday that feels a little off as her mother has vanished, leaving a house full of silence. Her dad is floundering, and the city seems to forget that children grieve too. It’s raw, it’s real and it pulls you in.
When the real world gets too heavy, Narois slips into the Jahanpanah Forest, a dreamy hide‑out filled with glowing Jugnus that are part‑healer, part‑guide. There she meets Silver Samir, Velu, Mian Pagla, Kochi and a whole cast of oddball friends who feel like emotions made flesh.
The book isn’t just a magical‑realism adventure; it’s a quiet study of loss, love, and the tangled way we survive. You’ll laugh, you’ll ache, and you’ll wonder where the forest ends and reality begins.
If you love stories that linger like a favorite song then this book is for you. It is perfect for fans of magical realism and anyone who’s ever felt a little lost on a Monday.
November 10, 2025
'Age of Mondays' by Lopa Ghosh is one such book which made me feel a lot of emotions. This book pulls you into the story from the very beginning. I was intrigued by the cover. It conveys so much. The grief and innocence of the 10 years old Narois was felt with every page.
Narois' mother starts disappearing every Monday. The questions, loneliness of the child and her imagination brings a kind of magic and charm to the story, which kind of left me gloomy. The book made me pause and think about how things affect children. Narois escapes in her imagination to the forest of Jugnus.
It was an unputdownable book that left me stirred. It made me feel things deeply and empathize with Narois. This book is wonderfully written that blends reality with fantasy.
Narois' mother starts disappearing every Monday. The questions, loneliness of the child and her imagination brings a kind of magic and charm to the story, which kind of left me gloomy. The book made me pause and think about how things affect children. Narois escapes in her imagination to the forest of Jugnus.
It was an unputdownable book that left me stirred. It made me feel things deeply and empathize with Narois. This book is wonderfully written that blends reality with fantasy.
August 17, 2025
Some books shout, this one whispers.
Mondays always felt ordinary to me until I met Narois in Age of Mondays. She is just ten, but she carries a silence too heavy for her age. Reading her story reminded me of the times in childhood when things felt broken, yet we didn’t have the words to ask why.
The forest she escapes to, the Jugnus she finds, and the magical world she creates felt so real — almost like the worlds we once built in our heads to survive difficult days.
This book broke my heart in the softest way. It is painful, yet strangely healing, like being reminded that even silence holds stories.
If you have ever carried unspoken feelings as a child, this one will stay with you.
Mondays always felt ordinary to me until I met Narois in Age of Mondays. She is just ten, but she carries a silence too heavy for her age. Reading her story reminded me of the times in childhood when things felt broken, yet we didn’t have the words to ask why.
The forest she escapes to, the Jugnus she finds, and the magical world she creates felt so real — almost like the worlds we once built in our heads to survive difficult days.
This book broke my heart in the softest way. It is painful, yet strangely healing, like being reminded that even silence holds stories.
If you have ever carried unspoken feelings as a child, this one will stay with you.
November 17, 2025
Really loved the vibe of this book. It feels dreamy but also real in the most emotional way. Narois’s world is strange and sad and magical all at once. It’s the kind of book that sits quietly with you after you finish.
November 4, 2025
Age of Mondays is beautifully written — simple, heartfelt, and deeply relatable. It feels like a warm conversation with a friend.
November 17, 2025
If you enjoy thoughtful writing, emotional depth, and storytelling that unfolds with quiet brilliance, this book deserves a spot on your shelf. I’m really glad it found its way to mine.
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