“You can’t see the bars or the lock, but they are there. I am a prisoner.”

Meet Anoushka:
Edinburgh biology student, dutiful Indian daughter, great marriage material. She’s everything to everybody and yet – she’s nothing. She is invisible in an invisible cage. This is the year that changes her life.

At twenty-two, Anoushka, the eldest daughter in her family, is expected to take the next step in marriage. When her parents find her a “suitable” husband, she enters a new world where family expectations run deep and loyalties are tested.

But behind the promise of stability lies a far more complicated reality—an overbearing mother-in-law determined to control her son, and a husband still tethered to his mother’s will. Caught in the middle, Anoushka must summon the strength to navigate tradition, duty, and her own growing sense of self.

Based on a true story, The Invisible Cage is a moving and powerful tale of resilience, self-discovery, and courage. As Anoushka learns to fight for her voice and her freedom, she discovers the true meaning of independence—and what it takes to break free.

My Review

I wasn’t sure when I started reading this. Indian girl, studying for a biology Masters. Hoping to do a PhD. But what does any of it matter? She’s going to have an arranged marriage to a good Indian boy from a good family. The stars will be aligned and the gods will look favourably on the couple.

A match is found, a match made in heaven. But is it as it seems? Because once agreed, to go back would be shameful. And Ravi’s family are happy to move surprisingly fast.

Anoushka is swept away with the tide. She likes Ravi well enough, but his mother is the driving force. Her own mother is fully up for it, but she doesn’t know Dukkha yet. The woman is deranged.

I loved Anoushka’s sister, who is years ahead of her time. We have to remember the story is set over 30 years ago when Indian women had no voice. 

Once married Anoushka learns the truth about her husband’s ‘perfect’ family and they are more dysfunctional than she could ever have imagined. But how can she jump off the roller coaster without disgracing herself and her family. A wonderful book which I adored and read well into the night. And surprisingly there is a lot of humour amongst the feeling of being trapped and having no voice, mainly between Anoushka and her sister.

Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of #TheInvisibleCage blog tour.

About the Author

Suni Samara is a carer, writer and artist from Scotland. Her parents moved from India to settle into Scotland. In the 1960s Her debut novel ‘The Invisible Cage’ is a fictionalised account of her life, both own voices and diverse fiction. It is an adult novel with coming-of-age aspects that may also appeal to YA readers. Suni is a Science graduate and taught mainstream Science and special needs education. She enjoys drawing and has submitted pieces of her work to the Big Art Show She currently lives with her two daughters in Glasgow.

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