The Woman Who Climbed Trees by Smriti Ravindra is a multi-generational novel that follows Meena, who is married at fourteen and displaced from her home in India to Nepal, where she struggles with loneliness, an unequal marriage, and the quiet constraints placed on women’s lives. Framed by folklore and memory, the story traces Meena’s emotional bonds, unfulfilled desires, miscarriages, and complicated relationships, especially with her sister-in-law, while exploring how myth, silence, and longing shape identity. As the narrative expands to later generations, including Meena’s daughter, the novel reveals how displacement, patriarchy, and suppressed freedoms echo across time, using the image of a woman climbing trees as a powerful metaphor for women’s yearning for autonomy and self-hood.

Published: 2023
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 421
Publisher: HarperVia