Early Review – Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: August 5, 2025
ASIN: B0DM48T4VW
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for review
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Ask for the story of the mad sisters of Esi, and you’ll get a thousand contradictory folktales. Superstitious sailors, curious children, and obsessed academics have argued over the particulars for generations. They have wondered about the mad sisters’ two greatest marvels: the museum of collective memory that sprawls underneath our universe, waiting for any who call for it, and the living, impossible, whale of babel.
Myung and her sister Laleh are the sole inhabitants of the whale of babel. They roam within its cosmic chambers, speak folktales of themselves, and pray to their creator, the Great Wisa. For Laleh, this is everything. For Myung, it is not enough.
When Myung flees the whale, she stumbles into a new universe full of people, shapeshifting islands, and argumentative ghosts. In her search for Great Wisa and her longing for her sister Laleh, Myung sets off on an adventure that will unravel the mystery that has confounded everyone for centuries: the truth about the mad sisters of Esi.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley for review.
Thoughts: This was an amazing and unique book that I will think about for a long time. It is magical and creative and carries some strong messages. Was it easy to read? No, not really. Some of the descriptions are a bit much, and the story feels very ambiguous at times. Was it worth the read? Definitely, this book is a journey through fables and fairy tales and about how the love between two sisters was powerful enough to create worlds.
This story changes POV quite frequently. We initially alternate between two sisters who start their life on the Whale of Babel, Laleh and Myung. Laleh loves her life on the Whale, but Myung yearns to leave. Myung leaves to go on many adventures but finds herself drawn to a strange shape-shifting island as she seeks out the story of the mad sisters of Esi. We then shift in two different POVs as we learn the story of two sisters on the strange island of Esi. It is an island where the inhabitants go mad at long intervals. Then we hear a bit from the father of the two girls on the Island of Esi, and then back to the sisters on Esi, and then finally back to the original sisters we started with.
I don’t think this is going to be for everyone. However, it was a spectacular and unique read. It takes some work to get through, but I felt like it was worth it. The imagination and wondrous description throughout this novel is amazing. Mehta did a wonderful job creating colorful and fantastic worlds for us to journey through. Sometimes things are a bit hard to picture just because they are so fantastical, and the story can feel a bit ambiguous.
This story is definitely a winding journey but I was impressed with how everything wove together and with how we ended up kind of back where we started but with so much more understanding. There were a few times where I was completely confused about what the point was and where things were going, but sticking with it led to understanding, and I as impressed with how it all came together.
This story is about sisters, madness, fables, world-building, and family. It is fantastical and imaginative and intriguing and bittersweet. It was definitely something special, and I will be following Mehta to see what else she writes.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I ended up being impressed by this and really loving it. This book takes some effort and patience to read. However, I was amazed by the spectacular, fantastical, and imaginative journey you end up taking throughout the story. The story can get a bit ambiguous at times and there were a few times where I had no idea where things were going. I ended up being impressed with how everything wove together. I believed that there was a Whale of Babel by the end. I am excited to see what Mehta will write next, this was a special and unique book.
