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Book Review: Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Posted by Alka

EtherealJinxed | Book Review | Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

There is one book which remains at the top of my favorite list and that is Palace of Illusions. There is no other book which has come to breach the zenith for me that this book cast upon on Indian fictional version of mythology reading. So, after a series of bad Indian books, I planned to give another book of the same writer a try to make me change my mind on Indian writing and hey, that was the correct choice.

Sister of My Heart pulled me into a chasm of its own, making me smile and cry basis what the cousins had to undergo. In case you did not have any sister, have you not felt similar kinship with one or two of your friends. Written in typical Divakaruni style, the book was too beautiful to be left behind even for a single day and yes, I completed in one day itself. Secrets, drama, building emotional quotient, the book truly strikes the perfect balance between realism and fantasy of love – not the fleeting kind, but the everlasting sisterly love with no hidden agenda. Truly, love crosses boundaries, it does not need to be connected by blood or distance. I believe in such love, do you? Let me know your views on this book in comments and anything else as well.

Read review of other books by the same author on my blog – Queen of Dreams .

Keep watching my blog for more book reviews!

Book blurb:
Anju is the daughter of an upper-caste Calcutta family; her cousin Sudha is the daughter of the black sheep of the family. Sudha is as beautiful, tenderhearted, and serious as Anju is plain, whip-smart, and defiant. yet since the day they were born, Sudha and Anju have been bonded in ways even their mothers cannot comprehend.

The cousins’ bond is shattered, however, when Sudha learns a dark family secret. Urged into arranged marriages, their lives take sudden, opposite turns: Sudha becomes the dutiful daughter-in-law of a rigid small-town household, while Anju goes to America with her new husband and learns to live her own life of secrets. Then tragedy strikes them both, and the women discover that, despite the distance that has grown between them, they have only each other to turn to. Set in the two worlds of India and America, this is an exceptionally moving novel of love, friendship, and compelling courage.

About the author:
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works have been translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. Divakaruni also writes for children and young adults. Few of her novels have been made into movies and others are currently in that process. She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.

Website: chitradivakaruni.com
Twitter: @cdivakaruni
Facebook: facebook.com/chitradivakaruni

Rating: 9/10