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Summary: This novel totally inspired reality in it's terms of words!
Review: This book, I believed showed the real meaning of friendship and that it has really showed the importance of it between two young women.
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Summary: A moving tale of two women trapped by their culture
Review: I loved this book!! The story is well-written, and the plot stays interesting. I enjoyed a glimpse into a culture and society far different then my own. The sister's relationship is very true, and touching. There are some surprises in the twists of the plot, that turn out to have been alluded to, while not giving away the secret. I will be looking for this author's other books!!
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Summary: Get comfortable, sit back, and enjoy an old-fashioned trip!
Review: It's been a long time since I started a book in the early evening and just kept reading into the night until I finished it. The characters are sympathetically presented and easy to identify with, despite their different cultural environments. The story is one that women of all ages can live vicariously. If you are looking for a book that reminds you of the old days when you hid your flashlight so you could read in bed after "lights out," this is one that will catch you up and keep you going.
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Summary: The story of two sisters casts a magic spell.
Review: Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, will make a wonderful addition to many of our college's course offerings. It is the story of sisters, raised together in India whose paths diverge when one goes off to America while the other remains at home. It is a moving exploration of the depth and value of women's friendships, whether the sisterhood is of the blood or of the heart. This novel, like her previous novel, The Mistress of Spices, is a delight to the senses as well as to poetic sensibilities. We find ourselves wrapped in a rich profusion of images, enveloped in the perfumes, colors, sounds and tastes of India. The spell of the ancient myths woven into the fabric of the plot have power to enchant us today, and we are carried along through the twists and turns of the story to the last. One of the special strengths of Sister of My Heart derives from the insights made available through the trans-Pacific visions of the narrators. The novel sheds light on a number of relatively unexplored themes and issues our own culture has often swept aside. We are so enchanted with our scientific and technological advances (which is itself a kind of faith) that we are unable to see the possible negative consequences of these advances. Often it is on women's lives--indeed, on their bodies--that the impact is most severely born. For example, amneocentesis, valued in our culture for its potential to free women, is shown in the novel being used to further traditional devaluation of the female. In Sister of My Heart, as in many of her short stories and poems, Divakaruni pulls aside veils which commonly blind us to the narrow range of our usual vantage point. She treats with delicacy and power the depth women's feelings surrounding those mysteries: childbearing, childbirth and the passion of mother-love. Finally, this is a novel of family relationships. The thread running through it all is the thread of the love that binds.
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Summary: A page-turner fairy tale. Wonderful.
Review: This is a beautiful story filled with surprises. The sights and sounds of India are vivid, as is the love story between the sisters and their arranged marriages. Altogether fascinating and moving. I can hardly wait for the sequel!
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Summary: What a beautiful story!
Review: I loved this book. It reminded me how stories can change our lives, sometimes save our lives. All the characters felt so real to me. Since I had read the ultrasound story about Anju and Sudha several years ago, they were people I already knew and cared about. I just had to keep reading until I was finished. I can hardly wait for her next book.
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Summary: Chitra Banerjee is probably capable of better writing
Review: I bought "Sister of my heart" with great anticipation. Sorry it turned out to be a real letdown. I resent writing that tries to substitute exoticism for substance.Yes, the cave of rubies had me rubbing my eyes in disbelief.How far are Indian writers willing to go to peddle exotic India to the west?There is so much about India that can be conveyed without having to resort to exoticism. "Arranged Marriage" was very good.But "Sister of my heart" is a terrible letdown.The cover is well designed and thats the only nice thing I can say about the book. Its too much of a rehash of "The Ultrasound" for it to be published separately as a novel. Good luck with your next book,Chitra. I hope it turns out to be as good as "Arranged Marriage".
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Summary: A superficial feminist novel.
Review: Feminist writers express their opinions without being challenged. Divakaruni is one of many such examples. I have heard many reasons why people immigrate to the United States -- political suppression, economic hardships, the American dream, whatever. Divakaruni invents a brand new reason -- persecution by the mother-in-law. Divakaruni's themes are as superficial as ever. Here treatment of her native country is completely biased. She insults America by inventing the above mentioned reason for immigration. Not one male character (except one) in this novel has an appreciable character. This is a novel that does injustice to its feminist cause. I hope some one is counting.
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Summary: Disappointing!
Review: Sister of my Heart is readable but disappointing.Ms. Divakaruni presents once more her simple solution for unhappy Indian women residing in India -- take off for the US. It's that easy! This novel too, like her earlier works, is sprinkled generously with indigenous words to create the exotic-feel that makes her writings so popular. However, speaking of exocitization, the Ruby cave takes the cake. She recycles a previous story from the Arranged Marriage collection, which is fine. However, not only are the names of some of her characters unchanged, but even several sentences seem to have been cut and pasted from there. There is nothing strikingly beautiful about her language either.
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Summary: Disappointing.
Review: Starting with her Arranged Marriage collection, Ms. Divakaruni once more offers her simple solution for unhappy Indian women residing in India -- leave for the US. It's that easy! Like her other writings, this novel too is sprinkled generously with indigenous words to create that exotic-feel that makes her writings so popular. And insofar as exoticism is concerned, the ruby cave takes the cake. This novel is a reworking of a previous short story "The Ultrasound." Not only is there a thematic correspondence between the two, but also several sentences read like the author just cut and pasted them from her earlier work; names of some characters also remain unchanged. There isn't anything promising about her language either. Readable but disappointing.
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