Jasmine

Rating:
Summary: Worst book ever
Review: I had to read this book for school and i hate it
It had to have been the most pointless immoral book ever.
The women just sleeps around and runs from her problems, and she killed a man and got off with nothing
WHAT THE HELL
Dont ever read it

Rating:
Summary: Excellent -- one of my all-time favs
Review: I had to read this text for an upper-level lit course at U-M, and was very glad I did.

Mukherjee writes an excellent novel on the "plasticity" of American culture, what it is to be an American, "self murder"--and what I find most intriguing, as her opening quote points out, the underlying concept of chaos theory.

*Jasmine* is the only text written after 1920 that has made it to my personal top ten list... and contains one of my favorite quotes:

"watch me reposition the stars"

I would defintely recommend this novel to ANYONE.

Rating:
Summary: Jasmine is enthralling
Review: I really enjoyed this book, which was assigned to me for an American Humanities class. Jasmine is a real girl with a great deal of depth and honesty. She is seeking a new self definition, in the worlds of India and the United States. She finds it and a lot more. I was impressed and highly recommend this book

Rating:
Summary: loved it!
Review: i'd initially issued "jasmine" from the local brit. council lib cos i wanted to keep up with bharati m's novels..can't say i've been disappointed!if leave it to me had me tranced in its hallucinogenic spell, "jasmine" had me spellbound and begging for more. myth forms an imp. element of mukherjee's works and i was not surprised to find the kali-myth in operation here.the immigrant experience...the process,i didn't think it would be as messy as that.goes to show all us third-worlders think 1st world passage must necessarily be 1st class. jyoti vijh's several tranformations and her final metamorphosis back into the role of "care-giver" Jase must stand as a bright example of the multi-faceted persona,adaptive power and determination inherent in all women.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, exciting, fascinating
Review: It was a little confusing, but overall it was a wonderful story and wonderfully put together. I recommend this book to people only open to the unordinary and to people interested in the way of life of other cultures

Rating:
Summary: A sloppy piece of work about a great subject
Review: Jasmine is a wonderful idea, and is told in a remarkable way (non-linear), but ulitmately falls short of having any major impact. The beginning, when Jasmine is in India, is beautiful, and is steeped in culture and knowledge. It is easily the most powerful part of the book, since the reader gets to see what life in India is really like.

The parts in America are where this book falters badly. For one thing, the story has a tendency to ramble and not move anywhere. If the characters were better fleshed out, or if the stakes were higher (i.e. not just Jasmine being too insecure to be content with her lot in life), the limbo of the last 2/3rds of the book would be understandable. However, it is very hard to care about any of the characters (even Jasmine) and this makes the book more of a chore to read than a pleasure.

Also, there is the issue of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is an integral part of this book, and it is not only used too much, but is used in a sloppy and ultimately amateurish way. Foreshadowing is effective only when it is subtle and unexpected, or when it is used sparingly. Not only does this book use foreshadowing in the most blunt and obvious way possible, but Mukherjee uses it endlessly, and this numbs the reader to the point of not caring about the narrative because we know Mukherjee is using foreshadowing, and is using it every chance she gets.

Also, the fact that the foreshadowing is so obvious ends up making the non-linear style meaningless. At one point, Mukherjee will have two events that are a year apart, and one clearly foreshadows the other. Now, this is fine, but the two events happen only five pages apart from each other! This is almost offensive, and implies that the reader has no ability to remember events from more than a couple of pages before. The sad thing is that this happens several times throughout the novel.

So is Jasmine worth reading? My answer would be a definite no. Even though parts of it, like India, are powerful and well-written, there is too much sloppy writing and boredom in the last 2/3rds of the book for me to be able to seriously recommend this. The sad thing is that I want to recommend the beginning of the book, but it will pull you in and make you want to read the rest, whih will definitely disappoint.

So if you enjoy good, well-written literature, do not read this valiant attempt. If you are in the mood for an interesting, thought-provoking read, you can try this book, but you can do much better. Try Richard Wright's Black Boy or Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club.

Rating:
Summary: Mukherjee wrote a disgusting, bland and worthless book
Review: Jasmine, at points, sounds like a soap opera that no one watches because it is so aweful. This book makes everything sound so miserable and blown out of shape. If a man and woman meet, then they are secretly in love, the woman is pregnant, or they kill each other. This book is pointless and rambles on about how different America is from India as if she expected them to be exactly identical. As for Jasmine's character, who has about 10 names in the book, she is a bland fool. No characters are ever developed in this book and they all die prematurely. To add to that, the ending is unrealistic, and reminds me of the end of Pearl Harbor. Jasmine's final decisions are without reason, and seem faulty even to the SIMPLE READER! The only reason this book didn't get one star is that she didn't make any spelling mistakes.

Rating:
Summary: slightly warmer than luke.
Review: Not bad. Hard to put down, but the nonlinear chronology did get a little confusing at times. Also, too much detail was crammed into a small space, leaving little to the imagination.

Rating:
Summary: Jasmine's Changes
Review: The book, "Jasmine", by Bharati Mukherjee provides wonderful insight on the enrichment and oppertunities of immigration. Through her writing, she is able to take on a positive viewpoint on the idea of transition from one set of surroundings to another. This viewpoint allows immigrant readers to feel optimistic about their experiences and to be open to sharing them with others.

Some changes take place when Jyoti, the main character meets a man named Taylor. She goes from being the wife of Prakash, and struggling like a slave to meet his desires, to being respected for who she is, without anything being expected from her in return. To represent the changes in her independence, she is given the new name,"Jane", and then "Jasmine".

Throughout the rest of the story, Jasmine is constantly striving to create her own identity in order to find a place in the American culture. This is somewhat of a struggle for her, because she feels torn between her old culture and new one. Many of her old customary ideas stay with her while she tries to adapt to a new background.

Although Jasmine feels lost at times, she is portrayed as a strong person. She never gives up in fighting for her independence. She is able to see past every value her old culture has taught her in the past, and put her best effort into creating a bright future for herself.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, especially people who are immigrants or are having trouble adjusting to a backround where they feel out of place. It helps the reader to appreciate the benefits and oppertunities in an immigrant's life. I really liked how this book was so realistic. Although the main character is created as a strong, courageous woman, she has her flaws just like everyone else, therefore making it easier for others to relate to her.

Rating:
Summary: Jasmine's Changes
Review: The book, "Jasmine", by Bharati Mukherjee provides wonderful insight on the enrichment and oppertunities of immigration. Through her writing, she is able to take on a positive viewpoint on the idea of transition from one set of surroundings to another. This viewpoint allows immigrant readers to feel optimistic about their experiences and to be open to sharing them with others.

Some changes take place when Jyoti, the main character meets a man named Taylor. She goes from being the wife of Prakash, and struggling like a slave to meet his desires, to being respected for who she is, without anything being expected from her in return. To represent the changes in her independence, she is given the new name,"Jane", and then "Jasmine".

Throughout the rest of the story, Jasmine is constantly striving to create her own identity in order to find a place in the American culture. This is somewhat of a struggle for her, because she feels torn between her old culture and new one. Many of her old customary ideas stay with her while she tries to adapt to a new background.

Although Jasmine feels lost at times, she is portrayed as a strong person. She never gives up in fighting for her independence. She is able to see past every value her old culture has taught her in the past, and put her best effort into creating a bright future for herself.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, especially people who are immigrants or are having trouble adjusting to a backround where they feel out of place. It helps the reader to appreciate the benefits and oppertunities in an immigrant's life. I really liked how this book was so realistic. Although the main character is created as a strong, courageous woman, she has her flaws just like everyone else, therefore making it easier for others to relate to her.