Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: "Sister India" is an easy fictional read. While it isn't a page turner, chances are you'll find it enjoyable enough to finish once you've started it. I am a voracious reader of literature and read much fiction and non-fiction with India as subject matter. Most often, each piece of work varies greatly from the others. The font of Indian characters, plots and themes springs eternal. This book was different, not because it was different, but because it bears such a striking resemblance to another piece of fiction. So closely does this book resemble Rumer Godden's classic "Coromandel Sea Change" in location, theme, and characters that the most generous thing I can suggest is that Payne should have credited Godden's work with an acknowledgement. However, to say that Payne borrowed from Godden would be understatement. "Coromandel Sea Change" looks like the template for "Sister India". Godden's Patna Hall becomes Payne's Saraswati. Natraja is Auntie Sanni. Both books revolve around the suspense of a political crime, both crimes with underlying religious motives. Both books mingle the Anglo-pragmatic with Hindu mysticism and do so with striking similarity. Both books use the very similar cast of hotel guests to provide very similar sub-plots. The parallels are too many and too close to be coincidental. In places, many places, the books intersect. Artists borrow. Artists pay tribute and give credit. Writers borrow. Writers acknowledge. Sometimes their publishers pay royalties. And while there is nothing new under the sun, including the very phrase itself, there is a difference between books that are based on books and books that are thinly disguised copies. I should hope a writer wouldn't accept grant and foundation money to re-write someone else's work only to pass it off as an original. Life has many coincidences. Some that seem inconceivable are still truly coincidence. I hope this book falls in that category. I did enjoy reading "Sister India" but I never felt that I was reading a separate work. I felt that I was reading the millennium re-make of Godden's book.
Rating: 
Summary: Personal growth through Conflict
Review: A four hundred pound woman from North Carolina is the unlikely inn keeper and protagonist in "the holiest city in India"(1) in Peggy Payne's riviting novel, "Sister India". Madame Natraja serves as the representation of a blend of the East and the West, which eventually demonstrates to the other characters that it is possible to be made of parts that may appear to be polar opposites. It is amidst the beautiful city, which Payne describes exquisitely, that turmoil seeps into every facet. The novel unfolds through the perspective of many characters with many unique reasons for embarking on personal journeys alongside the Ganges River. When religious unrest explodes in the city in a powerful struggle between Muslims and Hindus, the characters are forced to face their own inner wars.
Madame Natraja symbolizes the constant struggle for personal freedom and for justice. Natraja reflects throughout the book on her life before she came to India. She had been a thin, beautiful girl, but situations arose where she was not allowed to be with a man because he was of a different race. The devastating results led to Estelle leaving North Carolina, moving to India and creating a new life and form in Madame Natraja. As Natraja attempts to create an identity amidst the turmoil in the city, she discovers a sense of war within herself. Being surround by the warring religions, Natraja is able to draw some comfort and reach personal conclusions about herself by the end of the novel. Her internal war is manifested by the outside conflict, which ultimately symbolizes the need for conflict to face necessary elements of life. Natraja had tried to run away and avoid her problems for much of her life, but outward violence expressed between the religious sects forces her to face her life and decide what really matters.
Similarly those who reside at Madame Natraja's house awaken their own conflicts within themselves through the exposure to the seeming downfall of the city around them. Jill arrives with many personal struggles and is almost able to believe the Ganges river had healed her, yet when in the face of difficulties she doubts herself and realizes that she is only cured by learning to reconcile her attitudes and reach a level of comfort with herself. T.J. arrives and tries to teach a country how to be ecologically aware and his attempts would result in reshaping much of the culture and the contact the culture has with the river. It serves as his attempt to try and repair something so that his failing in the maintenance of his marriage does not seem so drastic. Ultimately he also is forced to face realities and claim responsibilities when he is witness to the conflicts within the city. Finally, Marie serves as the individual who helps facilitate the growth of characters, primarily Natraja. In aiding others, Marie is able to begin the process of creating her own life and learning that the loss of her husband does not mean that her life is over. Marie at first is overly conscious of her disabilities, yet as time passes and she helps others, she is helped in the process and embraces her individuality and is able to reconcile her perceptions of people.
The outward conflict serves as a catalyst for the characters to face their own divisions within themselves. Ultimately, the conflicts serve as a necessity for the developments of self. Muslims and Hindus may appear in the beginning to be complete opposites, however, the recognition that both are humans and entitled to the same respect emerges through incidents and personal discoveries. Simultaneous with the progress of the city, the characters realize that the conflicts within themselves have to be addressed in order for them to truly live life. The story can sometimes seem repetitive, but the beauty of rising from the struggle makes the entire journey through a unique world more than worth the trip. Payne's uses of symbolism of the river washing away the past versus being constant faced with conflict shows the reader that the past cannot necessarily be rectified, but learning and coping with it allows for a true cleansing of spirit. A well written story that uses double meanings beautifully.
Rating:
Summary: Personal growth through Conflict
Review: A four hundred pound woman from North Carolina is the unlikely inn keeper and protagonist in "the holiest city in India"(1) in Peggy Payne's riviting novel, "Sister India". Madame Natraja serves as the representation of a blend of the East and the West, which eventually demonstrates to the other characters that it is possible to be made of parts that may appear to be polar opposites. It is amidst the beautiful city, which Payne describes exquisitely, that turmoil seeps into every facet. The novel unfolds through the perspective of many characters with many unique reasons for embarking on personal journeys alongside the Ganges River. When religious unrest explodes in the city in a powerful struggle between Muslims and Hindus, the characters are forced to face their own inner wars.
Madame Natraja symbolizes the constant struggle for personal freedom and for justice. Natraja reflects throughout the book on her life before she came to India. She had been a thin, beautiful girl, but situations arose where she was not allowed to be with a man because he was of a different race. The devastating results led to Estelle leaving North Carolina, moving to India and creating a new life and form in Madame Natraja. As Natraja attempts to create an identity amidst the turmoil in the city, she discovers a sense of war within herself. Being surround by the warring religions, Natraja is able to draw some comfort and reach personal conclusions about herself by the end of the novel. Her internal war is manifested by the outside conflict, which ultimately symbolizes the need for conflict to face necessary elements of life. Natraja had tried to run away and avoid her problems for much of her life, but outward violence expressed between the religious sects forces her to face her life and decide what really matters.
Similarly those who reside at Madame Natraja's house awaken their own conflicts within themselves through the exposure to the seeming downfall of the city around them. Jill arrives with many personal struggles and is almost able to believe the Ganges river had healed her, yet when in the face of difficulties she doubts herself and realizes that she is only cured by learning to reconcile her attitudes and reach a level of comfort with herself. T.J. arrives and tries to teach a country how to be ecologically aware and his attempts would result in reshaping much of the culture and the contact the culture has with the river. It serves as his attempt to try and repair something so that his failing in the maintenance of his marriage does not seem so drastic. Ultimately he also is forced to face realities and claim responsibilities when he is witness to the conflicts within the city. Finally, Marie serves as the individual who helps facilitate the growth of characters, primarily Natraja. In aiding others, Marie is able to begin the process of creating her own life and learning that the loss of her husband does not mean that her life is over. Marie at first is overly conscious of her disabilities, yet as time passes and she helps others, she is helped in the process and embraces her individuality and is able to reconcile her perceptions of people.
The outward conflict serves as a catalyst for the characters to face their own divisions within themselves. Ultimately, the conflicts serve as a necessity for the developments of self. Muslims and Hindus may appear in the beginning to be complete opposites, however, the recognition that both are humans and entitled to the same respect emerges through incidents and personal discoveries. Simultaneous with the progress of the city, the characters realize that the conflicts within themselves have to be addressed in order for them to truly live life. The story can sometimes seem repetitive, but the beauty of rising from the struggle makes the entire journey through a unique world more than worth the trip. Payne's uses of symbolism of the river washing away the past versus being constant faced with conflict shows the reader that the past cannot necessarily be rectified, but learning and coping with it allows for a true cleansing of spirit. A well written story that uses double meanings beautifully.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing: A Mixed Bag
Review: Author's description of setting, climate, and atmosphere is excellent, but the characters seem contrived. Also the subplot explaining why the American hotel keeper is in India seems totally off the wall and unnecessary.
Rating:
Summary: The charaters stayed with me
Review: Contrary to some reviews, I did not find that the setting out shined the the character development, although their is not much of a plot. The setting and the turmoil in India that are featured in the book are mysterious. So too are the characters. While they are not all fully developed, the fact that they are not, made the book at the more compelling. The reader can almost feel him or herself as one of them. You would never really know a fellow guest in a bed and breakfast all that well during a short stay and that is just what Payne gives us. A partial view into the lives of people who pass like ships in the night. We may want to know more about them- but Payne leaves that up to the readers imagination. I ended the book wanted to know these people better. I have since thought about them. To me, that makes for an memorable reading experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable literary work
Review: For over two decades, American Madame Natraja managed the small guesthouse Saraswati. When she lived in segregated Nevus, North Carolina in the 1950s, people knew the three hundred pound-plus woman as Estelle. A scandal forced Estelle to leave town and she kept moving until she settled in India's holiest of cities, Varanasi.Her adopted home city has racial problems too as violence periodically erupts between the Hindus and Muslims. When someone murders a Muslim near Saraswati, the city leaders impose a strict curfew with no one allowed to leave their homes. The guesthouse visitors see a side of India they never expected to observe and learn how precious life truly is. Madame Natraja never veers from her set course until a friend vanishes. The Lonely Planet tour guidebook lists the main protagonist as a "one woman blend of East and West." That is a very insightful look at Madame Natraja, who understands her western roots even as she embraces aspects of eastern culture. The story line is intriguing and complex, as Peggy Payne has written an intense novel with many layers of interpretation available to the reader. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: city as character
Review: I admit it--I read for pleasure and like a great plot over flowery descriptions and fine language. At first, I did not buy this book because I thought that it would be full of such descriptions, since the author is a travel writer. However, the author weaves the descriptions into the plot, and the holy city becomes a character in itself. The book is a character study, but with enough tension to keep the reader turning the pages.
Rating:
Summary: Books like this are why reading is my truest pleasure
Review: I feel like I just returned from a magical vacation to Varanasi. The beautiful swirl of colors of the saris..the delicious smells of exotic foods and spices mixed with the odourous River Ganges...and the burning of human bodies.I could hear the shouts of the Indian vendors..selling everything from perfume to astrological readings...the small children dressed like American children of the fifties. All the while there is a tangible layer of fear in the "greasy air" due to the constant possibility of Muslim/Hindu violence...so timely as I read this story in the last few days when religious conflicts and the threat of random violence has darkened the shores of my own country.Natraja is one of the most fascinating fictional creations I have ever come across...the author manages to give her so much history with such a sparce amount of information it is amazing. The contrast of taking the reader back to Natrajas Southern childhood from hercurrent exotic surroundings is brilliant...the dismal kitchen of her sad childhood in North Carolina is written as right on as the scenes on the Ghats of the Ganges..'the dishrag smell of the plastic tablecloth,the fry pan soaking in the sink'...such a vividly drawn picture. The other characters are also quite well put together....and if you pay very close attention you will catch, like a very fine mist on your face, a very subtle love story...just here and there...very subdued....which is the best kind...be nice to your self....build a fire..light some scented candles...order in a great Indian Dinner and experience "Sister India"
Rating:
Summary: Disturbingly Unsatiating
Review: I found this book to be unsettling, but I could not stop reading. I believe readers who enjoyed "The God of Small Things" will understand what I mean by that, and I also believe they will enjoy this book as much as I did. The story follows Estelle, a beanpole of a girl who flees North Carolina to find safe haven in Varanasi (Benares), the holiest of India's Hindu cities. Here she becomes Madame Natraja, and manages a small guesthouse called Saraswati. The beanpole of a girl now tips the scales at close to 400 pounds, and the guests of Saraswati are surprised at both her girth and her American-ness. After an astrologer's prediction of unrest, seeds of religious disparity are sown amongst the Hindus and Muslims, and a Muslim is found murdered at Saraswati. As a result, a strict curfew is announced, and no one is to leave their homes. The guests of Saraswati find themselves virtual prisoners. During their "internment," they come to learn a great deal about each other, as well as India's cutsoms, and the rather mysterious Madame Natraja. Throughout the book, we are brought back to North Carolina through flashbacks, being fed tiny bread crumbs of hints as to what has made Estelle-Natraja the miserable creature she now is. The truth is bittersweet, indeed. It wasn't until I was finished with the book that I came to learn that Peggy Payne is also a travel writer; that rings particularly true in this, her first work of fiction. Her eye and ear for the "foreign" as we may know it are painfully true at times, and she unveils a world we can only hope to otherwise dream of. Pick up a copy of this book and curl up with it in front of the fire. It is a delight from the first sentence to the last but, if you're like me, you'll beg for more.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbingly Unsatiating
Review: I found this book to be unsettling, but I could not stop reading. I believe readers who enjoyed "The God of Small Things" will understand what I mean by that, and I also believe they will enjoy this book as much as I did. The story follows Estelle, a beanpole of a girl who flees North Carolina to find safe haven in Varanasi (Benares), the holiest of India's Hindu cities. Here she becomes Madame Natraja, and manages a small guesthouse called Saraswati. The beanpole of a girl now tips the scales at close to 400 pounds, and the guests of Saraswati are surprised at both her girth and her American-ness. After an astrologer's prediction of unrest, seeds of religious disparity are sown amongst the Hindus and Muslims, and a Muslim is found murdered at Saraswati. As a result, a strict curfew is announced, and no one is to leave their homes. The guests of Saraswati find themselves virtual prisoners. During their "internment," they come to learn a great deal about each other, as well as India's cutsoms, and the rather mysterious Madame Natraja. Throughout the book, we are brought back to North Carolina through flashbacks, being fed tiny bread crumbs of hints as to what has made Estelle-Natraja the miserable creature she now is. The truth is bittersweet, indeed. It wasn't until I was finished with the book that I came to learn that Peggy Payne is also a travel writer; that rings particularly true in this, her first work of fiction. Her eye and ear for the "foreign" as we may know it are painfully true at times, and she unveils a world we can only hope to otherwise dream of. Pick up a copy of this book and curl up with it in front of the fire. It is a delight from the first sentence to the last but, if you're like me, you'll beg for more.
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