Category: Book Review

Hello and happy Friday folks! I’ve got another book review for you, so hold onto your seats! The novel is called The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters published in April of 2019, and written by Balli Kaur Jaswal. You can purchase the book here. Previously I read another novel by the same author called Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows.

The book centers around three sisters Shirina, Rajni, and Jezmeen Shergill, who partake in a pilgrimage to India following the death of their mother. Rajni, the eldest sister, is depicted as a control freak. The middle sister Jezmeen has her head in the clouds, and the youngest sister, Shirina, is the peacemaker. Being Punjabi Sikh and coming from a family of three sisters myself, I felt a natural connection to the novel and characters. The gentle tug of war of balancing tradition and modernity, when you are a first generation child to immigrant parents, was also relatable for me.

The novel’s three main characters each carried a unique burden or two. Two of the problems were surprises, one was alluded to, and one threw me for a loop and pressed upon an issue I feel passionate about. You will have to read the story to find out though because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. My curiosity around the alluded to issue along with the ongoing challenges the characters faced kept me hooked. 

As a writer I applaud Balli Kaur Jaswal’s well constructed plot structure, reeling in the book’s readers. The writing itself was not complex, consisting of simple verbs and easy to follow transitions. In that way a broad audience could enjoy the novel’s contents. 

My favorite parts of the book were the excerpts from the letter the Shergill sisters’ mother wrote to her daughters.

I wondered, when reading this, if my own parents felt this way when they immigrated to America:

Be patient. India is not going to be like London. The pollution and the bustling crowds will overwhelm you immediately. You girls always joked that I talked too loudly, and I turned everything into chaos. When you enter India, I want you to think about how it felt to leave this place and go somewhere as orderly as Brittain, with ruler straight rows of houses and trains that run on time. I also want you to understand how hard it was for me, adjusting to all of that quiet. 

I couldn’t agree more with what their mother wrote in her letter below:

Listen to the conversations around you. Watch people rejoicing as they rush to meet their relatives on the platforms of those smaller steps along the way. There’s no greater show of love and faith than traveling a long distance for somebody.

The below quote was not in the letter, but from either Jezmeen or Rajni’s thoughts. I do wish it was clearer whose thoughts they were in the novel. It was related to Indians who relocated abroad, but built vacation homes to return to in India. The quote rung true with what I have observed, and I appreciated the simplicity with which a commonality of humankind was relayed.

Everywhere people went, they had to remind themselves that they were somebody else.

Overall I enjoyed reading The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters, and I would give it a solid 4.5 stars out of 5. If you are looking for a good book to pick up or add to your TBR list, give this book a shot.Have you read this novel, and if so what did you think of it?  Read any other good books lately that you recommend? Do tell – I would love to know.
Thanks for stopping by my blog-spot.  See you soon!

Hello folks, and happy Friday! So, in case you were looking for a read to snuggle up with during this national polar vortex, have I got one for you?! You can cozy up in a warm blanket with some hot cocoa, and enjoy the company of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. The novel was published in 2017. This will work especially well if you are not much of a football fan. If you are, wait until next weekend to read it.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is an uplifting, and real life feel fiction novel, in the midst of a rather unexpected setting. It reminds you that a simple hello, or turning up for someone when they need you, can seem so small in magnitude to one person, while meaning everything to another.

The story takes place in Glasgow with the main character and first person narrator being Eleanor Oliphant. She works in an office as a finance clerk, and lives on her own. She has no real friends or family near her, and other than weekly conversations with her mummy, she lives a rather solitary life. Still, it would seem that for all purposes she is completely fine. She develops a friendship with an unlikely constituent, and the events that unfold after lead to an unraveling of Eleanor.

As I read the book, and connected with the main character, I found that there is a little bit of Eleanor in all of us. Her vocabulary is impeccable, (kudos to the author), she is a bit of a germaphobe, and vodka is her weekend buddy. For someone who does not have people surrounding her (or really anyone), it does not make her feel that she should settle on the company of anyone, or care about their opinions of her.

I found the novel to be a page-turner, and read it in four days, which is lightning speed for me.

Every good novel has an underlying theme. This one was around mental illness, and how a simple kind gesture can move mountains. It really brings to mind the quote by Wendy Mass “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

I give Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine five stars, and highly recommend you read it. At the time of this post, the paperback edition is on sale at amazon. Score!

If you have read this book, what did you think of it? Have you gone out of your way to be kind to someone today, whether you know them or not? What are you doing this super bowl weekend? Please share!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Hello friends!  I recently read a glorious work of South Asian literature for a book club. It was written by one of my favorite, award winning authors, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The novel is entitled The Palace of Illusions, and it was published in 2008.  The novel is set to be released as a motion picture in Bollywood.  Let’s just say I am counting down the days until I can watch it.

Goodreads had an astounding 23,000 ratings for its 4.13 star rating on this fascinating work of art!  

The tale centers around the famous Indian epic, the Mahabharat.  This story is keenly unique, though, in that the point of view is narrated by the one and only Panchaali, wife of the legendary Pandava brothers. As you travel through the part history, part myth story, you will gain a magical, new view of an old historic tale.

Tragedy, duty and sacrifice are pourn like magical water on the novel’s pages, pulling you into the story such that you are there, following Panchaali’s every footstep, her every thought. The novel maps Panchaali’s early life from a fire-born princess in her father’s castle to her marriage  to the five Pandava brothers. Facing exile and war, and a love story gone unfulfilled, we experience Panchaali’s transition from that of a young naive girl, into a fiery, strong woman. The tale reminds us of karma’s magic wand, and the docile hands of fate that follow it.

There are far too many passages that traversed me into a cascade of emotions, but one such discussion between Krishna and Gandhari, contemplating karma, left an imprint on me.  Gandhari, experiencing a mother’s pain, tried to curse the Pandavas, to which Krishna cooly replied:

“All things must end someday.  How can the house of the Yadus be an exception?”  Then his voice grew stern. “But tell me, aren’t you responsible for this war, too? Who indulged Duryodhan when he was a boy, instead of punishing him for the things he did to his cousins?”

Krishna goes on to say:

“Duryodhan broke his word again and again.  He took from his cousins through trickery what was justly theirs- and then, after they’d fulfilled all the conditions he placed on them, refused to return it,  You know this yourself. Isn’t that why when Duryodhan asked for your blessing just before he went to Kurukshetra, you didn’t say ‘May you win’?” Gandhari was weeping.  Krishna put his arm around her shaking shoulders. “Instead you said, ‘May righteousness prevail’ I know it was difficult for a mother to pronounce those words. But you did the right thing. Now that your words have come to pass, how can you hate those who were merely the instruments of universal law, which ultimately must restore that which was out of balance?”

There are many who turn a blind eye to wrongdoing from those that they love, and doing this, especially to young children, can create a future of entitlement.  Karma and fate spring forth from our actions, or lack thereof. Mothers and fathers – and I am speaking to myself as well – teach your kids right from wrong. Their future depends on it.

Have you read this novel, and if so what did you think?  If you had a book club on this novel, what did you all discuss?  Please share, I would love to know.

So, I don’t know about you, but I am always up for a good read.  Want a recommendation?  I got one for ya! Recently I read a work of art in literature by one of my favorite authors, and I wanted to take some time to tell you about it.

Chitra Banerjee Divakurni published ‘Before We Visit the Goddess’ in April of 2016. It is a powerful novel from the award-winning author of Palace of Illusions, Sister of My Heart and Arranged Marriage: Stories.  The novel weaves the tale of three generations of transcontinental Indian mothers and daughters who discover that their greatest source of strength is one another. They are a family torn apart and brought back together through the bonds of family, regardless of the hurdles they face.

The three women’s stories are musical like explosions of love, loss, and forgiveness that astound you with the poetic ease of the writing style.

The website www.goodreads.com has given the book 3.75 stars.  I give it 4 stars out of 4,  because it is in my top 10 of must read books.

Sabitri is the daughter of a poor and rural family, who desires an education but makes a mistake in love, in her one opportunity to obtain that education.  Sabitri’s daughter Bela is impacted by her mother’s misstep, which later leads to struggles in Bela’s marriage. These challenges imprint Bela’s daughter Tara with lessons about loyalty, love and believing in yourself.  The novel also has a beautiful emphasis on female empowerment and education.

I am a Houston, Texas native, which is where Bela and Tara live, and I found it noteworthy that the author’s accuracy of the description as it relates to highways, and  a famous restaurant Niko Niko’s was spot on.

The inter blending of the Indian and American culture via the epigraphs from Manusmriti and Jean Thompson at the beginning of the novel were beautiful touches due to the novel straddling both India and America.

Above all, the most moving piece of the novel for me was the letter that Bela asked her mother Sabitri to write to Tara about her educational decisions.  It appears at the beginning and end of the novel.  A belief in fate and God could be provided as an explanation for the way, and timing of which, Bela actually receives this letter.

The below was a life lesson in the form of poetry, in my opinion. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a talented artist of words so keenly connected to our Indian culture.  The relevance of the below paragraph’s final sentence can be tied into a proverb of a good woman Sabitri’s mother shared with her, which was too backward for Sabitri. The proverb said ‘Good daughters are fortunate lamps brightening the family’s name.  Wicked daughter’s are firebrands, blackening the family’s name.’

‘One day, in the kitchen at the back of the store, I held in my hand a new recipe I had perfected, the sweet I would go on to name after my dead mother. I took a bite of the conch-shaped dessert, the palest most elegant mango color.  The smooth, creamy flavor of fruit and milk, sugar and saffron mingled and melted on my tongue. Satisfaction overwhelmed me. This was something I had achieved by myself, without having to depend on anyone. No one could take it away.  That’s what I want for you, my Tara, my Bela. That’s what it really means to be a fortunate lamp.’

May all woman be fortunate lamps, but only by Sabitri’s definition of it.