Source: amazon.com
Book’s Name - Sister of My Heart
Author’s Name - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Genre - Fiction
Language - English
In the journey of life- tumult, pain, grief, and sadness are a given; it is a voyage filled with highs and lows. Therefore, in these circumstances, things of beauty like love, friendship, and sisterhood are sources of immense strength. Sister of My Heart is an extraordinary story of two sisters set in this background.
Synopsis (No Spoiler!)
The story revolves around two cousins Anju and Sudha, whose bond is as close as, if not more than that of sisters. However, their bond faces the heat of shackles of conflict and family drama. The book is divided into two parts; the first deals with their life until their marriage and the second is set in their experiences post that.
The revelation of a dark family secret to Sudha at the end of part one, and some other plot changes have a concrete impact on the further story. As the story ends, the plot witnesses certain major twists but the relationship of the sisters helps them overcome all adversities with prudence.
About the Author
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author who has gone on to produce some bestselling books. Her work centers around the extraordinary in the lives of ordinary people. As per the bio on her website, Divakaruni teaches in the Creative Writing program at the University of Houston, where she is the McDavid Professor of Creative Writing.
Divakaruni's work has been published in several magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker. Her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies with several translations. Some of her prestigious works include The Palace of Illusions, The Mistress of Spices, The Forest of Enchantments, and The Vine of Desire. Mythology, history, women’s experiences, immigration, etc are recurrent themes in her work.
About the Book
The profoundly narrated tales of Sudha and Anju in the book shed light on the dynamism of relationships over time. The two cousins who were born prematurely around the same time, share a bond like that of sisters. Oblivious of the family chaos running in their background, the two would take a bullet for each other. Despite the starkness of their personalities, the two are united by bonds of affection.
At the time of their marriage, each of them discovers secrets that distance them, not just physically but also emotionally. Over time, their lives see several changes, while Anju goes on to settle in the USA- where she has her fair share of struggles to face, Sudha faces the trials and tribulations of married life in India. Over time the love between the sisters supersedes all differences.
The book is a narration of the complexities of life and how personal bonds evolve in their heat. The plot of the book matures as the girls grow up, and the change in emotional distance between the two is beautifully highlighted by words. The book clearly outlines the difficulties that Anju faces in the USA, and that Sudha faces in India- how the cultural manifestations of patriarchy are different.
The book deals with the theme of marriage and underlines how it is merely a social contract. In addition to this, the story also caters to the differences among family members, as is marked in the differences between authority held by Anju and Sudha’s respective mothers.
Famous Quotes
“Because that’s the thing about us human beings when we really love someone, we can be happy even while our heart is breaking.”
“Perhaps love and longing can make a magic around them.”
"...the bird began to carry them to a new life in a new land. We'll be happy ever after, the queen wanted to whisper to her daughter as they flew, but she knew that was not true. Life never is that way. And so instead she held her daughter in silence, heart to heart, and as they traveled each heart drew on the other's strength, so that when they reached their destination they would be ready."
“Every person has a heart, but we're not always lucky enough to get a glimpse of it. And every heart, even the hardest, has a fragile spot. If you hit it there, it shatters.”
My rating is 5/5
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Written by – Ananya Verma
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