Sister Of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Sister Of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni – 336 pages

Book Blurb:

Anju is the daughter of an upper-caste Calcutta family of distinction. Her cousin Sudha is the daughter of the black sheep of that same family. Sudha is startlingly beautiful; Anju is not. Despite those differences, since the day on which the two girls were born, the same day their fathers died–mysteriously and violently–Sudha and Anju have been sisters of the heart. Bonded in ways even their mothers cannot comprehend, the two girls grow into womanhood as if their fates as well as their hearts were merged. But, when Sudha learns a dark family secret, that connection is shattered. For the first time in their lives, the girls know what it is to feel suspicion and distrust. Urged into arranged marriages, Sudha and Anju’s lives take opposite turns. Sudha becomes the dutiful daughter-in-law of a rigid small-town household. Anju goes to America with her new husband and learns to live her own life of secrets. When tragedy strikes each of them, however, they discover that despite distance and marriage, they have only each other to turn to. Set in the two worlds of San Francisco and India, this exceptionally moving novel tells a story at once familiar and exotic, seducing readers from the first page with the lush prose we have come to expect from Divakaruni. Sister of My Heart is a novel destined to become as widely beloved as it is acclaimed.

My Review: 5 stars

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I happen to love Indian fiction because I can learn about their colorful, intimate and family-oriented culture. The author of this book was able to express herself in such a poetic and purposeful way. The whole book was like a warm blanket on a cold day. I adored this book and all it’s offerings: secrets, drama, sisterhood and dreams both fulfilled and not. The challenges of the culture, arranged marriages, being a woman in Calcutta and dealing with the consequences of all these things were beautifully woven into this story. The honesty of sisterhood is at the heart of this novel. This is a timeless 5-star book.

Quotes I liked:

That’s how it is sometimes when we plunge into the depths of our lives. No one can accompany us, not even those who would give up their hearts for our happiness.”

“I have to believe in possibility. How else can we bear the enormous weight of life?”