The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar

The Museum of Failures: A Novel by Thrity Umrigar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another awesome Thrity Umrigar novel; this audiobook narrated by Vikas Adam was addictive; Remy was such a likable character & as his life implodes on a visit to India to adopt a child & visit an ailing mother. What happens in this novel is so sad with decisions made and lived with; will Remy be able to forgive? A must read!!!

View all my reviews

The Henna Artist (The Jaipur Trilogy, #1) by Alka Joshi

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Tara Smith and Pam Smith for this awesome book! The saga of Laksimi living in Jaipur in the 1950s, a single woman who is an amazing henna artist saving for her own home. All that is upended when her past collides with her present. I cana't wait to read the next book in this series.

View all my reviews

Honor by Thrity Umrigar

Honor by Thrity Umrigar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG what a great book! I wanted to stop listening ( narration was spectacular by Sneha Mathan) to the horror that was Meena's life before and after she marries Abdul who is Muslim to her Hindu. She is attacked by her own brothers, her husband is murdered and burned and Meena is burned and beaten. Smita is a journalist who thinks she is going to help and stay with her journalist friend, Shannon, while she recuperates from surgery. Instead what she learns is that her friend wants her to take over the story of Meena, interview the brothers and village elder, and any witnesses. Smita is accompanied by Mohan as she navigates the story and as she hides a secret Mohan makes her question many things she believed in her life. I loved/hated this story because Thrity Umrigar speaks the truth about what is still continuing to happen in India in small villages that believe tradition dictates burnings, buying off officials and villagers. I was riveted and will continue to be haunted by this book- it is a MUST READ!

View all my reviews

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to this book (thank you to my friend, Michelle Romash and Jean Norman) flawlessly narrated by Robin Miles. This is a must read but a difficult read. Isabel Wilkerson's research was thorough, she also used narratives in history, and the dates and data were so important too. Wilkerson discusses race and caste (in the United States, Germany and India) and it's effects throughout history. It is honest and very painful. Highly recommended.

View all my reviews

Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman

Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED this book, Kabir's story of courage and optimism as he leaves jail where he was born and knows nothing about life outside the jail in India. But due to the love of his teacher, his Amma, and others in the jail, Kabir is released into the cold, cruel world. Once Kabir meets Rani, a street child who lives in a tree and her parrot, Jay; they set off on a quest to find family. I loved Kabir, Rani, and their adventures, I could not stop turning the pages. A must read!

View all my reviews

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this graphic novel filled with adventure as part of The HUB 2018 Reading Challenge and oh did I love it. Priyanka “Pri” Das is an Indian American teen who lives with her mother in California and knows nothing at all about her father or India, where her mother lived. Author Chanani's black, blue and white illustrations depict California while the mysterious, magic pashmina is brightly colored takes Pri to an India that is romanticized, while a talking elephant and bird show her the country's beauty. As Pri demands to know more about her mother, her father and India- a long lost aunt (her mom's sister) is newly pregnant and asks for Pri's help. I learned how restrictive women's lives were in India (can't even drive) and was rewarded with Pri's new outlook when she returns and really talks to her mother. For Pri's authentic search for identity this graphic novel is a must read!!!

View all my reviews

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book for a twitter chat book club, #yabookchat which will be discussed Sunday 4/8 at 9PM EST. This book devastated me, Zarin and Porus' life in Saudi Arabia, especially Jeddah was hell. Zarin is a strong female character (did I like her???, not really, but after they way she is treated by everyone, except Porus I saw her as a totally marginalized teen) who lives in a sexist, racist, judgmental world (school and home) that does not allow any freedom for teens in most aspects of life. The only character I truly loved and felt for was Porus. He is kind, has been raised right with a gentle father he desperately loves (and loses) and a revered mother. All of his goodness does unfortunately does not work for the love he has for Zarin. Time and time again, she is rude to him, with her mean, angry words she tries to push him away - she smokes, skips school and has a reputation (unearned) with guys resulting in her constantly being bullied by the girls in her school. She suffers physical abuse at her aunt's hands her whole life and her uncle turns a blind eye and eventually turns against Zarin when she will not tell anyone about the drugging and sexual violence by a classmate. There was no character (except Porus) that had any redeeming qualities, the religious police did not allow any normal teen relationships and society judged Zarin based on gossip, lies, and her own secrecy. I ached for this teen and when I finished the book, in the Author Note, Tanaz Bhathena summed up the awful life that existed for teens in Saudi Arabia in 2014, she revisits her own past over and over to write the book "My own story is different from Zarin's and Mishal's, Yet it does not make their stories any less true, not does it diminish the reality of living in a world that still defines girls in various ways without letting them define themselves. This book is a love letter to them all."
A must read but a devastating one nonetheless.

View all my reviews

Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman

Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vidya is an Indian girl in the 1940's with a close knit family. Vidya's father is a doctor and she has a mother and a brother. It is during a march when her father helps a woman who has been thrashed by the British soldiers that he is in turn, viciously beaten and is no longer a vibrant doctor but dependent on his family for his every need. Vidya's family must go live with her father's family, work long hours and endure insults and slurs. Vidya once wanted to attend school and even though this seems impossible now, she longs to get an education, which leads her to get permission from her grandfather to "climb the stairs" and spend time reading in the library. Vidya also brings her baby neice while she pores over the many wonderful books. She also meets Raman who seems to like the same books and leads to many long conversations. Her brother decides to go into the army and fight and is banished from his grandfather's home. Vidya can't understand why he is forsaking her and the family. Will Vidya be able to hold onto her dream of becoming educated and bettering the world like her father, or will she be married off in an arranged marriage?

View all my reviews

Karma by Cathy Osterle

Karma by Cathy Ostlere
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book, very very long but so worth the saga and drama during the tumultuous time in India when Indira Gandhi was assasinated. I loved Maya, Sandeep, and understood the failings of her family because of their cultural beliefs.It is 1984 just after Indira Gandhi has been massacred; Maya and her father are caught in the middle of this crisis in India as they have returned from Canada to bring her mother’s ashes to her home in India. Two love stories are explored in this stunning novel in verse; will Maya be able “to speak” to Sandeep and her father?


View all my reviews