Simon and Schuster,
2016. Adult fiction.
This multigenerational tale involves both India and the United States.
Sabitri longs for education and is helped by a wealthy family until she makes a
mistake. She ultimately has a successful business making sweets like her own
mother did and named for Durga herself. Sabitri’s daughter, Bela, dissolves ties with
her mother to run away to America with her boyfriend. As a middle aged woman,
she unexpectedly finds a new friend and a new life. Bela’s daughter, Tara,
makes some poor choices including an abortion. Her life is changed by an
encounter in a temple and in an automobile accident in Texas.
All the women depend on their own
notions of the truth of their pasts. Stories of male friends, lovers, and
husbands are also woven throughout, but it is the women who sort through and
ultimately put together the pieces to become stronger. From Kolkata to Houston, from the very
traditional to the modern, from poverty to wealth, from “otherness” to
acceptance, these characters will find a place in readers’ hearts.
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