Scan barcode
soniapage's review
4.0
Set in India and America, this tender story centers on the sisterly bond between two cousins which helps them through the sorrows and joys of growing up and into young womanhood. The book touches on a few disturbing things about modern Indian culture I wasn't aware of. I loved the surprise at the "ending". The pace of the book is rather slow which makes the ending seem rather abrupt, especially since it doesn't really end - there are many hurdles left for the cousins. I will put the sequel, Vine of Desire, on my to-read list.
asurges's review
5.0
My dear cousin forwarded me this book, and it's truly one of my all-time favorites. So, so good. Skip Mistress of Spices by the same author, though. UGH.
kris45's review
5.0
Absolutely beautiful prose, interesting characters & plot twists I didn't see coming. It's rare that a book moves me to tears, but this one got to me.
kmcneil's review
3.0
From Amazon.com:
From the award-winning author of Mistress of Spices, the bestselling novel about the extraordinary bond between two women, and the family secrets and romantic jealousies that threaten to tear them apart.
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.
From the award-winning author of Mistress of Spices, the bestselling novel about the extraordinary bond between two women, and the family secrets and romantic jealousies that threaten to tear them apart.
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.
tulscip's review
4.0
This book was very well written, but it would be easier to comprehend and relate to the book if the reader was Indian.
The plot line is very intriguing and it's filled with emotion. It shows how strong love is and no matter how much people try, the bond is never broken.
The plot line is very intriguing and it's filled with emotion. It shows how strong love is and no matter how much people try, the bond is never broken.
vincentyoufool's review
4.0
I want to hate it for all bouts of sadness it gave me along the way, but I can't. Sister about of My Heart a mesmerizingly told tale, engaging, but at times not so much. It had its ups and downs, where the story is far too enchanting and then there are times it is not. It were the highs, the ups and the times when the story is enchanting that made me give it four stars.
neethuraghavan676's review
4.0
Two cousins Sudha and Anju in Calcutta are born prematurely into a household of women on the same day as their fathers die. The sisters grow up together, always there for one another with a very thick bond. But lives take a major turn which divides their path and one gets married to a family who doesn't want a girl child and the other settles in America with her husband. Though the sisters come together at the end, it was for sure not a "Happily ever after" end.
epgr's review
5.0
I'm really enjoying this story, and can't wait to find out what happens with the main characters--two girls who are cousins and were brought up together. Goodreads recommended this book to me, based on one of my shelves, and I'm so glad I checked it out.