This is my second book by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The first one being The Palace of Illusions, which I enjoyed thoroughly.
Setting
Sister of My Heart is set in Calcutta when old upper-caste families were held in high regard and young girls were discouraged from going out alone.
Storyline
It's the story about Sudha-the beauty and Anju- the brains who were born in a well respected Calcutta family. They are cousins, best friends and more so soul sisters. The story alternates between Anju and Sudha's perspective. They led a very sheltered life in the house full of women having lost their fathers even before they were born. They live with their mothers and pishi ma(father's sister). Anju and Sudha grow with their own set of different dreams but have unconditional love for each other. Always supporting and covering for each other. Anju is the ambitious one. Whereas, Sudha is a storyteller, always weaving fairy tales and expects life to be one too. When a secret about her past is revealed to Sudha, she feels that she is somehow indebted to Anju. She takes critical decisions of her life out of guilt and to right the wrongs done by her father. Later both of them get into arranged marriages with neither of them happy or contented. The book ends with the reunion of the sisters and with another secret in Sudha's heart.
My Thoughts
Though the story kept me engrossed, I didn't connect with either Sudha or Anju. At certain places, I couldn't grasp their reactions or actions. Anju appears to be mean in certain parts. Contrastingly, Sudha is depicted as the quintessential heroine willing to make sacrifices for her cousin's happiness. Overall a good read. Now waiting to see how the second book in the series turns out to be.
Star Rating - 3/5
Recommend - Can give it a try.
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