reviews - SUNANDA CHATTERJEE

Published on: December 21, 2016

First Comes Love

by Emily Giffin

A family drama with tragedy, forgiveness and acceptance

First Comes Love is a story of two sisters struggling to make sense of their lives at the fifteenth anniversary of their brother’s tragic death in a car accident. Rosie, the spunky, extroverted sister is now a school teacher who has lost the love of her life and now lives with her best friend, a guy. Nearing forty, she had decided to use a sperm bank to conceive a child, and her quest is to find an appropriate donor. Meredith is the reserved control-freak actress-turned-lawyer married her brother’s best friend out of a feeling of obligation. Her quest is difficult to define; throughout the book, she’s trying to decide if she really loves her husband.

The family is torn apart due to the tragedy and the parents are divorced; Meredith has bought the family home, which ties her further to the past.

The two sisters have an unusually tumultuous relationship; most sisters I know (and my own) are really good friends. But tragedy has distanced them further. There is a passing mention of their relationship before the tragedy, but even that was hair-pulling and ‘won’t-share-my-necklace’ type of drama. At the end of the book, after painful secrets come out and each defines her own priorities, they come to an equilibrium of understanding.

The characters are deeply flawed: Rosie is self-indulgent and bossy without many redeeming qualities, something any protagonist needs to be relatable. Meredith is the jealous type who can’t find anything good about her sister or her own life. I didn’t like either character, but was compelled to complete the story.

The novel delves into the concepts of survivor’s guilt, forgiveness, jealousy, and the ultimate desire to follow your heart. The characters may not be likeable, but the story is well-written and riveting.

Buy it on Amazon.

Published on: July 26, 2016

The Madras Affair by Sundari Venkatraman

A romance with a powerful social message!

The book starts with Sangita, the empowered, successful head of an NGO that works to improve the lives of battered and homeless women. We are introduced to her supporting and loving husband Gautam, an American.
As the story unfolds, we find out about Sangita’s past. She is born to an orthodox South Indian family and married off at the age of nineteen. We find out about her abusive husband, his sudden death while driving drunk, and the impossible demands and blame her family places on Sangita and her little boy. Young Sangita falls head over heels with Gautam while working as a receptionist in a hospital,. But she has been brought up to follow the norms of her conservative society and finds it difficult to accept Gautam’s affection.
Gautam is born to an American father and Indian mother, and lives with his grandparents in India, teaching at a local university. Having grown up in the US, he does not understand the traditions and taboos a young widow with a child faces.
With the help of her sister-in-law, her son, and Gautam’s grandparents, Sangita finds the will to overcome parental pressure and establish her authority to finally free herself form the societal chains that bind her.
With strong and well fleshed out characters, an interesting plotline, vivid imagery and a satisfying conclusion, Sundari Venkatraman takes us on a romantic journey, which leaves us smiling in the end.
Highly recommended!

Published on: May 31, 2016

An un-put-downable Psychological Thriller

Until I Met Her by Natalie Barelli
Before Emma Fern meets Beatrice Hodgson-Greene, she is a sweet, happy, and easy going store owner in a reasonably happy marriage.

Enter Beatrice, a best-selling author of crime fiction, who comes to Emma with an offer: Beatrice needs someone to be ‘the author’ of her yet to be published novel, because it is of a different genre. Emma has unfulfilled literary ambitions, and finds the offer impossible to refuse.

As they begin their imbalanced and bumpy ‘friendship’, things take a turn for the worse, and you find yourself rooting for poor Emma, as she takes decision after self-destructive decision, in a journey of shocking discoveries and unexpected turns.

I enjoy a good psychological thriller, and Natalie Barelli’s Until I met Her didn’t fail to entertain. In fact, instead of going out for a jog, I found myself glued to the exercise bike at home, with the iPad in my hands, waiting for the next mind-boggling twist.

A fast paced, interesing read.

Published on: May 23, 2016

A Funny, Quirky and Heartwarming Love Story

Clean Break by Abby Vegas
A Clean Break is, at its heart, a romance with elements of suspense. It is the story of a down-on-her-luck, used-to-be-rich girl Lane, who is trying to get a clean break and start over. She may have lost everything, but her greatest asset is her personality.

When she loses her deposit for an apartment in New York and must live in the basement of a suspicious Russian-mafia-type organization, she has no choice but to accept her fate. But Lane is such a spunky, strong, impulsive, loving young woman with a quirky sense of humor, that I fell in love with her character from the first page.

Viktor is everything Lane should avoid: devastatingly handsome, with a quaint accent and startling blue eyes, numerous tattoos, and a past he prefers to hide. But he keeps showing up when she needs him. He seems like a really good guy at heart. Hurting, just like her. But he also seems linked to the Russian mafia, and her only friend warns her not to get too close to him. But their attraction is irresistible.

What I like most about the book is Ms Vegas’s ‘voice’. For a debut novel, Ms Vegas has such a great voice, that it almost seems she’s talking from experience, about herself. In addition, her descriptions of places and people are vivid and enriching. The character arc is well built for all the characters, including Lane’s boss, eventually leading to a satisfying end.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was rooting for Lane all the way!
Kudos!

Published on: May 17, 2016

Evocative saga of love, lies, and heartbreak

A Mother's Secret by Renita D'Silva
5/5
A Mother’s Secret is a sweeping saga that weaves the lives of three women seamlessly, drawing the reader into the story with breathtaking imagery. As we delve deeper into the secrets, deceit, and heartbreak, D’Silva reveals the story bit by tantalizing bit, and unfolds a tapestry of richly textured characters with flaws and strengths, and we find ourselves cheering for each in turn until the satisfying end.

The three main characters are Jaya, who is mourning the loss of her baby and her mother, Durga, who blames herself for her parents' accident, and Kali, who loses the love of her childhood sweetheart because of family drama.

But my favorite was Kali, whose deception has a childlike innocence, whose pride is fragile, and whose love for life is triumphant.
Another evocative book by Renita D’Silva. A must read!
Buy on Amazon

Published on: April 26, 2016

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri's lilting prose paints a pretty picture, but the melancholy can get to you. Many of her characters are maladjusted, sad, Bengali immigrants, not even trying to fit in, and their children are often confused and sadder still. But she writes beautifully! In this book, she explores the lives to two second-generation Indian immigrants as they weave their way through life in America, then Europe and Thailand. Interesting read!

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