Invisible Lives (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: wedding sari, chiffon sari, blue sari, Ravi Ganguli, Asha Rao, Auntie Bee (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In Banerjee's sophomore effort, she introduces Lakshmi Sen, a young woman who has the uncanny ability to read people's emotions. She puts her gift to use in her mother's Seattle sari shop--finding fabrics that ease a bride's cold feet, evoke a widow's first love, and even soothe a young autistic boy's fears. Her notoriety draws the interest of a Bollywood star, but whenever the actress' charming chauffeur Nick is around, Lakshmi has trouble keeping her own emotions in check. Will she allow herself to fall for Nick or marry the Indian doctor her family has chosen for her? Banerjee captures the struggle between tradition and modernity in this accessible chick-lit tale. Readers will appreciate that Banerjee doesn't choose sides and offers a variety of perspectives through her characters. The book has a romantic, magical quality that isn't a bit treacly. It's exciting to see how much Banerjee has grown since her debut, Imaginary Men (2005). Aleksandra Kostovski
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Product Description

From the acclaimed author of Imaginary Men comes an enchanting new novel about a young woman with an uncanny ability to see deep into every heart but her own.

Lakshmi Sen was born with a magical ability to perceive the secret longings in others. Putting aside her own dreams to help run her widowed mother's struggling Seattle sari shop, Mystic Elegance, Lakshmi knows exactly how to bring happiness to customers -- from lonely immigrants to starry-eyed young brides. And to honor her father's dying wish, she has agreed to marry a respectable Indian doctor who will uphold her family's traditions.

But when a famous Indian actress chooses Mystic Elegance to provide her wedding trousseau, Lakshmi finds herself falling for the actress's sexy chauffeur -- all-American Nick Dunbar -- and her powers seem to desert her just as she needs them most. As Nick draws Lakshmi into his world, however, new dreams awaken in her, and she begins to uncover deeper, startling longings in her mother, her friends, her fiancé, and even herself. But choosing between Nick and her fiancé seems an impossible task, like intuiting the very nature of true love. Is it instantly recognizable or does it need time to grow? And how can she possibly know for sure? --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Downtown Press (September 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416517057
• ISBN-13: 978-1416517054
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #209,304 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars chick lit Bollywood style, September 2, 2006

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In India almost twenty-eight years old Lakshmi has a gift that her mom says comes from the Goddess she is named after who visited her when she was still in the womb. Lakshmi shares her ability to see inside the hearts of people to observe the tribulations that haunt them and she lifts those burdens off of that individual. As a side benefit of her mental skills, Lakshmi knows the perfect color and fabric for patrons of the family's sari shop.

However, because of her age, her mother worries that her daughter remains single so she arranges a match with a friend. Reluctantly as an obedient daughter and to honor her late father, Lakshmi accepts her mother's arrangement. However, as fate (and romance novels) would have it, she meets chauffeur Nick Dunbar and knows he is the one for her because her ability to look into hearts fail whenever she is around him.

Readers will enjoy this contemporary romance starring a delightful likable young woman who balances having one foot in the modern world and another in her heritage. Lakshmi's dilemma feels real as she wants to honor the desires of her mother and her late father, but loves Nick. This is a fine tale that rings true as a genuine chick lit Bollywood style.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Invisible (plot)!, January 1, 2008

By	Rahul Biswas "rahul425" (Menlo Park, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Looking for books in the same genre and style of writing as Bharati Mukherjee or Chitra Banerjee and of course Jhumpa Lahiri, I was highly diasppointed and frustrated to read this trash called "Invisible Lives". It is a badly orchestrated fusion of stale Hindi movie masala, a bit of Mills and Boons kind of romance thrown in and a then the sad old and boring story of Indian girls sacrificing love for family!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, September 27, 2007

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

INVISIBLE LIVES is a sweet and sort of predictable read in that chick-lit way, but the Indian and paranormal twists make it good fun and add a unique element to the more predictable parts of the story.

Lakshmi Sen is a young Indian woman in Seattle with an odd ability to read people's emotions. She physically sees them (this is the supernatural part of the story but it is not addressed as supernatural--the story is not about explaining this ability), and this gives her a great advantage where she works in her mother's sari shop.

Lakshmi's life is going along fairly smoothly. She has a good job, and her family has found a good Indian doctor for her to marry. The excitement that a Bollywood star brings to the shop, however, disrupts her life more than one would think. Whenever the star's handsome chauffeur is around, Lakshmi's special abilities that make her so good at finding the perfect sari for anyone, disappear.

What's a girl to do?

Lakshmi is a powerful and memorable character, and her story is a fun, fast-paced read. The story is quite well-written, and Lakshmi's extra abilities are approached very interestingly, as just a part of who she is rather than the entire story. It's an excellent book, but it does lack a bit of a spark. I'd still pick up more by Anjali Banerjee, and recommend this novel.

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce