Customer Reviews

Jasmine

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This novel is a really moving tale. This is my first time reading Mukherjee's writing but it won't be the last. I found it to be a compelling read from start to finish. The story of how a young Indian girl becomes an American is intriguing. The evolution of Jyoti into Jasmine into Jane is gripping. I enjoyed the way Mukherjee wove this tale. She includes flashbacks to her past to let the reader see the past of Jasmine. It allows for empathy as the reader is led through the tragedies of her early life. Her resolve is extraordinary. She has to overcome the murder of her husband, terrorism in her homeland, a rape and many other hardships along the way. You can see how different events shape her views and attitudes. She begins to think and act for herself. There is sorrow and pain on the way but it is ultimately a tale of liberation. It's another example of the indomitable human spirit. Definitely a book that should be widely read.

This book had a profound effect on me, despite the fact that I generally avoid the theme of the immigrant experience. In any case, the book succeeds in integrating so many completely diverse settings... Iowa, an impoverished Indian village, New York, Florida... This is done quite artfully; the book is simple to read and not too hard to understandl it achieves depth with simple language, which is always pleasing. Reading it for the first time was somewhat shocking - every new development in the plot is marred with violence stemming from some bizzare twist of fate. Despite all this, a sense of hope is conveyed in a way that is not artificial, and sustained all throughout. Nonetheless, it paints a disturbing picture of traditional India: the caste system, the miserable status of women, the horrors facing a widow, the overall poverty and pervading corruption, the religious wars... all this leaves an imprint on Jasmine (the main character) and haunts her even in the States, even in the remote Iowa. The realism with which all this is served to the reader reminds of Stephen Crane's work, especially "Maggie, a Girl of the Streets" (another powerful piece...) Whatever your literary taste, it is likely that you will enjoy this direct, powerful, and eye-opening work. The only reason I withhold the last star is the unexpected and unfulfilling ending, which in my view ruined the integrity that Jasmine built throughout her difficult life journey, which filled me with a certain optimism up to that point. If it was meant as a liberating finale, then the cost of ruining Jasmine's benevolence was too high. But up to the last page, an excellent read.

Don't let the cheesy cover fool you, this book is amazing. It is brutally honest and intense, as well as impossible to put down. The story revolves around a woman with a multitude of identities, one to fit each phase of her ever changing life. "Jasmine" (aka Jyoti and Jane) is a woman who survives poverty and ignorance in a small Indian village, only to be rewarded with brutality. Her journey to America is beyond taxing, and what she must do to survive it is harrowing, if not downright shocking at times.
Jasmine is faced with much turmoil and many choices, none of which are easy. Her life is far from conventional, but it says volumes about what it must be like to forge a new life in a new place with an identity that even she is not certain of.
I found that the ending was a little abrupt, but other than this, I have no complaints. Mukherjee is a vivid and serious writer, one who will leave you with an often times visceral reaction.
Warning: I have heard some complaints about the beginning chapters being mildly confusing concerning character introductions, but I assure you, if you stick with it, what she is doing will become clear quite quickly. This author's technique of introducing characters is very unique and effective and gives the reader a real sense of time without being exactly linear.

This novel captivates its reader from beginning to end. Jasmine, the protagonist of the story faces many challenges and obstacles that she must overcome in order to make sure her catastrophic destiny is not fulfilled. She has survived being married without a dowry (for she is the fifth daughter of nine children), being widowed at less than nineteen years of age, illegally immigrating into a foreign land, raped on her first day in America, and choosing between love and duty.

Mukherjee's style of writing is unique and difficult to grasp at first. She would refer back to the past or fast forward into the present periodically so the reader must constantly `be on their toes.' She leaves `cliffhangers' at the end of paragraphs or chapters that are reunited with their explanations of what would happen in later chapters. Mukherjee would leave her readers in curiosity as she skips around in her time machine within her story.

Mukherjee wrote eloquently as she weaved Jasmine's various identities into one novel. Jasmine, who is also Jyoti, Jazzy, Jase and Jane, is faced between clinging to her `feudalistic traditions' or her `new western-thinking traditions.' Each identity of hers represents a new lifestyle and a new challenge that she must conquer. She experiences a sense of two sides inside her, each competing to grasp the fullness of her whole body and soul.

Jasmine was torn between assimilating into American freedom and society vs. being bound to her deep-rooted traditions. Characters within the novel assist the protagonist in her journey as she tries to battle her fate and destiny. Overall, the book was well written and packed with a journey between Jasmine's duty as an Indian woman and freedom that she desires in America.

this was the first book i read for a class and the novel grabbed me; i couldn't put it down. The book follows a woman named Jyoti in India through her maifestations and names as she travels from her small village with her husband to the city and then eventually to America where her life takes many a turn, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad, sometimes it's hard to tell where paths will lead. The book plays with different textures and time frames, a reeling experience for the mind, but it makes you want to see what happens. I love this book!

An astrologer tells Jasmine at the age of seven that she is going to be widowed by the time she is fifteen. After the astrologer's prediction comes true, Jasmine decides to move to a small city in Iowa. Coming from India, she refers to Iowa as the new "Third World". During her lifetime, Jasmine travels to many places where she is given different names. These various names identify her as a new person by the influential men of her life. For example she is given the name "Jase" from her professor and the name "Jane" from her husband. This helps Jasmine to conceal her ethnic difference, and it enables her to survive in this strange, new world. Jasmine believes she is born more than once. Thus, her changing names reflect her rebirths. Jasmine's journey serves as a metaphor for the ever-moving, regenerating process of life itself. Overall, this book forces the reader to see America from a different point of view as a "Third World".

Jasmine is a story of vast uncertainty, resilience, and assimilation. We see our protagonist perpetually facing one obstacle after another as she challenges the idea that her life is destined to become a disaster. Jasmine changes into many different characters with each American family that she meets. She is born into a displaced middle class Indian family of nine children as Jyoti, and becomes Jasmine, Jazzy, Jase, and Jane throughout her life. Her multiple identities represent changes in her life and her attempts to assimilate into her new surroundings. Jasmine is caught between many worlds: eastern v. western, Indian v. American, traditions v. reform, and fate v. control over ones destiny. She embodies the lively and persistent spirit of the hopeful immigrant to America, and her determination to transcend her adversities while embracing the differences in all individuals make her a very amicable character. As you progress through the book, this Indian temptress will surely capture you heart and mind, as she did mine.

The best part of Mukherjee's novel is the beautiful and graphic depiction of various scenes in addition to the nonlinear format of the stories. At times, the plot may be a little confusing with Jasmine's spontaneous flashbacks. However, careful analysis of the events will help readers

understand the protagonist as well as her journey in America.

This is a great book to teach not only young women, but other individuals the opportunities that lay before them as young Americans. Many students fail to recognize the advantages that they have, living in America. Many of them are not forced to deal with arranged marriages, dowries, and the insecurity and demoralizing experience that a caste system can impose. This book highlights events that many new Americans must go through as they struggle to attain a life of plain "ordinariness" (Mukherjee 131). This is a new era for immigrants and a completely new and empowering era for women!

After reading Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee, I found myself having mixed feelings about the book. Mukherjee uses wonderful imagery and it felt as if I was personally growing up right along with Jasmine throughout the chapters. The technique with which Mukherjee writes, however, does tend to skew towards the confusing side. Little snip-its of this and that make the book seem random and difficult to follow. Although in the end everything fell into place and most problems made sense, this is only near the very end of the book.

The introduction was captivating and foreshadowed much of what was to happen to Jasmine throughout her life. It also sentenced Jasmine to a life of constant paranoia and a feeling that her destiny was not in her own hands. It seems that wherever she goes, the worst happens or someone around her dies. However, this is why this is an interesting story. It is a Survivor Story. When she gets married, her husband gets murdered. When she moves to America, she is greeted with a rape. When she was raped, she killed the man who raped her. When she found a family she wanted to become a part of, she finds her husband's murderer in a park near by. When she finds a man she falls in love with, he gets shot and paralyzed. When she becomes pregnant with the man she feels she will spend the rest of her life with, her previous lover comes to her and she runs away with him. This is not saying that this is all Jasmine's fault. She did not want her husband to get murdered, did not ask to be raped, did not intend to kill a man her first night in America, did not want to find her husband's murderer in a park, did not want her husband to become paralyzed, did not want her pregnancy to tie her down to the future father. Or so is said.

The last chapter is (or rather the last two pages of the book are) the most controversial part of the book. Should she have stayed with her future child's father? Or should she go on with the man she truly loves? However, she describes her "true love" to be spontaneous, adventurous, unpredictable, and the first true American she has seen in America since she has arrived. She likes the way she is with him. On the other hand, she should feel a certain kind of responsibility towards her child. The fact that she is pregnant means that she deliberately chose to build a family.

Throughout the book, Jasmine goes through many names. She acknowledges that each name signifies her location and attitude. Her environment influenced the way she acted. The fact that she has gone through all of these names symbolizes her intriguing confusion and everlasting desire of finally finding herself.

Genuinely, I enjoyed reading this book. It had strong statements regarding race in America and the struggle of becoming "American." Not only officially, but also mentally.

This novel is about an ambitious woman. She is born Jyoti in a small village in terrorism ridden Punjab and is transformed into Jasmine,Jase and Jane though a journey that is marked by widowhood, murder, rape, illegal documents and an uncanny instinct to survive through all situations. Jasmine is not a character you'd love to love, but she embodies the human spirit. A sixth-grade educated minor widow yearns to move out of her dark life and lands up in America, the land of freedom and choices.
The narrative is not linear - flashbacks are interspersed with current happenings. The writing style seems appropriate for the story. The entire story is mainly about the woman Jasmine but the background effectively captures the nature and force of the changing times.
Why didn't I give this 5 stars ? Well first of all, the character of Prakash was somewhat less believable to me. I wouldnt bet on a REAL Prakash to marry a 14 yr. old. Secondly, the end to the novel is rather abrupt(I thought a few pages were missing in my copy of the novel !!).

I recently taught a class on Mukherjee, and this novel was a huge hit! I love the way Mukherjee uses the idea of incarnations as a springboard for the narrator's transformation. I also love the way she ties in the story of Kali (goddess of death) into her tale. If you are rusty on your knowledge of hindu gods, you may want to look a few references up.

Mukherjee also does an excellent job of portraying the modern immigrant experience -- through a compelling tale.