Sharmila's Book (Paperback)

by Bharti Kirchner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
At 32 years old, Sharmila Sen is a successful graphic artist in Chicago, and possesses the natural beauty of her Indian heritage ("You know, big eyes, full mouth, shoulder-length black hair, and a slender body," she explains). Indeed she seems to have it all--except for one thing: a husband. As the daughter of educated upper-caste Indian immigrants, Sharmila is assured by her parents that they can arrange the perfect marriage with an affluent and handsome bachelor in India. "I'm almost the last person I'd expect to marry an up-and-coming young executive in New Delhi," she admits, but apparently having lost all patience with American men, Sharmila agrees to marry the widower Raj Khosla, who seems to have all the qualities a woman would want: good looks, money, and charm.

When Sharmila arrives in India, she is first met by Raj's driver, Prem, because Raj has been delayed on business. This initial disappointment is the first of a series that Sharmila experiences as she adjusts to her new world, a world that both appeals to her Indian identity and offends her modern sensibilities. Raj is away a lot on business, so there is little chance for the betrothed to get to know each other. His household, run by his controlling mother, is haunted by the tragedy of his first wife's death and is not the sanctuary Sharmila longs for. Her personal tour guide and only true friend, Prem, grows more and more attractive each day, but his low status as a Dalit (an "untouchable") complicates their relationship. As the bride-to-be inwardly struggles with both her instinctive distrust of Raj (even his mother warns her that "Raj has always been popular with the women") and the rigid social conventions that disapprove of her feelings for Prem, she must face the fact that her future happiness is in jeopardy.

Bharti Kirchner, who has authored several Indian cookbooks and one other novel, Shiva Dancing, has conceived a compelling story complete with betrayal, forbidden love, and heated moments of passion--but one-dimensional characters, predictable plotting, and overwrought metaphors ("An invisible sword of neglect wounds me") leach the tale of its richness. Nevertheless, there's a certain charm to Sharmila's search for love and belonging, and Kirchner's skillful infusion into the narrative of the exotic smells, colors, and chaos that make up India goes a long way toward mitigating the book's flaws. --Rebecca Robinson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Sharmila Sen, Chicago-born graphic artist and aerobics instructor, is a "thoroughly modern" 32-year-old woman who's looking for lasting love and a way to get in touch with her Indian heritage. Reeling from a series of short, broken romances, Sharmila counterintuitively tries to achieve both goals with one move: bowing to her concerned, traditional Indian mother's wishes, Sharmila agrees to an arranged marriage. Soon, New Delhi electronics executive Raj Khosla, whom she has never met, is chosen as her fiance, and Sharmila moves to India, a country she vaguely remembers from a single childhood trip. The premise of Indian-born Seattle novelist (Shiva Dancing) Kirchner's amorous misadventure seems like a pretext for a witty dissection of some of India's anachronisms and rigidities, notably arranged marriage, male chauvinism and the stigmatization of lower-caste or "untouchable" persons. Sharmila, arriving in Delhi, tries hard to fall in love with Raj, even as she discovers that her exacting fiance, a stuffed shirt, travels constantly, beds other women and may be concealing a dark secret about the circumstances surrounding the death of his first wife. Fortunately, Sharmila comes to her senses when she discovers Raj in bed with the housemaid, and by then she's found genuine love with the Khoslas' chauffeur, honest, noble Prem, a well-educated "untouchable." But in one of the many improbable plot twists, Sharmila's mother destroys her plans to marry Prem, offending his pride with a $50,000 bribe to get lost. The novel bristles with postfeminist insights into "how women perpetuate their deplorable condition" in India, but more eerily describes how the families of the betrothed conspire to keep the ill-matched pair together despite their obvious discord. Though Kirchner's cautionary tale is sometimes smart, swift and funny, with rich dollops of local color, the story's unlikely trajectory makes it hard to muster much interest in Sharmila's romantic dilemma.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Plume (February 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452278848
• ISBN-13: 978-0452278844
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,854,324 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Has Kirchner ever been to India?, June 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sharmila's Book (Hardcover)

I am amazed that Kirchner is supposed to be an Indian who was born in India. It seems that her only concept of the culture are flat sterotypes. If you're interested in books on Indian culture, there are many fine authors to choose from. Kirchner is not one of them. The plot was predictable and silly, the characters flat and predictable--basically, it's Danielle Steele does India.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a quick entertaining read but has many flaws, June 8, 2001

By A Customer

while this book is an easy read and rathe entertaining it is still deeply flawed. Many stereotypes of india are presented throughout the book. It is also very melodramatic and has a plot much like a soap opera. one gets the idea that the author formed her impressions of India based on watching several melodramatic Hindi movies.

The subject is fascinating- read Vickram Seths ' Suitable Boy" for a much more gripping and realistic book based on an Indian wedding. Ms .Kirchner tries to do too much in this novel and the murder mystery subplot ends upo being superfluous and distracting.

Overall- not too bad for someone who is not a professional writer - but too flawed to rate highly, maybe a good read on a flight or short holiday.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read About Different Cultures, December 29, 2000

By	tpw79 "tpw79" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Though this book was a bit predictable at certain points, I think this book was so interesting because it puts a spotlight on the very traditional and controversial matter of arranged marriage. At times while I was reading it I felt like I was watching a soap opera or a Bollywood movie. The author keeps the book going with interesting characters and scenarios. This is one of those types of books that you don't want to put down because the book is so interesting. I recommend this book for those who are into touchy-feely romance novels.