Sister of My Heart. [Hardcover]

Chitra Banerjee. DIVAKARUNI (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: NY: Doubleday; First edition. edition (1990)
• ASIN: B000UD9MHO
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (204 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,599,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's acclaimed novels for adults include the bestselling The Mistress of Spices, soon to be a motion picture. Her previous book for young readers, The Conch Bearer, was a Booklist Editors' Choice, Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and is a 2005 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee. She teaches creative writing at the University of Houston and lives with her husband and two sons in Sugarland, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book to be treasured always., March 17, 2001

By 

Denise Bentley "Kelsana" (The California Redwoods) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sister of My Heart (Hardcover)

I am an avid reader and I must say that this book has taken over the number one spot of all times. It is the life story of two young girls born to the same household on the same day. Anju and Sudha are cousins growing up in a house full of women in the city of Calcutta, India. Their personalities, like night and day, bring us a blend of rich and exotic culture wrapped up in the ideas that society imposes upon them. The author entwines this richness with the silent sorrows and heavy heart of the unknown. A secret so dreadful that one of the girls can never shed light upon it without fear of losing everything that she holds dear.

There were several unexpected surprises in this book. The author is a fantastic storyteller and I found such astonishing insight into the human heart I was moved to reread the book just to spend time writing down quotes which I found to be words one could live by. I have yet to meet the person who was disappointed by this book. 3/17/01

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a heartwarming, sweet story, February 19, 2001

By 

Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sister of My Heart: A Novel (Paperback)

I just finished this book of which one of my book clubs suggested that I read ~~ and it is really one of the best written books I have read in a long while. The author doesn't grab your attention by the horn, but slowly, softly does she tell her story between two cousins and the choices they have made with their lives. And she is excellent weaving two lives separated by different cultures and oceans. You can feel the hot air in India, being surrounded by jasmine and you can see New York through Indian eyes ~~ feeling the sense of freedom of being away from a different lifestyle.

Anju and Sudha are unforgettable characters ~~ each so different in her way and both strong women. They grew up closer than twins for they were always together, and the stories they tell to each other are exiquiste. Then marriage and their choices regarding their marriages only kept them apart for a while ~~ after all, they are sisters of the heart and nothing can really keep them apart. It makes one wish that they had a close relationship like theirs in their lives. They are so fortunate and yet so unfortunate.

I highly recommend this book. It is an easy read and the whispers that Divakaruni tells throughout the book isn't easily forgotten. This is the first book I've read by Divakaruni and she is an author I promise to read again. She makes you feel like you're sitting some place safe while someone you love most in this world is telling you secrets only for your ears. And that is the most delicious feeling ever to have in this lifetime. If an author can create that feeling with a book, then she is superbly talented.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Reading Pleasure!, April 9, 2001

By 

J. CLARKE "lvjesse" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sister of My Heart: A Novel (Paperback)

This book is an absolute pleasure to read...the writing is so lyrical you are transported to India, wearing a sari of gossamer cloth, hearing the tinkling of ankle bracelets, feeling the heat, smelling the spices, taking part in the day to day life of the five women who live in the Chatterjee household.

Even tho' the scenario about the ruby mine was rather hokie, I loved the story of the two girls/women, Anju and Sudha and the close, unbreakable bond they share, unbroken by time, distance, and marriage. I especially liked that there were surprises...I was delighted to find them.

Some books are like appetizers, some are like main courses, this one is dessert...savor it with a nice cup of tea and cake. It's scrumptious. Then recommend it to all your friends.

Jesse