The Hindi-Bindi Club and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
$4.00 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
Kindle Edition
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
The Hindi-Bindi Club
 
 
Start reading The Hindi-Bindi Club on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Hindi-Bindi Club [Paperback]

Monica Pradhan (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)

List Price: $15.00
Price: $11.25 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $3.75 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 11 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Thursday, May 24? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition --  
Hardcover, Large Print $29.95  
Paperback $11.25  

Book Description

May 1, 2007
For decades they have remained close, sharing treasured recipes, honored customs, and the challenges of women shaped by ancient ways yet living modern lives. They are the Hindi-Bindi Club, a nickname given by their American daughters to the mothers who left India to start anew—daughters now grown and facing struggles of their own.

For Kiran, Preity, and Rani, adulthood bears the indelible stamp of their upbringing, from the ways they tweak their mothers’ cooking to suit their Western lifestyles to the ways they reject their mothers’ most fervent beliefs. Now, bearing the disappointments and successes of their chosen paths, these daughters are drawn inexorably home.

Kiran, divorced, will seek a new beginning—this time requesting the aid of an ancient tradition she once dismissed. Preity will confront an old heartbreak—and a hidden shame. And Rani will face her demons as an artist and a wife. All will question whether they have the courage of the Hindi-Bindi Club, to hold on to their dreams—or to create new ones.

An elegant tapestry of East and West, peppered with food and ceremony, wisdom and sensuality, this luminous novel breathes new life into timeless themes.

Frequently Bought Together

The Hindi-Bindi Club + A Good Indian Wife: A Novel + The Dowry Bride
Price For All Three: $32.66

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • A Good Indian Wife: A Novel $10.17

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Dowry Bride $11.24

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The age-old intergenerational struggle between mothers and daughters gets a curried twist in Pradhan's debut, in which the subcontinent meets the modern West. As children, first-generation Americans Kiran Deshpande, Preity Chawla Lindstrom and Rani McGuiness Tomashot gently mocked their Indian mothers, collectively nicknamed "The Hindi-Bindi Club" for their Old World leanings. Though the three are now successful adults, they aren't necessarily seen as such by their parents. For starters, none married Indian men. But now, Kiran's parents may get their chance to "semi-arrange" a marriage for their divorced daughter as she considers the possibility that there may be something to the old ways. Preity, mostly happily married to business school beau Eric, carries a small torch for a long-lost love—a Muslim her parents didn't approve of—and considers seeking him out. Meanwhile, rocket scientist Rani's passion for art starts to pay off as she becomes spiritually listless. Pradhan's debut is breezy (there are enough recipes dotting the narrative to fill a cookbook), though it touches on not-so sunny issues—prejudice, breast cancer, infidelity. The prose isn't dynamite and the characters are stock, but the novel easily fulfills its ready-made requirements. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Like Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club (1988), Pradhan's first novel, which features six alternating narrators, speaks to the cultural and generational tensions between immigrant mothers and their Westernized daughters. Recently divorced Kiran Deshpande, a family doctor who longs for a family of her own, is finally willing to admit that her Indian parents might have been right to disapprove of her marriage to a musician with a wandering eye. She's come home after a long estrangement to discuss with her parents her wish to consider an arranged marriage. Her mother, recently diagnosed with breast cancer, is more than willing to play peacemaker between her authoritarian husband and her headstrong daughter. The narrative also encompasses two other young women, childhood friends of Kiran, and their individual struggles with their parents, including battles with clinical depression and anorexia. Although Pradhan's novel is much lighter than Tan's, her pages are alive with the sights, sounds, and smells (recipes included) of a vibrant Indian culture. In addition, her young characters speak with fresh but cutting humor about the difficulties of assimilation. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam (May 1, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 055338452X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553384529
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
JOIN THE CLUB! May 25, 2007
Format:Paperback
I have to admit to being skeptical about this book: I'm a male Indo-American writer, and I usually don't reach for what could be considered women's fiction. But after seeing Monica Pradhan speak at a local South Asian literary festival, I bought a copy. And couldn't put it down. HBC is a very fast read with just the right balance of drama, humor, culture, and insight, like a spiced-right curry. Much of the characters' journeys is internal, but Pradhan's skill with words and her ability to juggle multiple intertwined storylines kept me engaged. As an added bonus, this was the first book I've read that includes Marathi, the language I grew up speaking. Side note: the recipes are tempting enough to make this total non-cook consider trying them. Good reading and good food. Can't go wrong with that combination.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My favorite writers on the theme of the migrant Indian experience are Jhumpa Lahiri [The Namesake, Interpreter of Maladies] & Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni [Arranged Marriage etc]. The Hindi-Bindi Club was a pleasant surprise by first-time novelist Monica Pradhan. It explores the complexities of relationships between mothers and daughters, specifically Indian mothers and daughters, and the struggle to reconcile the mothers' migrant experiences with their daughters' more liberal outlook, as well as other conflicts within and without.

The stories here are told from multiple points of view - the daughters are represented by Kiran Deshpande, a medical doctor who is also divorced from her American rock star husband and yearns to be a mother, contemplating the unthinkable [an arranged marriage], Preity Chawla Lindstrom, the so-called perfect daughter who seems to have it all yet is haunted by the memories of her first love, and Rani McGuiness Tomashot, an artist who seems lost.

The mothers are Meenal Deshpande, who hopes to reconcile with her daughter whilst coming to grips with her own physical pain, Saroj Chawla who is blessed with divine cooking skills, and puts it to good use in a thriving catering business, yet harbors a dark secret, and finally Uma Basu McGuiness, who suffered the humiliation of being disowned by her father for following her heart.

Though the stories alternate from one voice to another, the narration flows seamlessly, and the end of each part is marked by an authentic Indian recipe that is mouthwateringly delicious [chicken curry, chutneys, desserts, lassi etc].

The subject-matter of human relationships in general and mother-daughter relationships in particular is explored with poignant detail and brought tears to my eyes, as being Indian myself, I saw a lot of my own family dynamics within the story. It is well-written, and so human, and yes, brings to mind works like The Joy Luck Club and Like Water for Chocolate, but is unique in its own right. I highly recommend it!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Couldn't finish it December 26, 2008
Format:Paperback
I really wanted to like this book. Despite giving it a fair shot, I couldn't even force myself to finish it.

Beyond the stories just falling flat for me, there was something that was really irking and annoying me about this book. I finally figured it out about 250 pages into it. The dialogue is stilted and completely unbelievable. It made me feel as if I were reading some high schooler's attempt at writing dialogue or even like a cheesy young adult novel.

The other thing that bothered me was that she really hits you over the head with the history. I appreciate her attempt to educate those readers who may not be familiar with Indian culture and history. However, it felt as if her tone was more like a school teacher than a novelist. There are many others writers, such as Tan, that successfully educate readers who may not be familiar with that particular culture in a more poetic fashion. I know many people will disagree with me on this, especially those that knew nothing of India prior to their reading of this book.

The last thing major criticism I have is the simplistic explanation of things Indian to non-Indian readers. For example, she describes Mumbai as "New York City and Hollwood combined", teen pathi as "The Indian equivalent of poker", and bhangra as "hip Indian music, kinda like Indian disco". I think she is being condescending to insulting the intelligence of her readers by her insistence on finding a Western equivalent of all these things that are distinctly Indian, as if no one would understand it otherwise. It would've been better if she had never included these details at all than to give such trite and one-dimensional descriptions that end up Westernizing these things anyway.

I did enjoy the recipe pages, and thought they were a pretty creative touch.

Overall, I was excited to read this book when I started it. However, the stories were just not riveting enough for me to keep going, and the dialogue significantly contributed to my giving up on Hindi Bindi Club. After about 150 pages, the book began to become a chore to me rather than an enjoyable escape.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Hindi-Bindi Club
I read this book for a book club. It offers great insight into Indian traditions and culture. Very interesting but not one of my favorite all-time books.
Published 13 months ago by Cathy
Nice Idea Falls Flat
I, too, wanted to like this book. But no, it's not very good at all. Flat and dull. Somewhere this writer did not learn basic skills of sentence structure or dialogue, but... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Zee
Disappointing
The Hindi-Bindi club was very disappointing compared to it's Indian-American chick-lit peers. The book jacket compared it to the Joy Luck Club, but Pradhan lacks the writing and... Read more
Published 22 months ago by wellreadwoman
Very good!
This book was excellent! The characters were so alive I thought they could jump out of the page. The only thing I have to say is that I skipped most of Saroj's parts. Read more
Published 22 months ago by SavyLeArtist
Good Vacation Book
I was traveling to India, so thought this would be a cute book for the long trip over. You know, to set the mood. Read more
Published on April 18, 2010 by NicoBelle
A perfect blend of culture and characters
I recently read this book again because it was a selection for my bookclub. I enjoyed it just as much the second time. Read more
Published on October 27, 2009 by Christine B.
Lacking Depth
The Hindi-Bindi Club started off alright, kind of an Indian version of The Joy Luck Club, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was really expecting more depth to the characters. Read more
Published on May 3, 2009 by OU Fan
tapestry
Richly woven. The cutesy cover is misleading for the intensity of the novel. The stories that take place in the past in India are the most spell-binding of all. Read more
Published on May 1, 2009 by bhakti lata
Book Mark Review
A light, easy and fun read. A good choice for Book Club. Lot of women can relate to its content, Monica spikes it up with her format of writing and providing recipes. Read more
Published on April 15, 2009 by Roshni Mohan
Great story...Love the recipes
I picked this book up on one of those days when you need to escape. I lay in the hammock and read it cover to cover with countless cups of tea, and a couple of sneaky biscuits. Read more
Published on October 30, 2008 by Joanna Penn
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
teaspoon salt adjust, teaspoon coriander powder, cup fresh coriander, teaspoon cayenne powder, green cardamom pods, teaspoon turmeric powder, teaspoon cumin powder, inch cinnamon stick
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Saroj Auntie, Uma Auntie, Sandeep Uncle, Texas John, Yash Uncle, Meenal Auntie, San Francisco, Patrick Uncle, Uma Basu, Kapoor Road, New Year, Boston Days, Meenal Deshpande, Boo Boo, Hindi Bindi Club, Indian American, Boston College, Presidency College, Nikhil Tipnis
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(23)
(10)
(2)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject