The Tree Bride [Hardcover]

Bharati Mukherjee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2004

ational Book Critics Circle Award-winner Bharati Mukherjee has long been known not only for her elegant, evocative prose but also for her characters- influenced by ancient customs and traditions but also very much rooted in modern times. In The Tree Bride, the narrator, Tara Chatterjee (whom readers will remember from Desirable Daughters), picks up the story of an East Bengali ancestor. According to legend, at the age of five Tara Lata married a tree and eventually emerged as a nationalist freedom fighter. In piecing together her ancestor's transformation from a docile Bengali Brahmin girl-child into an impassioned organizer of resistance against the British Raj, the contemporary narrator discovers and lays claim to unacknowledged elements in her 'American' identity. Although the story of the Tree Bride is central, the drama surrounding the narrator, a divorced woman trying to get back with her husband, moves the novel back and forth through time and across continents.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

India, past and present, its inhabitants and expatriates, has always formed the framework of Mukherjee's literary world. In this vibrant novel, a sequel to Desirable Daughters and her best work to date, the author has fused history, mysticism, treachery and enduring love in a suspenseful story about the lingering effects of past secrets. Tara Chatterjee, the protagonist of the earlier novel, again narrates. The tale begins as her San Francisco house is firebombed by a man obsessed with killing her, and trails back to her legendary great-great-aunt and namesake, Tara Lata, who was born in 1874 and, at five, married to a tree because her fiancé died. Later, Tara Lata bravely conspired to win Bengal's independence from England. As the narrator gradually discovers why her namesake died in prison, she uncovers much evidence of the British rulers' contempt for the Indians they claimed they were "civilizing"; their cruelty, bigotry and duplicity cut into the narrative like a bloody knife. The plot itself is convoluted in a suspenseful way: the drama begun by Tara Lata's wedding resonates in miraculous interactions over the generations. As Tara Chatterjee's husband, a technological genius, has always told her, there are no coincidences in the universe. Over the course of this story, a dreadful 18th-century sea voyage spawns one man's redemption and another's hatred; honor and courage are met by betrayal; and loyalty to one's family and tradition prove to be the fuel of 20th-century love. The narrative brims with more action and vitality than Mukherjee's previous novels while retaining her elegant and incisive style. It's a good bet that this book will attract wide interest and leave readers eagerly awaiting the third volume in the trilogy.
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Born to a wealthy Calcutta family, Mukherjee lived in Britain as a child and is now a professor at U.C. Berkeley. Her life of migration and assimilation informs her work, but critics agree that grander themes play out in Tree Bride—how to accept assimilation, forge identity, and connect past and present. Critics call Tree Bride dazzling, enchanting, and rich. Mukherjee moves across time, space, and culture, weaving seemingly disparate events in meaningful ways. Those same critics also describe Tree Bride as esoteric, elusive, and confusing, particularly when historical detail engulfs the narrative threads. Fortunately, Mukherjee focuses the novel by grounding Tara’s personal relationships. While Tree Bride is not for the restless reader, it is “a worthy commitment rewarded by a deeply satisfying and eloquently told story” (Boston Globe).

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st Edition edition (August 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401300588
• ISBN-13: 978-1401300586
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,473,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story within a story within a story..., September 7, 2004

By 

Mae A. Apgovannon "dragonmoo" (Milwaukie OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tree Bride (Hardcover)

This book is easily one of the best fiction books I have read. Ms. Mukherjee weaves at least 4 stories together, connecting the lives of Tara Lata Gangooly (the Tree Bride); her great-great niece, Tara Chatterjee; Tara's OB-GYN Dr. V. Khanna; the Dr.'s grandfather Vertie Treadwell; John Mist, founder of Mishtigunj; and Abbas Sattar Hai, leader of the Indian Mafia.
These stories tell of the magic of "coincidence", how each person we meet can have an impact on our lives. An impact that is not felt, sometimes, for generations. As I read the magical history of the Tree Bride, interrupted to retell the adventures (worthy of any Robert Louis Stevenson novel) of John Mist and how he came from a foundling home in London to have a town in East Bengal named for him, I felt like I was hanging on to the sails of an "Indiaman" ship--or running from a tiger through a jungle. But I kept on, hardly able to wait to see how this story connected to the others when I reached the port or crossroads, panting in the sweltering Indian heat.
This book effortlessly takes the reader from modern-day California, to 19th century London, to India during the war for independence, back to England--post WWII, to India from native and English points of view during the British Colonial Period.
I was truly lost in the storm, and, when the ending did come, beautifully, I wanted to go back and delve deeper into each of the stories.
Magical, and highly recommended.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Great Book!, September 7, 2004

By 

YankeeChick "Yankee" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tree Bride (Hardcover)

This book is a continuation of the story started by the author in the novel Desirable Daughters (also a great read). It is the fascinating examination by the main character of the history of her great-aunt, Tara-Ma, who died in police custody during the struggle for Indian independence. Tied into the storyline is the main character's own life and the late-life pregancy she is experiencing as she gets back together with her ex-husband. There is an element of suspense as she and her husband try to uncover the location of the man who tried to kill them in the previous book. This book is excellent and I highly recommend it to anyone who can read!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I did not know this ...., May 17, 2009

By 

M. Junkins (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tree Bride (Paperback)

was a trilogy either. It is not mentioned anywhere on the book jacket. I am not sure if knowing this would change my rating though. The book is very slow moving. I stopped at page 70 or so. The first 70 pages and perhaps the rest of the book are truly a history of India (and Britain's control of it). I found the history very interesting but there was not much of a story going on here. I was looking for more of a storyline than a history text.