Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The Storyteller's Secret Author: Sejal Badani ISBN: 978-1542048279 Publisher: Lake Uniion Type of book: 1930s-1940s India, secrets, castes, fertility, miscarriages, time-slip, choices, storytelling, modern India, British Raj, Gandhi, freedom, school, Year it was published: 2019 Summary: From the bestselling author of Trail of Broken Wings comes an epic story of the unrelenting force of love, the power of healing, and the invincible desire to dream. Nothing prepares Jaya, a New York journalist, for the heartbreak of her third miscarriage and the slow unraveling of her marriage in its wake. Desperate to assuage her deep anguish, she decides to go to India to uncover answers to her family’s past. Intoxicated by the sights, smells, and sounds she experiences, Jaya becomes an eager student of the culture. But it is Ravi—her grandmother’s former servant and trusted confidant—who reveals the resilience, struggles, secret love, and tragic fall of Ja...

General Information: Name of Book: From An-Other Land; Making Home in the Land of Dreams ISBN: 9789385854736 Publisher: Readomania Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Given The chance, would you be ready to immigrate.A majority would probably answer ‘Yes’. Yet, immigrants are looked at with either contempt or segregation and rarely compassion, in their motherland and abroad. Post The 2016 US elections, The rhetoric is further reverberating. From cancellation of refugee protection, zero tolerance and undercurrent crackdown on H visas to racism, profiling and discrimination—the resurgence of nationalism is hitting The globalised population head-on.But what is immigration today. A question of life or death. A fleeing of persecution. A compulsion. Or a mere pursuance of privilege. And, what is USA today, especially for Indians.From An-Other Land is a reality check and an emotional guide for anyone who wants to understand modern-day immigration to USA. Author: Tanushree Gh...

Name of Book: Louisiana Catch Author: Sweta Srivastava Vikram ISBN: 978-1-61599-352-9 Publisher: Modern History Press Type of book: India, New Delhi, abuse, relationships, divorced women, New York, Louisiana, catfish, friendships, modern times, conference, hidden strengths Year it was published: 2018 Summary: A grieving daughter and abuse survivor must summon the courage to run a feminist conference, trust a man she meets over the Internet, and escape a catfishing stalker to find her power. Ahana, a wealthy thirty-three-year-old New Delhi woman, flees the pain of her mother's death, and her dark past, by accepting a huge project in New Orleans, where she'll coordinate an annual conference to raise awareness of violence against women. Her half-Indian, half-Irish colleague and public relations guru, Rohan Brady, who helps Ahana develop her online presence, offends her prim sensibilities with his raunchy humor. She is convinced that he's a womanizer. Mea...

Name of Book: My Last Love Story Author: Falguni Kothari ISBN: : B073B2VL76 Publisher:  Graydon House Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Promise me you'll learn to cuss, learn to love again. Live again. Promise me you won't give up on each other. Simi Desai is thirty years old and her husband is dying of cancer. He has two last wishes in his final months: first, that she'll have his baby so that a piece of him lives on, and second, that she'll reconcile with her old flame, who just happens to be their mutual best friend. And so over the course of their last summer together, Simi's husband plans a series of big and small adventures for this unlikely trio, designed to help them say goodbye to each other and prove to Simi that it's okay to move on without him--and even find love again. Beautiful and poignant, Falguni Kothari's My Last Love Story will pull your heartstrings as only unforgettable love stories can. Link for Review 3 out ...

Name of Book: Lucky Boy Author: Shanthi Sekaran ISBN: 978-1-101-98226-6 Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Type of book: infertility, illegal immigration, love, culture, privilege, Mexico, California, undocumented workers, surviving, foster parents, detention centers, border, immigration, marriage, budgeting, career, friendships, motherhood Year it was published: 2016 Summary: A heart-wrenching novel about the transformative power of motherhood and the redemptive beauty of love, perfect for readers of Jacquelyn Mitchard, Jenny Offill, and Cristina Henriquez. "A fiercely compassionate story about the bonds and the bounds of motherhood and, ultimately, of love." --Cristina Henriquez, author of The Book of Unknown Americans In this astonishing novel, Shanthi Sekaran gives voice to the devotion and anguish of motherhood through two women bound together by their love for one boy. Soli, a young undocumented Mexican woman in Berkeley, CA, finds that motherhoo...

Name of Book: The Color of our Sky Author: Amita Trasi ISBN: 9780692429402 Publisher: Bloomhill Books Type of book: India, temple prostitutes, 2004-2009?, 1986-1993, sisterhood, friendship, survival, castes, living in USA, trying to do the right thing Year it was published: 2015 Summary: A sweeping, emotional journey of two childhood friends—one struggling to survive the human slave trade and the other on a mission to save her—two girls whose lives converge only to change one fateful night in 1993. India, 1986: Mukta, a ten-year-old girl from the lower caste Yellamma cult of temple prostitutes has come of age to fulfill her destiny of becoming a temple prostitute. In an attempt to escape this legacy that binds her, Mukta is transported to a foster family in Bombay. There she discovers a friend in the high spirited eight-year-old Tara, the tomboyish daughter of the family, who helps her recover from the wounds of her past. Tara introduces Mukta to a different worl...

Title of the book: Tiger Heart; My unexpected adventures to make a difference in Darjeeing, and what I learned about fate, fortitude, and finding family...half a world away Author: Katrell Christie and Shannon McCaffrey Publisher: HCI Publishing Date: 2015 ISBN: 978-0-7573-1858-0 Summary: Katrell Christie was a thirty-something artist turned roller-derby rebel who opened a tea shop in Atlanta. Barely two years later, her life would make a drastic change--and so would the lives of a group of girls half a world away. I chose the name of my tea shop—Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party—because it sounded whimsical. India wasn't part of the equation. Not even remotely. I didn't do yoga. I had no deep yearning to see the Taj Mahal or tour Hindu temples. Indian food? I could take it or leave it. Yet on a whim, Katrell did go. She witnessed the throngs at the Ganges River, toured the tea fields of Darjeeling, and helped string pearls in conservative Hyderabad. But...

Name of Book: Trail of Broken Wings Author: Sejal Badani ISBN: 9781477822081 Publisher: Lake Union Type of book: India, Asian-Americans, abuse, South Asian female/American male, sisterhood, mother and daughter relationship, California, rape, 2000s, immigration, multicultural, travel, photography, perfection, game, competition, father Year it was published: 2015 Summary: When her father falls into a coma, Indian American photographer Sonya reluctantly returns to the family she’d fled years before. Since she left home, Sonya has lived on the run, free of any ties, while her soft-spoken sister, Trisha, has created a perfect suburban life, and her ambitious sister, Marin, has built her own successful career. But as these women come together, their various methods of coping with a terrifying history can no longer hold their memories at bay. Buried secrets rise to the surface as their father—the victim of humiliating racism and perpetrator of horrible violence—remains...

Name of Book: The Temple Is Not My Father Author: Rasan Atroya ISBN/ASIN:  B00LQE95FU Publisher: Self published Type of book: India, prostitution, countryside, mindset, single motherhood, secrets, suicide, rape, devadasi, temple dedication, 2000s Year it was published: 2014 Summary: Ensnared by a tradition hundreds of years old, a woman fights for her daughter’s happiness. From the author of 'Tell A Thousand Lies,' which was shortlisted for the 2012 Tibor Jones South Asia award. UK's Glam magazine calls 'Tell A Thousand Lies' on of their 'five favourite tales from India.' If you like Rohinton Mistry or Shilpi Somaya Gowda,you might like this short story of 40 pages. Characters: I do apologize for not being able to recall some of the characters. The main character is Godavari, a young and single mother who was forced to become a devadasi, and is pushed on by her father to do so. Despite her station and circumstances, she hopes the be...