Rating: 
Summary: A Delicious Tale
Review: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni illuminates the tale of mystical Tilo in her novel, The Mistress of Spices. While telling the story of Tilo's fairy tale transformation from a Mistress of spices confined to her spice shop into a passionate lover exploring Oakland, CA, Divakaruni also operates on a metaphoric level. The situations of the Indian-immigrant customers that Tilo encounters represent larger global issues concerning the immigrant experience. Haroun, a cab driver, typifies the hope and ultimate disillusionment of the immigrant. Lalita, an abused wife, characterizes the archetypal victim of Indian gender roles. Geeta, a second-generation immigrant business woman, battles the traditions of Indian culture, namely the practice of arranged marriage. Jagjit, a troubled Indian-American adolescent, struggles with the challenges of assimilation. And Raven, Tilo's lonely American love interest, symbolizes the culturally-stripped culmination of lost heritage and unfound identity. Raven acts as the catalyst of Tilo's journey to true self-discovery and reinvention. She is forced to choose between a life of collective social responsibility and personal gratification. Immortally trapped in the body of an old woman, Tilo's life in the spice shop presents her with forbidden temptations. After meeting Raven, she begins defying the restrictions ordained to all mistresses including leaving the shop, making physical contact with others, and looking upon her own reflection. She soon must decide whether to keep her oaths as a mistress and remain with her spices and customers, or to submit to her passionate disposition and abscond with Raven.
Divakaruni does an exquisite job of intertwining Tilo's convictions and verdicts with those of her clients to create a fanciful fairy tale, complete with vitality and magic. Anyone interested in a legend of fantasy with an ethnic twist would find Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's The Mistress of Spices simply delectable.
Rating:
Summary: More than expected
Review: This book was a very satisfying read. Using lyrical prose, the author tells her protagonist's story in past and present. I've noticed other reviewers have commented on how artificial the book's narrative seemed, but I thought it was beautiful. It felt like the story was being told directly to you, making the story more immediate (for me at least). Although the story is told through the protagonist's association with Indian spices, its not only about Indian and Indian-American perspectives and issues. The author does a wonderful job using this setting for her story but it can be told in any cultural context I think. But in using this context, she effectively shows that (what white Americans consider) "ethnic subcultures" experience the same trials of life everyone else on the world does. Generational misunderstanding and racial intolerance are a few of the problems her characters encounter, but not in an especially overblown or melodramatic way. The story is told emotionally, but that's because it is in first person narrative. In this sense I agree with other reviewers that women may enjoy it more than men. My husband also agrees, but thought the story was compelling nonetheless. Altogether I felt this was a gorgeous and modern usage of fantasy, emotion and cultural representation. I doubt it will change your life forever, but its consciousness and beauty has really touched me. (PS: if you want to learn more about Indian spices buy a cookbook, this is fiction)
Rating: 
Summary: A Treasure
Review: This is a beautiful book. Each word seems carefully chosen to weave a spellbinding story of an other-worldly woman who faces the timeless struggle of finding and honoring her own path. The prose is rhythmic, almost poetic, and rich with marvelous imagery. It is a favorite I'd recommend to anyone who knows, or wishes to know, her own heart.
Rating:
Summary: the Mistress of Spices
Review: Incorporating the magical with the real, this novel follows the life of Tilo, a woman with magical powers who decides to become a Mistress of Spices. Divakaruni uses intense imagery and vivid descriptions to narrate the story. Her style verges on prose, utilizing sentence fragments, distinct punctuation, and strange paragraph formats for an interesting and compelling read. In addition, Divakaruni develops a story that places a mystical character in an ordinary setting: Oakland, California. She combines Tilo's exciting life as an immortal being with the lives of every-day mortals in an effort to contrast the two extremes. With the presence of Tilo, the reader is able to view the commoners in Oakland as special people. Tilo, however, begins to feel jealousy at their lives, rich with human contact and emotion. When a strange American man enters the shop and steals Tilo's heart, she begins to question her decision to be a Mistress- is this the life for her?
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully written novel--do not miss this one!
Review: The Mistress of Spices is written with a masterful mix of flights of fancy combined with everyday grittiness. The author, Chirtra Banerjee Divakaruni mixes her images with the same skill as an Indian housewife her special masala curry mix--unique, complex, and delicious. The story is a fable-like tale of a Mistress of Spices, a woman trained in the art of using the everyday spices of Indian cooking and Ayurvedic medicine to solve the spiritual crises of daily life; family troubles, heartbreak, loss. But the Mistress herself must conform to a rigid code of behavior that is in constant conflict with the passions that surround her. Tilo, the Mistress who plies her craft in a dusty, typically Indian grocery store in Oakland, CA, is empathetic with the passions she heals with her spices. Maybe too empathic--and the price she might have to pay is very high. The outcome of the novel is touching and the entire books is a wonderful movement from the mythic to the real. If you liked the novel Like Water for Chocolate, you will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Culinary Delight!
Review: This book might as well be classified as culinary fiction. I was hungry for more with every flip of the page. Every word, every description, left me aching for more. The book comes alive with its vivid descriptions. I enjoyed reading it, however make sure you keep a snack or two on the side..it will make you hungry.
Banerjee is a masterpiece storyteller. Her characters leap from the pages and into your heart. If you read this, I would also recommend "Arranged Marriage" along side it.
Rating: 
Summary: One half of this book is worth it
Review: I recently re-read this book because I vaguely remembered liking it. I realize know why the feeling was a vague memory. The first half of the book is well-written and fabulistic in the best sense. The writing style fits the way the secondary characters and their experiences are introduced. Tilo's mythical story is also fascinating. But, with the introduction of the rich, handsome, exotic Raven, the story completely flounders. Tilo breaks many of the rules assigned to her. And the Old One and her return to the island are abandoned at the end without a second thought. I agree with a previous reviewer that it resembles a Harlequin novel. It made me want to throw the book across the room. A great first half, undermined by a flaccid 2nd half.
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy and Real Life rolled into one
Review: THE MISTRESS OF SPICES by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni The story of THE MISTRESS OF SPICES by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a beautiful tale of a young woman who lives and travels through time and space, experiencing things that normal mortals do not, as she learns the secrets of the spices. Her story is intertwined with the present and the mythical past, as she explains how she came to be, and how she landed in modern day Oakland, California, where she finally ends up serving as a shop keeper selling spices to the Indian community. In her present day life, she is an old woman. She never leaves her store, which doubles as her home, and she sells spices and hands out advice as she deals with each of her customers. Deep inside, however, she's a young woman, full of life and energy, but forever trapped in this store and in this old body. She yearns to be outside, but knows that it is her fate to make no real contacts with people, to live her life alone. One day she meets a new customer, and this man is not of her people. He is an American, not Indian. But he senses something about her, and she feels a connection to him, too. She cautiously strikes up a friendship with him, something that is forbidden, but as her past showed, Tilo was always reckless and never thought of the consequences. As Tilo crosses the line over and over again, the clock starts ticking. What will finally happen to Tilo, because of her disobedience to the spice gods? Does she dare to continue in her reckless behavior, as she had done in the past? Or will she beg forgiveness, and stay content in living her life out as this old Indian woman, knowing no love or passion, only loneliness? THE MISTRESS OF SPICES is a fantasy, mixed in with our contemporary world. Once again Ms. Divakaruni writes with a lyrical pen, and creates a story a beautiful type of art. I found the reading fast and easy, and although half the story was pure fantasy, I found myself immersed in Tilo's anguish and sadness, as she deals with a life that she is not sure she wants. It's a story about what is most important to one's life, and making painful decisions that could alter one's course for the better or worse.
Rating:
Summary: Very beautiful
Review: It took me a bit to get into The Mistress of Spices, which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. The beginning just -- well -- begins and I admittedly got lost. But being a fan of Divakaruni, I knew that at some point, I would be glad I kept on reading, and truly I am. Divakaruni is at her most lyrical and poetic in The Mistress of Spices. And it's not only that -- she really makes you look at yourself and what you want in life. What's really important. The risks you need to take in life in order to be happy. This is what this book is about. Mixed in is a bit of fairy tale and fantasy, but underneath it all is just life. I would recommend this book to anyone, and tack on a bit of encouragement to get through those first few pages. After you're done reading, go back to the beginning and re-read them. You'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: A superb novel, sensual and intriguing
Review: It is always nice to see new writers protraying other cultures. This offers us a window on the world of the India sub-continent. Mysterious, always voluptuous, the author is able to capture the sights, smells and tastes of the protagonists shop with masterful vividness. A beautiful book for anyone who loves strong female characters, romance, and breathtakingly exuberant prose.
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