Rating: 
Summary: Prose that flows like silk from the authors pen
Review: Divakaruni does it again. The sequel to SISTER OF MY HEART, which in my honest opinion was off the chart in stars, stands on it's own as a beautiful, rhythmic tale of the two cousins who are now in America. Written in a more flowery hand, intermingled with tales of goddesses and Indian folklore, I was lost in her similes and metaphors. Suhda and Anju are about to find that hearts can be broken and the ties that bind broken but love endures. Sudha has come to America from Calcutta to make a new life for herself and her baby daughter Dayita. She finds herself in a cramped apartment with her cousin and Anju's husband Sunil who has always loved her from afar. The story though a bit sparse and predictable was tantalizing just the same. The author has a knack for making the cultural expectations clear while letting us feel the disappointments and joys that each character is faced with in this new and changing environment. Interspersed among the chapters are letters and essays along with a very original way of showing conversation with the unsaid thoughts behind the words that give us insight into the feelings and needs that make the characters what they are. Divakaruni is an original talent to be reckoned with. Kelsana 2/9/02
Rating:
Summary: Vine of Desire, utterly delectable
Review: Divakaruni is an extraordinary writer. Her style is like listening to a mutlistringed instrument - under the melody is a resonance and stridence which leaves you wanting more. Sisters of my Heart was lyrical but the sequel, Vine of Desiire, is far more than just lyrical - orgasmic would barely describe it.
Rating: 
Summary: Courageous writing, challenging read.
Review: For a novelist to change and develop as a writer, they need to experiment. This takes courage and runs the risk of alienating loyal readers. Chitra Divakaruni could have taken the reader-pleasing option and given us a soap-opera style sequel to Sister of My Heart.
Instead she has chosen this sequel to experiment with conventional narrative structure. There are some brilliant satiriical devices, for example Anju's creative writing assignments which offer a hilarious send-up of creative writing teachers. At times she is in danger of creating too much distance between the reader and the beloved protagonists Anju and Sudha. By giving five points of view, we lose that glorious intimacy of the previous novel. Nevertheless, we still get twists and turns of fate that fans of this author know and love so well. Divarkaruni seems to have developed one new literary tic however, acompulsion to sprinkle the narrative with irrelvant and tedious references to current news events which is extremely jarring. I can't see that copious references to the OJ Simpson trial added anything - in fact such references only serve to dilute the sense of magic that pervades her wonderful storytelling. Let's hope that this was just a temporary experiment and that her next book sees her returning to her old style!
Rating:
Summary: A read for every transplanted woman.
Review: How can one describe the flavors of freedom, moral obligations, and personal dignity? The choices in life are seldom easy and pleasures are all too often costly. Each person can relate to every character in the book in one time or another in his or her life. Sometimes we make the right decisions and hurt the ones we love and conversely sometimes we make the wrong decisions and are praised for it. This book addresses the desire " if I were only...smart, pretty, rich, desirable, anyone but me" and shows the consequences of following through with that fantasy. The strength of this story lies in the sacrifices that are made lieu of love because it would have been too easy to settle for a passionless life of security. The story is about two women coming of age in a new country and defining themselves against what tradition dictates them to be. It inadvertently explores the issue of modern day women who are raised without a father figure and the companion choice that are made in adult life. It does not blame the absentee father figure but the repercussion echo in the heart of every woman who has endured the matriarchal upbringing.
Rating: 
Summary: the vine of desire
Review: i am really enjoying the story of anju and sudha's reunion. i do think that the language is just a little on the overdone side, cut that down and you will probably have a book half the size. from where the affair takes place is where i start to get confused by what is happening, but still an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Good effort, though not her best
Review: I have read several books by this author, including the precursor to this one "Sister of my Heart." I enjoyed "Arranged Marriages" the most.
The story itself probably gets 3 to 4 stars. As an Indian born male raised in the West, I could relate to some of the cross-cultural issues which were in her other books but really came to the fore in this one. Here are individuals who have freedom of choice in a way they have not had in their previous culture (i.e., India). However, it is not at all clear that they put this freedom to "good" use and chaos ensues as everyone kind of does what appears to be their own best choice. The story loses a bit vs. others as it is not as focused as previous efforts by the author.
In literary terms this book offers quite a bit, probably closer to 5 stars though I am not the best judge of this. The technique of telling most chapters from one or the other character's perspective was used effectively by both William Faulkner in "As I Lay Dying" and later by Graham Swift in "Last Orders." Divakaruni however improves on the technique by incorporating letters and essays to help develop characters and other perspectives on issues. Like her previous books this has elements of "Magical Realism" in it, so if you absolutely hate that you may dislike this as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely overwritten
Review: I loved Divakaruni's Sister of My Heart, so I was delighted to discover there was a sequel. However, The Vine of Desire simply does not compare to Sister of My Heart. My main complaint is that Divakaruni has taken the utterly loveable and pure characters of Anju and Sudha, and used what I consider gimmicky writing to tell the continuation of their story (among the gimmicks are letters, Anju's essays, baby Dayita's thoughts, and "what I said" and "what I didn't say" chapters). The book felt very unnatural to me; the forced styles put too much in the way of the reader and the characters. Reading it reminded me of high school writing assignments where doing something "original" (like writing a screenplay or poem instead of the assigned essay) was considered "cool". In The Vine of Desire, however, Divakaruni just couldn't pull it off.
Rating:
Summary: I was disappointed
Review: I loved Sister of My Heart and I couldn't wait to start the sequel. First of all, don't read the Vine of Desire if you didn't read "Sister". You will be lost, confused and uninterested. I was disappointed with where the story went and felt cheated. There shouldn't have been a sequel and I was maybe too generous with my 3 stars...
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Read ~
Review: I loved Sister Of My Heart, If it wasn't for my book club that recommend this book I would have never have read it and I am glad that I did. So that I could read The Vine Of Desire, I saw this at the library, I normally am not into reading library books but I was so glad that I got into this one. It was enjoyable read. I enjoyed visiting Auju and Sudha and what they went through but whatever has happened in there lives one this is for certain that will always be Sisters Of The Heart! I hope that there story continues and we and visit with again in the future.
Happy Reading Lisa
Rating:
Summary: A Gorgeous Tale
Review: I loved this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed the first part to this story. It continues the story of Anju and Sudha who are now reunited in America. Anju has suffered a miscarriage and her relationship with her husband, Sunil, is fragile at best. When Sudha arrives in the U.S. and lives with Anju and Sunil, old wounds are reopened and new passions flare. How all three characters grow and learn makes this story worthwhile. The writing is beautiful, almost lyrical. A must read.
| 
