The Tree Bride : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Wow! Great Book!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: A story within a story within a story...
Review: 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.