The Mistress of Spices - Softcover

Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385482388 ISBN 13: 9780385482387

Publisher: Anchor Books, 1998

Synopsis

A first novel by the author of the short story collection, "Arranged Marriage," "The Mistress of Spices" is a mystical tale told by Tilo, a young Indian woman in an old woman's body who has been trained in the secret power of spices. Her special knowledge leads her to Oakland, California where she uses it to help the local Indian community by opening a spice shop from which she administers spices as curatives. Tilo can see into people's hearts and minds but it is a mistress' duty to keep herself at a distance, "not too far or near, in calm kindness poised." However, Tilo is unable to obey her charge, and she becomes emotionally involved with her customers as they struggle with the demands of their families, the clash of the old way versus the American way, racism, abusive husbands--all of the complexities of living in the modern world.

It is also her duty to limit her involvement to the Indian community. But Tilo finds herself mysteriously drawn to an American man named Raven, whose innermost thoughts she cannot read. Her complex and passionate relationships with her customers and Raven are in violation of her spice mistress vows, and so she finds herself forced to choose between the magical life of an immortal and the vicissitudes of life in the real world. Vibrant, vivacious, headstrong and daring, Tilo is unforgettable and so is her story.

About this title

Review:

"An unusual, clever, and often exquisite first novel...The result is rather as if Isabel Allende met Laura Esquivel."
--Los Angeles Times

"Divakaruni's prose is so pungent that it stains the page, yet beneath the sighs and smells of this brand of magic realism she deftly introduces her true theme: how an ability to accommodate desire enlivens not only the individual heart but a society cornered by change."
--The New Yorker

"The Mistress of Spices is a dazzling tale of misbegotten dreams and desires, hopes and expectations, woven with poetry and storyteller magic."
--Amy Tan

"A splendid novel, beautifully conceived and crafted."
--Pat Conroy

From the Publisher:

An exotic, magical novel by a young Indian immigrant to the US.

About this edition

• Publisher: Anchor Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0385482388
• ISBN 13: 9780385482387
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352