Oleander Girl - Hardcover

Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1451695659 ISBN 13: 9781451695656

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2013

Synopsis

From the bestselling author of One Amazing Thing, a sweeping, suspenseful, atmospheric coming-of-age novel about a young woman who leaves India for America on a search that will transform her life.

Beloved bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has been hailed by Abraham Verghese as a "gifted storyteller" and by People magazine as a "skilled cartographer of the heart." Now, Divakaruni returns with her most gripping novel yet, a sweeping, suspenseful coming-of-age tale about a young woman who leaves India for America on a search that will transform her life.

THOUGH SHE WAS ORPHANED AT BIRTH, the wild and headstrong Korobi Roy has enjoyed a privileged childhood with her adoring grandparents, spending her first seventeen years sheltered in a beautiful, crumbling old mansion in Kolkata. But despite all that her grandparents have done for her, she is troubled by the silence that surrounds the circumstances of her parents' death and clings fiercely to her only inheritance from them: the love note she found, years ago, hidden in a book of poetry that had belonged to her mother. As she grows, Korobi dreams of one day finding a love as powerful as her parents', and it seems her wish has finally come true when she meets the charming Rajat, the only son of a high-profile business family.

Shortly after their engagement, however, a sudden heart attack kills Korobi's grandfather, revealing serious financial problems and a devastating secret about Korobi's past. Shattered by this discovery and by her grandparents' betrayal, Korobi decides to undertake a courageous search across post-9/11 America to find her true identity. Her dramatic, often startling journey will ultimately thrust her into the most difficult decision of her life.

With flawless narrative instinct and a boundless sympathy for her irrepressible characters, in Oleander Girl Divakaruni brings us a perfect treat of a novel-- moving, wise, and unforgettable. As The Wall Street Journal raves, "Divakaruni emphasizes the cathartic force of storytelling with sumptuous prose. . . . She defies categorization."

About this title

Review:

"Compulsively readable, a real page-turner. I found it impossible to set this novel down once I picked it up. Chitra Divakaruni confronts the hard truths about love, loss, grief, redemption and the choices we make, in a family saga that reads like a detective novel."--Thrity Umrigar "bestselling author of The World We Found and The Space Between "

"Oleander Girl is elegant and classic, but also vivid and immediate. Love and loss and secrets collide in this powerful story of the way we live now. There is poetry on these pages, but also the burning-on-both-ends urgency of a page turner. Gorgeous and exciting, this is a wonderful novel."--Tayari Jones "bestselling author of The Silver Sparrow "

"When you think of thrilling page turners, you don't usually think of fluid, graceful prose. But that's what you'll find in Oleander Girl. This is the gripping story of a young woman who leaves India in pursuit of a shocking family secret, only to learn far more about herself than she bargained for. It is also a story that bears out the wisdom of something one of the characters says: Never choose something because it's easier. Chitra Divakaruni is such an elegant writer, one who makes the reader feel not only engaged and entertained, but a bit elevated, too. I've been a fan of Divakaruni's work for a long time; this book keeps me one."--Elizabeth Berg "New York Times bestselling author of Tapestry of Fortunes "

"Oleander Girl is a riveting and powerful exploration of family secrets, betrayal, love, and ultimately, the search for self. Divakaruni paints colorful characters on a rich tapestry of modern India, all still haunted by the past."--Shilpi Somaya Gowda "New York Times bestselling author of Secret Daughter "

"The heady pace of unfolding events [is] driven by the skill of an acclaimed raconteur at the top of her game. . . . The Kolkata parts of the story are the most entertaining [and] could have come from the pen of a contemporary Jane Austen. . . . Also very pleasing is Divakaruni's use of bathos, a literary form that was raised to an art by Alexander Pope but is sadly out of fashion today. . . . A bang-on read for the summer holidays."--India Today

"For those of us who read to escape the banalities of daily life, Chitra Divakaruni's books are oxygen. She wrtes about India in a way that makes the rest of the world disappear around you."--The Chicago Tribune

"The bestselling novelist's latest offering, just in time for summer, is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age tale about Korobi Roy, who goes on a journey of self discovery on a terrain that includes religion, caste and secrets. Written with empathy and elegance, this novel deserves to be at the top of your list."--Indulge Magazine

"The voyage of discovery [Korobi] undertakes, and the secrets, lies and buried tensions she unearths along the way -- is the stuff of a classic coming-of-age story, with the added excitement of a quest. . . . Divakaruni's language is lyrical. . . . Rajat's transformation from Prince Charming to a more complex romantic interest is one of the book's more pleasurable aspects. He embodies a struggle between the traditional and the modern, the product of a time and a country that has yet to define itself. Divakaruni's Kolkata is a teeming cosmopolis, the beating heart of the book."--Indian Express

"With the present impressive list of publications and her untiring zeal for creating realistic edifices, [Chitra Divakaruni] is sure to go on and on and up and up. . . . Chitra's maneuvering of her characters and events is almost perfect."--Deccan Herald

"Gorgeous. . . [An] elegant and highly evocative new novel from Divakaruni."--PopMatters.com

About the Author:

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is the author of sixteen books, including Oleander Girl, The Mistress of Spices, Sister of My Heart, Palace of Illusions, One Amazing Thing, and Before We Visit the Goddess. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New York Times, and has won, among other prizes, an American Book Award. Born in India, she currently lives in Texas and is the McDavid professor of Creative Writing at the University of Houston.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1451695659
• ISBN 13: 9781451695656
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 289