Independence

★★★★★★★★½☆ 8.5/10

368 pages

What’s it about?

This book is set in India, in 1947, during the partition of India and Pakistan. It centers around the family of a well respected doctor in a small village in Bengal. Sisters Deepa, Jamini, and Priya are close, but have very different temperaments. When the unrest in the country affects their family they each find a different path.

What did it make me think about?

Why does religion often cause such devastation?

Should I read it?

My first foray into Ms. Divakaruni’s writing was years ago when my book club in Illinois read “Arranged Marriage”. We all enjoyed it, and it lent itself really well to discussion. I think over the next few years we also read a couple more of her books and enjoyed them. For some reason I had not picked one up in awhile. This story reminded me of why we enjoyed her writing. The book was easy to read, I learned something about the partition of India, and the characters were well drawn. “Jamini has always known her shortcomings. She does not possess Deepa’s shimmering beauty, Priya’s focused intelligence. That is why, early in life, she chose goodness.” Just an easy historical fiction novel to read- and learn something while you are at it.

A passage I marked

“Birth and death, serpents swallowing each other’s tails. A father dies to make space in the world for the child who is coming. When a nation is born, how many must die?”