Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Genre: Literary Fiction, Cultural Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Verdict: A thrilling novel about finding one's true identity with a bit of suspense and romance. Read it!
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has become one of my favorite authors of Indian origin in the recent times. Ever since I read her Palace of Illusions, I have started following her and her books in detail. I really loved Palace of Illusions and Sister of my heart, both for Chitra's style of writing and the way she handles the plot.
Oleander girl is the story a young Bengali woman, Korobi (Bengali for the oleander flowers) who lives with her maternal grandparents after being orphaned at birth. She is the apple of the Roys (her grandparents) eye and lives a fairy tale life in Kolkata, soon to be engaged to the love of her life, Rajat. The story begins with Korobi waking up from a dream involving her mother on the day she is getting engaged to Rajat. Korobi is disturbed by the dream and feels strongly that there is a message behind it. In a series of incidents that follow, Korobi's grandfather dies and she learns about a shocking family secret about her parents from her grandmother that throws her completely on to a different path and she sets off to find her true identity. What follows is a gripping tale about race, identity, tradition, heritage and class.
The first half of the story is set in Kolkata, revolving around Bimal Roy, the stern grandfather of Korobi, her grandmother Sarojini and Rajat, her fiance, while the latter half is in USA, where Korobi travels to learn more about the family secret. Like in all of the other novels by Chitra, the female characters in the book are very strong and admirable - Korobi meek and subdued at first but she stands out when she sets her heart on traveling out of the country to find out her own identity, Sarojini - her grandmother who has pretty much always stood by her husband's words and secrets, even though she knew it would bring a lot of pain when they come to light, Jayashree Bose - Rajat's mother who runs the Bose's business and is a wonderful mother. Kudos to Chitra for showing the depth of each character, not just the lead ones. I could almost feel the anger on Korobi's grandfather for his silence and stealth actions all though the years and the helplessness of Rajat when he sees Korobi off at the airport and waits for her calls all night long for days together. Korobi and Rajat's love was also very well portrayed and the strength and maturity of it was pretty evident all throughout the story.
The first few chapters seemed to move really slowly, but once Korobi lands in the US, the plot becomes absolutely gripping. Warning - It becomes a real page-turner at this point and you will not be able to put the book down until you are done. I have always felt Chitra's books were easy to read and follow and although the story here was narrated by multiple characters, it all integrated seamlessly and that gives the plot an additional interesting touch. There are subtle messages sprinkled here and there all through out the story which I loved reading and one of my favorite quotes was: "Never choose something because its easier". One more thing I was really interested to find out when I started reading the book was, why the name "Oleander girl". I got my answer towards the end: "Because the oleander was beautiful - but also tough. It knew how to protect itself from predators".
Genre: Literary Fiction, Cultural Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Verdict: A thrilling novel about finding one's true identity with a bit of suspense and romance. Read it!
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has become one of my favorite authors of Indian origin in the recent times. Ever since I read her Palace of Illusions, I have started following her and her books in detail. I really loved Palace of Illusions and Sister of my heart, both for Chitra's style of writing and the way she handles the plot.
Oleander girl is the story a young Bengali woman, Korobi (Bengali for the oleander flowers) who lives with her maternal grandparents after being orphaned at birth. She is the apple of the Roys (her grandparents) eye and lives a fairy tale life in Kolkata, soon to be engaged to the love of her life, Rajat. The story begins with Korobi waking up from a dream involving her mother on the day she is getting engaged to Rajat. Korobi is disturbed by the dream and feels strongly that there is a message behind it. In a series of incidents that follow, Korobi's grandfather dies and she learns about a shocking family secret about her parents from her grandmother that throws her completely on to a different path and she sets off to find her true identity. What follows is a gripping tale about race, identity, tradition, heritage and class.
The first half of the story is set in Kolkata, revolving around Bimal Roy, the stern grandfather of Korobi, her grandmother Sarojini and Rajat, her fiance, while the latter half is in USA, where Korobi travels to learn more about the family secret. Like in all of the other novels by Chitra, the female characters in the book are very strong and admirable - Korobi meek and subdued at first but she stands out when she sets her heart on traveling out of the country to find out her own identity, Sarojini - her grandmother who has pretty much always stood by her husband's words and secrets, even though she knew it would bring a lot of pain when they come to light, Jayashree Bose - Rajat's mother who runs the Bose's business and is a wonderful mother. Kudos to Chitra for showing the depth of each character, not just the lead ones. I could almost feel the anger on Korobi's grandfather for his silence and stealth actions all though the years and the helplessness of Rajat when he sees Korobi off at the airport and waits for her calls all night long for days together. Korobi and Rajat's love was also very well portrayed and the strength and maturity of it was pretty evident all throughout the story.
The first few chapters seemed to move really slowly, but once Korobi lands in the US, the plot becomes absolutely gripping. Warning - It becomes a real page-turner at this point and you will not be able to put the book down until you are done. I have always felt Chitra's books were easy to read and follow and although the story here was narrated by multiple characters, it all integrated seamlessly and that gives the plot an additional interesting touch. There are subtle messages sprinkled here and there all through out the story which I loved reading and one of my favorite quotes was: "Never choose something because its easier". One more thing I was really interested to find out when I started reading the book was, why the name "Oleander girl". I got my answer towards the end: "Because the oleander was beautiful - but also tough. It knew how to protect itself from predators".
Near the end of the book, K
Near the end of the book, K
Near the end of the book, K
Near the end of the book, Korobi learns the meaning behind her name:
“Because the oleander was beautiful—but also tough. It knew how to
protect itself from predators. Anu wanted that toughness for you because
she didn’t have enough of it in herself.” - See more at:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Oleander-Girl/Chitra-Banerjee-Divakaruni/9781451695656/reading_group_guide#sthash.WxqaYKht.dpuf
Near the end of the book, Korobi learns the meaning behind her name:
“Because the oleander was beautiful—but also tough. It knew how to
protect itself from predators. Anu wanted that toughness for you because
she didn’t have enough of it in herself.” - See more at:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Oleander-Girl/Chitra-Banerjee-Divakaruni/9781451695656/reading_group_guide#sthash.WxqaYKht.dpuf
Near the end of the book, Korobi learns the meaning behind her name:
“Because the oleander was beautiful—but also tough. It knew how to
protect itself from predators. Anu wanted that toughness for you because
she didn’t have enough of it in herself.” - See more at:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Oleander-Girl/Chitra-Banerjee-Divakaruni/9781451695656/reading_group_guide#sthash.WxqaYKht.dpuf
Near the end of the book, Korobi learns the meaning behind her name:
“Because the oleander was beautiful—but also tough. It knew how to
protect itself from predators. Anu wanted that toughness for you because
she didn’t have enough of it in herself.” - See more at:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Oleander-Girl/Chitra-Banerjee-Divakaruni/9781451695656/reading_group_guide#sthash.WxqaYKht.dpuf
In a lot of places, it did feel like a typical Bollywood movie as the story progressed and a bit cinematic and melodramatic, but I must say I really enjoyed reading it and it took me all of 5 hours to wrap up the book when I got to the part when Korobi leaves to the US, I was turning pages as fast I could. This is my second favorite of the books I've read of Chitra's, Palace of Illusions still takes the cake. Oleander girl is a close second. 