Sisters of the Sari
Kiria’s views are spot-on and funny. When the desk clerk tells her a cab ride should be 70 rupees, she says, “This was just pure sadism. The price may have been 70 rupees for a cute young Indian desk clerk in a tight pink sari, but the going rate for an old tourist in a gamy sweatsuit was 200 rupees.” (p. 2) I read that part aloud to my husband. Anyone who has traveled, much less lived, in a developing country can attest to the truth of this, but calling it sadism had me howling with laughter.
The story of Santoshi, sold as a child to a beggar, now subsisting on a meager cleaning job and 2-rupee tips that she squirrels away in jars hidden all over the city, is told without sentimentality. Santoshi emerges as a person with a mind of her own. Her story sparks in Kiria the idea to help poor women by opening a hostel where they could live affordably and independently. The cast of supporting characters includes Mary Elizabeth, an Anglo-Indian social worker, and her lawyer-friend Raj. In the meantime, Kiria hires Santoshi as a maid and rents an upstairs apartment from a traditional Indian family, who play out a drama of the clash between ancient and modern before her curious ears. The family has bought a rich daughter-in-law, a well-educated woman now stuck doing laundry by hand and bearing the brunt of her overbearing mother-in-law’s discontent and her husband’s spendthrift ways.
Different chapters are told from different points of view, but my favorite hands-down were those told first-person in Kiria’s voice. She is funny, grumpy but warm, and no nonsense. In some ways she is an atypical heroine—in her 60s, a corporate executive, overweight and traveling in sweats. Her voice was so genuine that I felt like I knew her in real life and that we were good friends.
Sisters of the Sari
Stories of westerners moving to developing countries to do good aren’t unusual, but this one stands out. All the voices are believable, and the depiction of India is neither too glowing nor too bleak. It’s hard to find that balance, to write a book about a real place and capture it in all its ambiguities, to capture people from all walks of life and represent them accurately on paper. Sisters of the Sari succeeds on many levels. I loved this book.
I’m really pleased to announce that one of you can win your very own copy of Sisters of the Sari. To enter, leave a comment below. The giveaway will end on June 29. The giveaway is closed.
- The winners of State of Wonder are #32 Barbara and #11 Tammy Gordon.
- The winner of the 7 books in Harper Teen’s Dark Days of Supernatural is #21 Carol M.
- The Map of True Places winners are #8, Barb, and #5, Connie Black.
This giveaway is now closed Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter or on Facebook.
Elizabeth has wanted to go India for years and years. She loves curry and makes it often for her family, who have mostly given up complaining about it. Read about her other travel and culinary adventures at her blog Planet Nomad.
We have very dear friends in India and from India and recently read Amy Carmichael’s life story, so I feel curious and connected to that land and would love to have and read and pass on this book. (And our house burned down last week. We lost the vast majority of our books.)
This sounds like an eye-opening and informative read ~ I’d love to win a copy
That really looks like a great story & I would love to read it! Thanks for the chance!
ruthiekb72ATyahooDOTcom
I would like to read it, it sounds really good.
[email protected]
With all the recent political unrest in the Middle East, I have become obsessed with Eastern/Middle Eastern women and culture. I have been reading a lot of books in this subject and think Sisters of the Sari sounds awesome! I also attended an Indian Wedding recently and was jealous of the gorgeous saris the Indian girls wore (I stuck out like a total Westerner!). I’d love to win a copy of this book, but regardless, I’m putting it on my Amazon wish list to read in the very near future. Thanks for the continued fantastic book recommendations – keep ’em coming!
Being originally of South Asian descent(born in India an emigrated to the US with my parents and younger brother when i was 4), I am always drawn to books about India.
I would love to read this.
Email subscriber
Twitter(@Kulmona)
FB fan(Mona Garg)
This sounds like such a good read.
Would love to win and read this. It sounds excellent!
kempfyre21{at}yahoo{dot}com
This is definitely a book I want for my summer reads. Thanks so much for this giveaway!
Margaret
[email protected]
The storyline sounds just amazing, I would love to win and read this book.
Sounds like an interesting book. Would love to read it!
Sounds like a great read! I would love to recommend it to my book club!
This sounds like an interesting story.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
Congrats! You won! Please send us your address.
would love to win this book!
looks like a good one-our culture must seem so weird…
I’d love to read this book! I’m putting it on my list…
someluckydog at gmaild dot com
thank you for the chance to read this book 😉
This sounds a great read. I love India. Slumdog Millionaire was brilliant. Am I allowed to enter in the UK?
This sounds like an incredible book. Thank you for this giveaway!
My fiance loves curry, but my kids won’t touch it. Even my son, who started eating sushi at a very early age, won’t touch curry. I’m so jealous of you, Elizabeth, for being able to serve it at home (even if there are some complaints).
How interesting! I would love to win this book!
I like the balance that you say this book has
between the good and bad of India…
I enjoy learning about other countries and this
book seems very good!
Thanks, Cindi
I’d like to read this unique looking book, thanks.
Boks about culture clashes are always interesting!
This sounds like a great book! Thanks for the chance.
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
I would love to read this! sounds great!
I love multi cultural books and this is one I’d love to read.
[email protected]