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Sisters of the Sari

June 15, 2011 by Elizabeth

Sisters of the Sari opens with Karia Langdon standing in front of a luggage carousel in Chennai, southern India, being informed that her luggage has been sent to China. The next day she boldly sets out to buy herself some new clothes, only to end up lost, robbed and covered in excrement from an unfortunate slip. A tiny, desperately poor woman named Santoshi helps her get back to her hotel. When Kiria goes to the hostel where Santoshi lives to repay her the bus fare, she is shocked by her living conditions, yet impressed with the women’s tenacity. As she continues her tour of India, the things she saw in Chennai stay with her, haunt her.

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 deals with modern India and all its contradictions, from the continuing problems of dowries, child-beggars and the idea that women can’t be independent, to internet connections, AC installations and Pizza Hut delivery.

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.

Filed Under: Elizabeth, Fiction

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Comments

  1. riTa says

    June 15, 2011 at 11:21 am

    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.)

  2. Christy says

    June 15, 2011 at 3:06 pm

    This sounds like an eye-opening and informative read ~ I’d love to win a copy

  3. Ruthie B says

    June 15, 2011 at 3:34 pm

    That really looks like a great story & I would love to read it! Thanks for the chance!

    ruthiekb72ATyahooDOTcom

  4. debbie says

    June 15, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    I would like to read it, it sounds really good.
    [email protected]

  5. Emily Bartkowicz says

    June 15, 2011 at 4:08 pm

    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!

  6. Mona Garg says

    June 15, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    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)

  7. april yedinak says

    June 15, 2011 at 5:15 pm

    This sounds like such a good read.

  8. Amy says

    June 15, 2011 at 5:45 pm

    Would love to win and read this. It sounds excellent!

    kempfyre21{at}yahoo{dot}com

  9. Margaret says

    June 15, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    This is definitely a book I want for my summer reads. Thanks so much for this giveaway!

    Margaret
    [email protected]

  10. Marjorie says

    June 15, 2011 at 5:56 pm

    The storyline sounds just amazing, I would love to win and read this book.

  11. MotherReader says

    June 15, 2011 at 9:27 pm

    Sounds like an interesting book. Would love to read it!

  12. Amy says

    June 15, 2011 at 9:57 pm

    Sounds like a great read! I would love to recommend it to my book club!

  13. Linda Kish says

    June 15, 2011 at 9:59 pm

    This sounds like an interesting story.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

    • Elizabeth says

      June 29, 2011 at 1:12 pm

      Congrats! You won! Please send us your address.

  14. Tammy Gordon says

    June 15, 2011 at 11:03 pm

    would love to win this book!

  15. tennille says

    June 16, 2011 at 12:28 am

    looks like a good one-our culture must seem so weird…

  16. Some Lucky Dog says

    June 16, 2011 at 2:11 am

    I’d love to read this book! I’m putting it on my list…
    someluckydog at gmaild dot com

  17. karenk says

    June 18, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    thank you for the chance to read this book 😉

  18. Katherine A says

    June 18, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    This sounds a great read. I love India. Slumdog Millionaire was brilliant. Am I allowed to enter in the UK?

  19. Cee says

    June 18, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    This sounds like an incredible book. Thank you for this giveaway!

  20. Barb says

    June 20, 2011 at 2:35 pm

    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).

  21. Hailey says

    June 22, 2011 at 8:02 am

    How interesting! I would love to win this book!

  22. Cindi says

    June 23, 2011 at 12:24 am

    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

  23. katklaw777 says

    June 23, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    I’d like to read this unique looking book, thanks.

  24. Wehaf says

    June 24, 2011 at 3:02 pm

    Boks about culture clashes are always interesting!

  25. Nancye Davis says

    June 27, 2011 at 4:27 pm

    This sounds like a great book! Thanks for the chance.

    nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

  26. JessicaF says

    June 28, 2011 at 9:32 pm

    I would love to read this! sounds great!

  27. Harvee Lau says

    June 29, 2011 at 11:17 am

    I love multi cultural books and this is one I’d love to read.

    [email protected]

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