Monday, November 05, 2012

Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair (2011)

I briefly saw the word Indian in the book info and thought it was going to be about American Indian roots, but turned out to be India Indian - different, but still good. A young girl, born of Indian parents in the U.S., travels with her troubled mother to India to visit her family and learns more about family secrets than she cares to. There really is a girl in a beautiful, mysterious garden. Much of the tragedies in the book had to do with parents choosing husbands or wives for their children. Family structures and relationships with the U.S. were interesting. I wish the author had expounded more on the ayurvedic medicine practiced in the Indian hospital. Still, a great window into another culture, both in our own country and back in India.

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