Sister of My Heart
Sister of My Heart is a novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. First published in 1999, this novel was followed in 2002 by a sequel "The Vine of Desire". The story centers on two Indian girls, Anju and Sudha. The girls narrate their life stories in alternating chapters. The book follows Sudha and Anju through childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Although some of the characters immigrate to the United States, most of the story is set in India. Plot summary. Book one. "Princess in the Palace of Snakes" follows two cousins from birth until their wedding day . The sudden death of their fathers on a hunt for rubies sends Anju and Sudha's mothers into premature labor, and the two girls are born twelve hours apart. From a young age the girls become best friends, sisters, and each other's constant companion. Anju and Sudha grow up in a household run by their three mothers: Pishi, Gouri, and Nalini. Even though Anju and Sudha call each other sisters, they are technically cousins. Pishi is the girls’ aunt. Pishi's youngest brother, Bijoy Chatterjee, married Gouri. Anju is their daughter. So in addition to Pishi and Gouri, there  is Nalini, Sudha's mother. Beautiful and calm, Sudha is a storyteller and dreams of designing clothes and having a family. Anju has a fierce spirit and longs to study Literature in college. The girls get caught skipping school and this event, along with a health scare in the family, suddenly changes plans for college to plans of marriage. Book one ends with Anju and Sudha getting married on the same day. Sudha will move in with her husband and in-laws who live in another part of India. Anju's husband works in the United States, and she plans  to join him after getting a visa. Sudha learns a dark secret about their family's past. Shame and guilt over keeping this secret causes Sudha to pull away from Anju. But her love for her sister does not falter, and she even refuses to elope for fear it would damage Anju's reputation. On the night of their double wedding, Anju becomes aware of her husband's attraction to Sudha. Anju does not blame Sudha, but it is with some relief the two young women begin to live separate lives. Book two. In "The Queen of Swords" Sudha quickly  learns the ways of her demanding and controlling mother-in-law. After five long years, Sudha is elated to learn she is pregnant. Meanwhile, Anju's life in the United States has not entirely turned out as she expected. Anju and Sudha exchange regular letters and short phone calls, but their old intimacy is missing. The friends discover they are pregnant at the same time and both seem finally happy. Sudha's mother-in-law finds out that Sudha's child is a girl. She demands Sudha abort the baby, believing the first child should be a son. Sudha has  nowhere to turn, leaving her husband would be grounds to talk to each other again as true sisters. Refusing to tie her life to another man and realizing Anju needs her, Sudha and her daughter decide to go to the United States. After many years, the sisters are reunited, but future obstacles still loom. Reviews. Online Reviews. “Some readers may be turned off by the novel's use of standard South Asian clichés. The scenes of forbidden love, demanding parental expectations, and difficult in-laws were, indeed, predictable. However, in Divakaruni's defense, I must say that she has an  uncanny way of rescuing the cliché from its superficiality. Divakaruni is able to divert the reader's focus from the clichés through the beauty of her writing. Her poetic language, elaborate descriptions, and symbolism really do place the otherwise cliché themes on a higher level.” Julie Rajan "Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has written an intense, powerful book about the close relationships that women form with each other. The story is absolutely unforgettable, and it will keep you thinking about your own relationships with your friends and relatives, and just how far you would go to protect them." Judith Handschuh Sister of