Independence - October CC Book Club Selection

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My CC sensibilities went into overdrive where Priya was concerned. I stayed up late one night reading Independence and then had the classic stress dream where it was the morning of finals and I realized I had missed all my classes. :slight_smile:

But looking at the big picture, marrying Arthur and staying in the U.S. wouldn’t have made sense for Priya. She needed to be surrounded by her family. And her career fulfillment revolved around providing medical services to the indigent of her home community. I think Arthur loved Priya because she was brilliant, beautiful and exotic — but if you look at their interactions, he spent a lot of time drying her tears. She wouldn’t have been happy staying in the U.S., which would ultimately have made him unhappy, too. That’s probably too much analysis for a very peripheral character, but this novel does lend itself to imagining the “what if’s” for various scenarios!

Re Priya and medical school, it was an interesting juxtaposition: Her swift departure from the U.S. program was a step backward for women (especially women of color), but pursuing medical school in India was a step forward for women.

By “step backward,” I mean in the eyes of the admissions committee: “This is the trouble with women from foreign cultures, they say. Too emotional, too entangled in family” (p. 199)…”Her education is clearly less of a priority to her than they had hoped.” By “step forward,” I mean that—with the help of Sarojini—Priya breaks down the barrier that had excluded women from the Calcutta Medical College.

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I tried looking for it on Kindle but for some reason Amazon is not showing me any Kindle editions. I am locked out of a few websites because of my travel location and I wonder if that’s the reason.

I looked in the local used book store but no luck. It’s unfortunate because I was looking forward very much to reading this book and the discussion.

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Sarojini Naidu would have died only a year after her encounter with Priya. Normally, I hold my breath a little when fictional characters interact with historical ones, but their interaction was fleeting enough to work. And given her own advanced education and activism for women’s rights, it made sense that Sarojini would make a small (for her) but life-changing (for Priya) gesture by writing the note.

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Here’s a link to the Kindle version, in case you end up anywhere that it’s not blocked (and can download it – also sometimes a problem when traveling): https://www.amazon.com/Independence-Novel-Chitra-Banerjee-Divakaruni-ebook/dp/B09YRQT34P

And remember, this thread is open for a long time…If you get your hands on the book eventually, post and let us know what you thought!

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I agree. When I read a sample of a book written in the present tense, I tend to say, “No, thank you” and move on. But it really worked here because it fit with the mood of the story, the suspense element, and the folk tale “ambience.” I would not have wanted it to be written any differently.

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I thought this was a good book. Easy to read and definitely kept my interest all the way through. I can’t say I loved it though. It was pretty depressing until things turned around at the end of the story. It’s hard to watch people make the wrong decisions, or at least what look like the wrong decisions to you as you’re reading it. I actually started liking the book more after I finished reading it and started reading other reviews. The history of India at the time sounds more horrible than I had knowledge of, and definitely adds a layer of depth to the story.

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Amit and Priya were definitely not a good fit. Given his histrionics and subsequent silent treatment when she decided to go to medical school in the U.S., it’s unlikely that he would have been supportive of her career as a doctor, even though he insisted otherwise.

I think Amit would have come to love Jamini, given time – especially after the birth of the baby. But if that were to happen, Priya would have had to return to the U.S. and married Arthur; otherwise, she would have been a distraction and Amit would have continued to delude himself about Priya being his one-and-only.

Oh and that reminds me, in the interview with Divakaruni, she is asked if Little Women was an inspiration. She answers:

It’s a coincidence. I have read Little Women and I like it. That, however, was not in my mind when I was writing Independence . I was intrigued when it reminded people of Little Women.

I hadn’t thought of Little Women at all when reading, but on reflection, Amit and Priya were sort of Laurie-Jo, with Jamini as Amy. The obvious difference was that Jo recognized that they were best friends, but a bad marriage match, whereas Priya didn’t (except perhaps on a sub-conscious level). Also, Laurie came to love Amy deeply, with no forced promises as with Amit and Jamini.

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I had moments of both love and hate for each of the daughters, and enjoyed getting a glimpse of a time and place that I have only a superficial acquaintance with. But the secondary characters were all pretty two dimensional, just moving about in the background to set the scene for the three sisters.

I’ve read a few books featuring strong women from this time period (including The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey) and thought Priya’s story fit comfortably in the trope of Ambitious and Intelligent Young Woman Challenges Tradition and Patriarchy. Deepa’s story and her not-entirely-credible undercover membership in an entirely different community was more interesting for me. And I never really connected with Jamini, too whiny.

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Yes, @stradmon this is one of the many reasons I liked this book so very much. While it has folktale quality, the ending surprised me, not a sister “lives the happily ever “married” journey.

There wasn’t a prince on stallion as savior, in this tale, No, in fact it was Priya’s meeting with compassionate Sarojini Naidu, who helps her achieve her dreams. Deepu and her acccounting skills, and Jamini’s needlework, all independent women, working and earning their way, using their skills, and living happily.

Could this have been called “ Interdependence “ , each taking care of the other, raising the next generation and caring for those in the community? No, for sure this is about the Independence of the female main characters, of India free from the British rule, Independent state of Pakistan and East Bengal. G

Most of all, I loved this novel because it was a history lesson, wrapped in a love story, and family saga,

I wish the author explained more about the strife when the British left. Were the Muslims and Hindus peacefully existing or was the presence of the British keeping resentments contained ?

The “ direct action day” shocking. I was shocked how many died on that day. All the turmoil surrounding the birth of east bengal and Pakistan and what that meant to the people who uprooted their lives for their new country,

Ghandi, murdered !

Thank you @VeryHappy for suggesting this book. it was an important book for me to read.

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Actually, I love this. It goes to the core of the message that Nabakumar was trying to relay as he died.

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As at least one other person said, I “liked” the book, but didn’t “love” it. It held my interest enough that reading it didn’t feel like a tough slog, but in many ways it all felt too superficial. Learning some about that period of India’s history, though, was a plus.

The 3 sisters were all annoying at various times, but for me, Jamini was annoying almost all the time. I almost tossed my Kindle across the room when she told Priya she’d kill herself if Amit and Priya got back together.

For the most part I liked Priya, but felt as if her storyline was a bit off in places. At the beginning of the book it didn’t seem as if she thought Amit was more than a really good friend, but later she’s devastated that he broke up with her when she goes to the US for med school and then has to rush back home when she finds out Amit is going to marry Jamini.

Deepa becomes less self-centered and a stronger woman as the book goes on, but I question how realistic her storyline is. It seems as if all the deception and trickery she and Raza were living with would have been easily discovered.

As for Bina – I didn’t like her at all! Shades of the wicked step-mother, even though she was their real mother.

And the men? All of them get killed off except Amit’s father, Somnath. Again, his storyline was a bit unrealistic, IMO. Yes, he’s necessary to the plot since he’s the one with money, but it’s hard to believe he would have been such a champion of Priya going off to medical school at all, never mind leaving Amit and going to the US.

In the interest of full disclosure, I just finished reading “The Covenant of Water” for my RL Book Club, which may be influencing my opinion of “Independence.” Also set in India, it’s full of detailed, rich descriptions of characters and settings – so, IMO, not superficial at all.

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@mary13 did your “ cc mentality” :blush:take note of Naidu’s protegy and education. She was also imprisoned for 21 months, and considered the Indian “Yeats” according to your link above.

Sarojini Naidu passed her matriculation examination to qualify for university study, earning the highest rank, in 1891, when she was twelve.[1]From 1895 to 1898 she studied in England, at King’s College, London and then Girton College, Cambridge, with a scholarship from the Nizam of Hyderabad.[3]In England, she met artists from the Aesthetic and Decadentmovements.[4]

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Want to experience more of Indian culture, in this rom-com just released on Netflix. Beautiful scenery.

Kushi-

IMG_9313
IMG_93131342×1201 356 KB

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@CBBBlinker, I want to read The Covenant of Water, but I’m scared of the length! I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually.

Jamini was a walking contradiction. She wouldn’t release Amit from his promise, which indicates a pretty shallow love–more like a desire to posses. Yet she is willing to sacrifice her life at the end for him and Priya. I don’t think that contradiction is a flaw in the writing; rather, it’s Jamini’s flaw as a human being. She strives to manipulate events to either fit her needs (Amit) or boost her image (dramatic sacrifice).

I agree that Priya didn’t really seem to know her own mind as regards Amit. Rushing back home after hearing about the engagement was a product of sisterly rivalry more than anything else.

If Amit had agreed to a marriage arranged by his aunt, Priya would have wept, she would have been heartbroken, but she would have accepted it. Jamini, however? To think of Amit marrying Jamini, who has always coveted him, feels wrong in a different, deeper way (p. 198).

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Like you, I’m overwhelmed with researching this topic.
So I’m looking for basic synopsis of events.
Here is a start

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So I guess fighting in ww1 and ww2 sparked promise of independent India.
And, I assume the Muslim and Hindis were United against British rule, a case of “if my enemy is your enemy “ …

Without the common enemy of British, all hell broke loose,
“ Post-Partition Violence

On both sides, people scrambled to get onto the “right” side of the border or were driven from their homes by their erstwhile neighbors. At least 10 million people fled north or south, depending on their faith, and more than 500,000 were killed in the melee. Trains full of refugees were set upon by militants from both sides, and the passengers massacred.”

@VeryHappy this seemed concise.

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Very helpful links, @jerseysouthmomchess. Thank you.

Over 80 years later, and the animosity between Hindus and Muslims rages on:

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Although not spelled out, my sense was that as time passed, everyone in their entourage did become aware of Deepa and Raza’s deception, but chose to turn a blind eye. Their friends and co-workers were too fond of them, and their enemies (i.e., Mamoon) had more murderous plans in mind to deal with the situation.

Deepa and Raza’s marriage would have been tough even today:

India's 'love jihad' conspiracy theory targets Muslim-Hindu weddings : NPR.

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Another who liked but didn’t love the book. I thought the plot development was somewhat thin. There have been several books I read in recent years where the plot and even character development was just a wrap for in depth cultural representation. Sometimes I feel like the author is more interested in describing every tiny aspect of the culture and not so much in story telling.

The concept of it being folklore was interesting. I had just finished another book involving three young women (two of them sisters) and their relationships with each other and their parents and love triangles and their wise mentors and such. The Weaver and the Witch Queen takes place in old Viking times and includes magic, but the arcing themes were close enough that it might have affected my opinion of Independence.

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What did people think of the enigmatic histories between each section? At first I thought they were really pretentious, but in the end they kind of grew on me.