At first, I was frustrated that I didn’t know more of the history of the time and area. By the end I thought they did a good job of sharing the feeling/emotions of the time and a little bit of the history.
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@mathmom Initially I found these “brain dump” pages between the various Parts of the book annoying, and, as you said, a bit pretentious. While I didn’t totally come around to liking them, by the last one I wasn’t as annoyed quite so much. That said, I’m not convinced they added much to the book.
I liked the book, but I didn’t love it. It is basically a romance novel in an historical setting. I liked Priya the best. I was very frustrated that she left the Medical school in the US. Jamini was my least favorite character.
I follow the news by reading the London newspapers, and I am aware of the problems between Hindu’s and Muslims in India. I feel that in the book Muslims were definitely placed in the worst light.
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Like @silverlady, I too thought “romance in an historical setting”. Actually I thought Pride and Prejudice: a “remote” father and a mother aware of the lack of social standing and dowry hindering good marriages for her daughters. Bina nags the girls and and harasses her husband in much the same way as Mrs. Bennet. Deepa represents Jane Bennet, the “pretty” one, with hopes that a marriage to a wealthy man will up the odds for her sisters to make a good match. Jamini, the plain one, stands in for poor plain Mary Bennet and Priya is, of course, Lizzie. The resemblance fades as the story takes off but that was a first impression.
I do know of the problems between Hindu and Muslim in India. I also agree with @silverlady that “in the book Muslims were definitely placed in the worst light.”
My next-door neighbors are Muslim from Pakistan and one of my best friends was Hindu from India. Seetha (Indian) passed away in March. I truly wish she was here, for many reasons of course, but in this case so I could ask her what she possibly remembers about this time. I really like my next-door neighbors (Pakistan) but am not at the same level of friendship I was with Seetha. She was born in 1939, so would have had some awareness of events. I could have asked her anything. I thought of Seetha as Priya, intent on an education. She ended up with her Ph.d in Physics.
I like the book and am grateful for exposure to history about which I knew nothing.
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I love the comparison to Pand P @ignatius.
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It’s unfortunate that the two evil characters (Jamini’s would-be rapist and Mamoon) are both Muslim.
Chitra Divakaruni is a Hindu and she states that she drew upon her family history for Independence, so I can see how such prejudice would seep in (although her principal Muslim characters --Raza, Abdullah, Sharif – are fine men).
Did you have to take help from personal narratives of the partition and the independence movement while writingIndependence? What did the research for the book entail?
I did indeed. In addition to book and newspaper research, and examining old photographs, I went back to the stories that my maternal grandfather and mother told me about the 1930s and 1940s. Both were followers of Gandhi, and they lived in Calcutta and a nearby Bengal village. Additionally, my grandfather was a doctor and operated a free clinic in his village – like Nabakumar, one of my favorite characters in the book. So you could say that my family stories had a lot to do with inspiring the book.
‘Immigration made me into a writer. I thought about India all the time’: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
I didn’t really think “romance” when I read the book because all the husbands end up dead. Maybe my romance standards are too high. 
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Independence received many positive reviews – excerpts here: All Book Marks reviews for Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Book Marks
And here’s a more critical one for those of you in the “liked it but didn’t love it” crowd: Independence by Chitra Banerjee #BookReview – Beat About The Book
Re the missing punctuation–mostly commas: I definitely noticed, but was sure it was intentional. I’m a stickler for grammar, but didn’t mind, as it seemed to be a deliberate style choice to align with the rhythm of the sentences.
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The critical review above offers a very good description of the flaws in this book. She touches upon some of the same things we’ve already discussed in our comments.
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If I remember correctly Maggie O’Farrell does the same or similar thing in The Marriage Portrait.
Do you consider Romeo and Juliet a romance,……and we know how that ended
I’m in the liked it/didn’t love it camp. It went from P&P light romance (thanks, @ignatius!) to historical death and destruction a lot quicker than I anticipated. The romance part suffered from a lack of available partners–maybe Deepa was supposed to get married first, but I didn’t understand why some kind of match couldn’t be made for Jamini, or why Amit wasn’t married off since he wasn’t planning to wait for Priya. Seemed like he’d be a catch.
The history was the most interesting for me, and the enigmatic history sections made me realize just how much I don’t know. I think most of my knowledge about Indian independence comes from the “Jewel in the Crown” miniseries in the 80’s. 
Thanks for all the links people have posted. Sad that intermarriage can still be so dangerous there.
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He was, indeed, a catch – “the most eligible bachelor in all of Bengal” (p. 143). But after Priya leaves, Amit will not agree to any of the matches that Manorama has found for him (p. 160). He becomes engaged to Jamini out of a misguided sense of duty to the family – and also (if you ask me) out of spite, because he’s still mad at Priya. Later, when he realizes he has made a mistake, Jamini won’t release him. I don’t think Jamini would have been interested in any match that was sent her way – she had set her cap for Amit and would not be deterred.
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You make very good points @Mary13! I guess it just felt reading the book that in that big country there weren’t any other people their own age!
Don’t forget about the caste system in India which wasn’t mentioned in the book. I am sure that was a barrier to finding a husband for Jamini
I thought it was interesting the way the sister’s original plans get derailed in different ways. Deepa is going to make the good match, but falls for the wrong man. Priya could have the good match, but her vocation is too strong to make it work. Jamini gets what she wants, but it’s a double edged sword.
The P and P connection is interesting. I always found the Mrs. Bennett sections almost unreadable, I just hated her so much, even though I think for the time her obsession with making sure her daughters are settled well was actually quite logical. Bina was much the same way, but nastier.
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As they veer from their “assigned” roles, they come to understand each other better (or at least to understand Priya better).
After the riot, Jamini helps the doctor tend to his many patients. “For the first time she understands Priya’s obsession with medicine. There is a godlike satisfaction in reducing pain, in banishing fevers, in helping a body stand up and walk again” (p. 177).
After Deepa’s day of vaccinating women and children, she is elated: “Driving home in a cloud of euphoria, she understands for the first time why Priya was so determined to be a doctor.”
It’s interesting – Jamini and Deepa have essentially the same thought, but their reasoning behind it reflects their personalities. Jamini is drawn by the “godlike” status; whereas for Deepa it’s part of the grassroots activism she is learning about, thinking as she assists: “To bring change, the leaders must work selflessly, tirelessly, for a long time” (p. 188).
I think Deepa changes the most in the novel, becoming much more than a pretty face destined for a good match.
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Agree about the P&P similarity … which breaks down as you get farther into the story, but the setup is certainly the same. I thought I was so original to think this 
but it’s reassuring to see great minds at work …
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I read this on the kindle, so no QR code, but maybe something for others to look for?:
Certain songs and anthems appear at crucial points in the narrative. Did any of them form an important part of how you encountered Partition tales when you were growing up?
Again, there were so many stories from my mother about marching and singing Bande Mataram, and facing lathi charges. Or of people singing the national anthem on Independence Day. Songs were a big part of the resistance against the British. I love these songs. I grew up listening to them. Tagore’s songs were so inspirational to so many. They still have such power. I wanted to make it a big part of the book. I am so glad my publisher has put a QR code in the book so readers can listen to these songs for free.
Interview: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author, Independence - Hindustan Times
Here is one of the songs Deepa sang:
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Me too.
@Mary13 said this about the use of present tense: “But it really worked here because it fit with the mood of the story, the suspense element, and the folk tale “ambience.” I feel the same applies to the histories between each section.”
Those sections gave me a foothold on the history:
The barefoot man is Gandhi, ill and battling despair; the leaders are Jinnah, Burrows, Suhrawardy, Nehru, Wavell.
Across the ocean a prime minister realizes that a prize is slipping from his grasp, it is about to crash to the ground. He must find a strategy, hand it over before it shatters, shift the blame.
Pethick-Lawrence heads a Cabinet Mission to India; he recommends breaking the country in three. A name is heard: Mountbatten. 1946 is coming to a close.
And so on. I appreciated the chronology of events and the names and places to look up. Other than Gandhi, I wouldn’t have had a clue where to start.
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