Sharmila's Book

By Bharti Kirchner

Book Overview

At 32 years old, Sharmila Sen is a successful graphic artist in Chicago, and possesses the natural beauty of her Indian heritage ("You know, big eyes, full mouth, shoulder-length black hair, and a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525943684
• ISBN13: 9780525943686
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Dutton
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.0" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

beautiful and redeeming story.....

This book is absolutely mesmerizing and thoroughly engaging!! It was as though I was experiencing a beautiful film. I could see the sights, smell and taste the Indian food the title character consumes and felt the delicate fabrics from which the saris come from. Kirchner's style is whimsical, heartfelt and cuts like a knife. "Sharmila's Book" is an intimate and brutally honest account of one Indian-American women's journey to India to meet with her potential husband--this is through an arranged marriage organized by her parents. Though, Sharmila was born and raised in Chicago, fully immersed in American culture, she retains strong ties to traditional Indian respectablity, culinary preparation and her image and duty as a young and well-educated woman. What she discovers about the arrangement is all that glitters is not gold. Her intended, Raj, is tall, handsome, athletic and has seemingly all the breaks (MBA from a prestigious United States university, a prestigious position in the Indian caste system, and considerable material wealth), but something just isn't right about him. She can't put her finger on what........ Sharmila's trip to India turns out to be more than what she planned for. It turns out that the central reason for her travels is only secondary to her personal journey within as a woman and someone struggling with a dual cultural identity. Her story is also truly empowering for any woman of any culture who reads the novel. Sharmila learns about self respect, as well as taking the road less travelled when persuing true happiness in life. Please reccomend this book to anyone who wants to get a better sense of the dual identity struggle that exists for American-born people of ethnic Indian origin. Very compelling!!!

An Indian escape....

I truly enjoyed reading this book. This was one of those books that once I began reading, I could not stop. The plot is basically about an Indian-American woman who agrees to an arranged marriage, but by travelling all the way to India, instead she had unexpectedly found true love with another. Such a captivating read that drew me so close to Sharmila....

Sights, sounds, and smells of India

Sharmila's story cast a magic spell on me.Like being back in India.I have been to New Delhi and I could identify the many locales suggested in the book. The writing is clear and precise. Unlike many pompous Indian novels, this one is approachable.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

This book describes India in such a vivid way, u feel ur right there with the characters. I really liked Sharmila's character, how she stands up for herself relentlessly...she symbolizes women of the 21st century. Full of suspense, this book kept me up all night!

The suspense was tremendous

After the first couple of chapters I was totally hooked by this novel. I had to read it all night to find out the true cause of Roopa's accidental death. The arranged marriage scenario is realistic. I am from India. I know of people who has undergone similar experiences.