The Mistress of Spices: A Novel
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
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Read in June, 2008
To read the novel Mistress of Spices is to experience an aspect of Indian culture that is steeped in mysticism while, at the same time, learning of some of the current struggles among the Indian-American community.
Tilo, a young woman in an old woman’s body, owns a shop where she sells much more than cinnamon and fennel. Her almost spiritual calling as a “mistress” grants her fragile access to the dreams and worries of those who frequent her store – for better or worse. She knows whic...more
Tilo, a young woman in an old woman’s body, owns a shop where she sells much more than cinnamon and fennel. Her almost spiritual calling as a “mistress” grants her fragile access to the dreams and worries of those who frequent her store – for better or worse. She knows whic...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
Romance book readers
This book belongs on a Harlequin/ Mills & Boon bookshelf. I picked it up expecting something quite different from the lukewarm and soggy story telling it contained. Perhaps the author was aiming for magic realism but ended up with a mishmash of genres and not one that was well-developed.
The story revolves around a woman who had a weird past that has no real connection to her present. She "inhabits" an old body for no good reason other than she might actually be that old (t...more
The story revolves around a woman who had a weird past that has no real connection to her present. She "inhabits" an old body for no good reason other than she might actually be that old (t...more
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Read in April, 2006
I got this book because I heard Divakaruni do a reading in March (she teaches writing at the University of Houston). She reads beautifully - and when I first started this book, I thought that her prose sounded better read out loud than on the page. In some ways, I had to be sold on this book - it took me a little while to get into it, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a rather inferior version of Isabel Allende’s magical realism. (It’s about a woman named Tilo who runs an Indian...more
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Read in March, 2005
recommended to Tawny by:
Dr. Keith Lawrence
Favorite Lines:
1. "Sometimes I wonder if there is such a thing as reality, an objective and untouched nature of being. Or if all that we encounter has already been changed by what we had imagined it to be. If we have dreamed it into being."
2. "A good hand is not too light, nor too heavy. Light hands are the wind's creatures, flung this way and that at its whim. Heavy hands, pulled downward by their own weight, have no spirit. They are only slabs of meat for the maggots wa...more
1. "Sometimes I wonder if there is such a thing as reality, an objective and untouched nature of being. Or if all that we encounter has already been changed by what we had imagined it to be. If we have dreamed it into being."
2. "A good hand is not too light, nor too heavy. Light hands are the wind's creatures, flung this way and that at its whim. Heavy hands, pulled downward by their own weight, have no spirit. They are only slabs of meat for the maggots wa...more
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Read in June, 2007
As a big fan of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, I collect many of her books. The ones I have read are The Unknown Errors of Our Lives, Arranged Married, and the last one is The Mistress of Spices.
Like in her other books, in The Mistress of Spices, Divakaruni uses her beautiful writing style. Soft, unhurried, strong. She makes readers captivated in such a way that you feel every single sensation the main character, Tilo, undergoes.
This novel is somehow a flight of imagination, yet Divakaruni ...more
Like in her other books, in The Mistress of Spices, Divakaruni uses her beautiful writing style. Soft, unhurried, strong. She makes readers captivated in such a way that you feel every single sensation the main character, Tilo, undergoes.
This novel is somehow a flight of imagination, yet Divakaruni ...more
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Read in May, 2008
The book starts off on a very promising note -- like the crisp, tantalizing taste of cinnamon, it sends a thrill down your palate and makes you beg for more. Sometimes it refreshes with the clean flourish of fennel. Other times, it soothes like basil. All in all, a beautiful and fascinating medley of tastes.
And then.
Somewhere down the line, the spices start losing their aroma, their sharpness, their texture. By the time you reach the last few chapters of the book, the Mistress of Spices ...more
And then.
Somewhere down the line, the spices start losing their aroma, their sharpness, their texture. By the time you reach the last few chapters of the book, the Mistress of Spices ...more
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Read in October, 2007
After reading Queen of Dreams and her short stories, The Unknown Errors of Our Lives, I was ready to read anything that Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni wrote. So this book came as a major disappointment. I could not connect with any of the characters, even the major ones. I think the problem may be that while I like magical realism, there was a little too much magic and a bit too little realism in this one.
I did like the way each chapter featured a different spice, and the stories of some of t...more
I did like the way each chapter featured a different spice, and the stories of some of t...more
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recommends it for:
especially those who enjoyed Laura Esquivel's Like water for Chocolate
Oh! What a book! The language! The imagery!
I had no idea really of what to expect from this, except that it was about well, spices.
It is about this woman who at some point in time, somewhere, decides to devote herself entirely to the art of spices. By becoming a Mistress of Spices, she is granted access to the power and potency of spices to cure a broken heart, give a battered wife courage, a gangster-to-be belief in himself.
But that knowledge and skill comes at a price - her body be...more
I had no idea really of what to expect from this, except that it was about well, spices.
It is about this woman who at some point in time, somewhere, decides to devote herself entirely to the art of spices. By becoming a Mistress of Spices, she is granted access to the power and potency of spices to cure a broken heart, give a battered wife courage, a gangster-to-be belief in himself.
But that knowledge and skill comes at a price - her body be...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
yg suka baca
Namaste,
Tulisan org India -Arundhati, Malladi smp Banerjee- baunya India bgt, mistis. Tpi yg paling mistis diantara ke-3nya, Banerjee ini, bener2 magical realism.
Buku ini bercerita banyak ttg sihir (bukan sihir Potter tpi mistisnya Saman): Pemirsa Bintang, Ratu Perompak, Naga2 Samudera dan Penguasa Rempah2 dicampur dgn Dewa-Dewi, mitos, budaya. Membuat org yg membaca buku ini bner2 ngerasain campuran jahe, kapulaga, kayumanis dan cabe merah: manis, pedes, panas...(asa teu yakin.. hehe)...more
Tulisan org India -Arundhati, Malladi smp Banerjee- baunya India bgt, mistis. Tpi yg paling mistis diantara ke-3nya, Banerjee ini, bener2 magical realism.
Buku ini bercerita banyak ttg sihir (bukan sihir Potter tpi mistisnya Saman): Pemirsa Bintang, Ratu Perompak, Naga2 Samudera dan Penguasa Rempah2 dicampur dgn Dewa-Dewi, mitos, budaya. Membuat org yg membaca buku ini bner2 ngerasain campuran jahe, kapulaga, kayumanis dan cabe merah: manis, pedes, panas...(asa teu yakin.. hehe)...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Suki by:
Ms. Witman (book group)recommends it for: cindy wen, joanna wu, ling juan, and maybe jenny wu
i like this book because it was kind of like The Odyssey and there was like falshbacks and journey. I thought it was kind of magical things happening. She got kinapped by pirates and she overthrew them and she dont have any goals to live but the sea serpents saved her because she wanted to commit suicide and they told her to go to the island. she went to the island and learn the magic of spices. Then after she learned all the magic she went to America and opened a store full of spices. She helpe...more
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Read in January, 2005
I notice it's mainly females reviewing this book, and that's okay because it is an excellent "chick book"! This book has a nice blend of mystery and love, a dash of romance and a sprinkling of seduction, garnished with some of the most colorful and mind-tingling descriptions of what many might consider everyday items - a pool, some fabric, the smell of cinnamon. When you've finished this read, you'll be both satisfied and left wanting the dessert... I'd recommend her short stories for
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Read in June, 2008
love the premise, magic acting through spices. the heroine is supposed to use her training and powers for her own people but compassion leads her to help all who come to her--a lesson in diversity? a dreamy lilt to the tone of the writing, charming word arrangement (is English the author's second language?), an ending that reminds me of that one Batman villain from the animated series who wants to destroy the world so it can heal itself over (Razul?). the love story part is on the verge of si...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Not Many
This book is a quick read, though it lacks power. Using the spice to heal people in her community, Tiloh, the main character, mirrors the French Vianne of Chocolat. However the nature of the character and the problems of her community are overshadowed by a forbidden romance that I didn't really buy with some strange Native American Shaman aspects shoved in, disjointing the narrative. The ending didn't satisfy either. Maybe if I understood ex-pat Indiana culture better, I would identify with the...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
lovers of magical realism.
I can't remember why I picked up this book... maybe for its beautiful cover. It sat on my bookshelf for a few months, until I started the habit of blindly choosing a book off the shelves to read.
Without preconceived notions, I started reading and, I couldn't put it down. I love the genre of magical realism. This uses the power of the genre to bring food and more specifically, spices, to life for the reader. There are some really good lessons to learn as well, which the author presents withou...more
Without preconceived notions, I started reading and, I couldn't put it down. I love the genre of magical realism. This uses the power of the genre to bring food and more specifically, spices, to life for the reader. There are some really good lessons to learn as well, which the author presents withou...more
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Read in January, 2004
mungkin agak kurang tepat juga kalau saya masukkin ke genre fantasy, but when the spices are talking, what should we call it, but fantasy.
idenya sangat menarik, alasan saya membeli buku ini setelah membaca cover belakangnya. but, i think ceritanya terlalu bertele-tele dan berputar-putar, karena gue bukan orang yang sabar, so i finally gave up to finish this book.
dan ternyata sekarang udah ada filmnya, jadi saya rasa saya akan membeli dvdnya saja untuk tau akhir dari cerita ratu bumbu ini...more
idenya sangat menarik, alasan saya membeli buku ini setelah membaca cover belakangnya. but, i think ceritanya terlalu bertele-tele dan berputar-putar, karena gue bukan orang yang sabar, so i finally gave up to finish this book.
dan ternyata sekarang udah ada filmnya, jadi saya rasa saya akan membeli dvdnya saja untuk tau akhir dari cerita ratu bumbu ini...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommended to Karla by:
Thondup
The writing seems best read out loud, slowly, like poetry. It took me a while to settle into this type of reading, especially with the magical ungrounded nature of the story. Once I got it, I was hooked for the rest of the novel. Some of the imagery, and particularly her descriptions of fleeting, often quickly suppressed and/or denied emotions were gorgeous. I was at times left unable to continue reading, just relishing a newfound awareness of various feelings that she describes.
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This book is about a women named Tilo. She is a mistress of spices. One day she got sent to America and she falls in love with an American man. She begins losing her powers because as a mistress you are to never fall in love with anything besides the spices. She struggles to either lose her powers forever or fall in love with the person she loves.
In this book I learned that you need to be dedicated in order to accompolish something, you should not turn back while it is too late.
In this book I learned that you need to be dedicated in order to accompolish something, you should not turn back while it is too late.
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Read in July, 2007
My wife had to read this for a class last year and when finished "insisted" I take it on. I was not disappointed. This book combines cultural studies with a love story, with racial violence with internal angst, with adventure with incredible characters and mixes them together into a melage of such beauty and elegance. It is probably the best novel I read last year. I recommend it for those who love to go outside their comfort zone in reading material.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2005
This is more like 2.5 stars. I can't say I liked it, but I didn't really dislike it either. There were interesting parts, but the ending became so weird when she meet this man she falls in love with. He keeps on looking for some kind of "paradise on earth" (paradise meaning like a garden of eden). I don't know about you, but I've never met a man in modern times who was literally looking for a "paradise on earth".
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recommends it for:
people that like that crap at the mall
Eh. Honestly I expected more from the premise and the promise of Indian food as an inspiration. The ending just plain sucked. Imagine those Indian Tshirts you see at the swap meet or the mall. You know, the Native American kind. With the dreamcatchers and the hokey beads and feathers and day glo wolves against the moon. Okay, now picture that as a plot and you have part of the plot that is this book. Lame.
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