[.ca] The Vine of Desire: A Novel (ISBN 0385497296)

From Amazon.com:
The Vine of Desire is peopled by Indian immigrants and--just as palpably--by their hopes and dreams. As one character says, "All immigrants are dreamers, but they're practical about it. They know what's OK to dream about, and what isn't." Though it's a sequel to Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Sister of My Heart, the novel stands alone as an exploration of the contemporary immigrant experience. Anju and Sudha, cousins and best friends since their Calcutta girlhood, find themselves in the Bay Area, Anju with a husband and Sudha with a baby daughter. Each covets what the other has until finally their relationship collapses. Anju finds solace among her fellow Berkeley students, while the beautiful Sudha learns, for the first time, what it's like to pay her own way. Digressive and overwritten, The Vine of Desire can try your patience, but it's so well plotted and compassionately told that you can't help but care about these immigrant dreams. --Claire Dederer

good material for one episode...:
...of a daytime soap opera. I have to confess I read the book in a fraction of the time I read "Sister of my heart". Almost nothing new has been added to the story. Yet it fills up so many pages. Feelings, ramblings, letters from one character to another. That's the kind of stuff I don't really care about. It adds nothing and makes it difficult to read. This is a pathetic sequel to "Sister of my heart".

Sad story about recovery from grief, finding the right path.:
Vine of Desire continues the story of Anju and Sudha whom we met in Sister of My Heart. Even though Sudha and her daughter Dayita had already arrived in California at the end of the previous book, this book begins before they arrive in America to live with Anju and her husband Sunil. I suppose it was to reorient us and to provide insight into Anju's state of mind after the loss of her child. Sudha's visit was meant to help Anju recover from her grief while providing Sudha the time to think about her future now that she is a divorced single mother. But the hurt and desires of the 3 adults living together is not a recipe for healing and they struggle to find the right path. While America allows many personal freedoms they would not have in India, they are bound by the duty, tradition and honor that their heritage teaches. The obvious love triangle - Sunil is married to Anju, but in love with Sudha - adds a great deal of tension. The author uses several creative writing techniques in this book that were not present in Sister of My Heart. For the most part, they helped me understand the inner conflicts of the characters. In addition to the alternating chapters which show you the point of view of Sudha and Anju (that I was so fond of in Sister of My Heart) there are first person accounts from several of the men in the book including Sunil and chapters narrated in third person. There are also letters back and forth between the mothers in India, the people in America, Sudha's suitors etc. But several of the writing techniques were annoying. The author frequently lists current events with special focus on the O.J. Simpson murder trial. I understood the point of including these newsflashes, but I found it distracting. She also has a tendency to overwrite a moment by repeating the characters feelings or continuing with descriptions of their feelings for longer than I would have liked. I have a great deal of respect for the way that the author successfully expanded her writing style and in turn expanded the reading experience. It is essentially successful in spite of the minor flaws. But all the characters are drowning in sorrow and confusion and although the end provides a ray of hope, the book is overall very sad. I do recommend it, but don't read this if you are looking for the charming story about the bonds between women that I found in Sister of My Heart. The bonds are still there, but they are sorely tested.

Jealousy:
The Vine of Desire is a sequel to Sister of My Heart. It's the story of Anjou and Sudha, two cousins who have come to California from Calcutta. Both have problems from the past that they hope to begin healing through their relationship with each other - while at the same time learning to live with the knowledge that Anjou's husband is obviously attracted to Sudha. This book is written in a lyrical style, full of sensory descriptions that make it possible to absorb the writing thru the pores. Just open yourself to the colors, scents, sounds, and passion in Divakaruni's words - and melt into her world.

Good Plot Tedious Writing:
When I first began to read this book I was a little disappointed and a lot confused- the writing style was completely new and jarring, and 3 person/ 1st person flying something or the other. After resting from those first few pages I again picked it up now knowing a bit of what to expect and I plunged it to it. The story is great, Divakaruni is truly a gifted storyteller, but the constant reference to news stories- particularly the OJ trial was overbearing. It is clear to see that she was trying different things in her writing, and while I appreciate it, there is such thing as overdoing a good joke. I enojyed the book though- she left room for a continuation, and I wouldnt mind reading about Anju and Sudha again. I love their characters. It's a good book- if you have a chance- read the much better written Sister of my heart and then The vine of desire.

A sequel to THE SISTER OF MY HEART:
THE VINE OF DESIRE by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni The sequel to her popular SISTER OF MY HEART, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's THE VINE OF DESIRE follows the story of the two "sisters" Anju and Sudha from India to America. While SISTER OF MY HEART focused a lot on their past family history and Indian culture and folklore, THE VINE OF DESIRE centers more on the present, and the relationship of the two sisters which is put into a precarious state by a third person, Anju's husband Sunil. Anju invites her sister Sudha to live with her and Sunil in America. Sudha is divorced with a baby, and with a shaky future ahead of them both, Anju knew that the only means of survival for Suhda would be to come to America. Sudha leaves behind the love of her life, Ashok, whom she gave her heart to when she was a young girl, but for some reason she refuses to return to him after her failed arranged marriage. And Anju, with her new life in America and her new husband Sunil, is looking for something beyond being just a wife and future mother. While Anju looks for life outside the household, Sunil finds himself distracted by the presence of his sister-in-law, who he has always loved in secret since before he married his wife. And Sudha is fully aware of this. It's a complicated mess and life does not get any better for Sudha, and gets only worse for Anju and Sunil. Although THE VINE OF DESIRE was not as good a novel as the original book, I still found myself wanting to finish this book to find out whether Anju and Sudha find the happiness they are seeking in America. Is it true that the grass is greener on the other side? Should Sudha have stayed in India and returned to Ashok? The reader is left to find out what happens to both sisters. I recommend THE VINE OF DESIRE to those who have enjoyed SISTER OF MY HEART. For more by Divakaruni, I would suggest reading THE MISTRESS OF SPICES, which is by far her best novel yet.