Author(s): Bharati Mukherjee

Fiction

In the tradition of the 'Joy Luck Club', Bharati Mukherjee has written a remarkable novel that is both the portrait of a traditional Brahmin Indian family and a contemporary story of an American woman who has in many ways broken with tradition but still remains tied to her native country. Set in America and India equally, Tara is firmly established in San Francisco with an ex-husband, a teenage son, and a balding, red-bearded former biker, Hungarian Buddhist contractor/yoga teacher lover. Of the sisters, Tara is most removed from her family's traditions and its legacy until events cause her to examine her tenuous relationships with her homeland of India and her two sisters. She is drawn back by a young stranger, whose identity becomes the centre of a mystery. An intricate mystery that unfolds throughout this compelling novel, it creates both intrigue and suspense but also initiates a quest for identity.