Download The Storyteller Secret A Novel edition by Sejal Badani Literature Fiction eBooks

Product details File Size 4479 KB Print Length 370 pages Page Numbers Source ISBN 1542048273 Publisher Lake Union Publishing (September 1, 2018) Publication Date September 1, 2018 Sold by  Digital Services LLC Language English ASIN B07415PPP1

The Storyteller Secret A Novel edition by Sejal Badani Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

• I did not really want to read this book it just seemed to be the lesser of evils when it came to this months prime picks. The beginning did not encourage me much as it was a little on the depressing side. When Jaya escapes to India to escape her pain of multiple miscarriages the story starts to get interesting - and I ended up staying up all night reading it. Jaya begins to hear a story about her grandmother, Amisha, and it helps her to understand her own mother and in the end she learns to take another perspective when looking at her own life. This was a fantastic read. I cried and I never cry. Your heart goes out to Amisha's situation and the way it works out. Aside from the grandmothers story you also see a heartbreaking look at the poor side of India and how some of their traditions have hurt them. The caste system still is there is the more rural places which is where this story takes place. The description of the orphanage Jaya goes to is heartrending and makes you want to go to India and change things. The story makes so many of the things we have heard of come to life -things we have never been acquainted with. The rest of the story of Amisha's life is something that you will have to read for yourself and I guarantee you will love her story.
• I will begin my review at the end of the story. Usually, when I enjoy a book, I don't want the story to end. I was comfortable letting this story end. Not because I disliked it. But, because the author did such a terrific job of tying up all of the loose ends. This book was a very emotional experience. Almost exhausting. I just could not stop reading. This explains why, as much as I enjoyed reading this book, I was content with it ending. It was beautifully written. I felt as if I'd been transported to India. In my mind, I could vividly picture the characters, the settings, the time period. I hurt when the characters hurt and was jubilant when the characters were happy or celebrating joyous events. Would I read another novel by this author? I am afraid not. I am emotionally spent. I am way too empathetic. But, the author did her job; she drew me into the story. She also enlightened me as far as the history of India. Great read!
• I thought this was a terribly written book. It was a First selection so at least I didn't pay for it. It was a story that has been told over and over - forbidden love and resulting pregnancy. The facts relating to Indian life in India feel more like the author awkwardly showing, "Look! I did research!" more than part of the story. On the other hand, details that were included, such as the homemade toothbrush the servant was sure the main character would like, were never mentioned again. WELL DID SHE LIKE FINALLY TRY IT? Other daily trials of living in poverty in modern day India were left out; how about going into as much detail about toilet facilities in the family home as taking a shower? Now THAT would have been culture shock coming from modern-day America. And then other things - traditional Indian women wore petticoats in the time of WWII? There's an American hospital that specializes in polio treatment in modern times, when polio has long been eradicated in the US? - don't ring true. I mourn the loss of book editors. Being able to self-publish has ruined reading for me. I guess I should stick to the classics.
• I'm not a professional reviewer and rarely write reviews but this book just took me away to a different culture and to lives that loved and lost so much. The writing is beautiful and captivating. With every page turned, I wanted a new page. We take so much for granted in the US that we often forget how difficult life was and is in many other lands. The heartbreak, the passion and love is universal and the author conveys this while the actual story is set in a different time in India where women were no more than servants, yet those same women as in Amisha had hopes and dreams. Beautifully written in such a way that I was saddened when I read the last word.
• We call these Saas-Bahu soap operas in India - sappy, full of tropes - the distant husband, peckish MIL, gossip mongering SIL, a handsome "Pardesi" with a sad heart, woman looking for trouble. None of them are sketched in any detail except for superficial conversations- the story - the secret - long drawn and winded - am going back to finish this book about the 3 rd time just to see how it ends when I already know what is going to happen. What a facile description of India, pandering to the popular taste, riddled with inaccuracies and made up words - Shrimati ??? Really ???? How hollow does it ring if sag is sakh? - It sounds as if the words are made up from reading picked up in the library than from a life lived and reflected upon. And how low does one have to go, to describe a girl in braces that extends all the way up to her neck? In the old days ( or even today ) a girl who had Polio may have been abandoned rather than fitted with braces that would have cost a fortune. And which child with polio has braces upto the neck, I wonder if this author set foot out of an air conditioned ride ever. Polio has been eradicated in India but why bother putting a good picture of the third-world into our head...just cater to whatever sells. I am just amazed there was no mention of a snake charmer, or maybe I missed it
  Edit I just finished the book and am going to give it a 1 - The condescension of it! Take way the man's great grand kids because she has money and a spacious apartment in New York. Wow! This is the true Brown Colonialism if any! Shame.