The Storyteller's Secret

"Life is a puzzle with pieces that seem to constantly be reshaping themselves to alter the picture." "We were thrown into a storm, and for a while it proved more powerful than both of us. Our sails weren't stronger than the wind's rage, and we nearly drowned in the currents" "What if we all stood equal in one another's eyes and felt pride at our reflection? For one day only, maybe we could put aside our differences and come together in our own sameness. For one day, we could see that past all the variations, we are all the same with similar hopes, dreams, fears, strengths, and weaknesses. For one day, we could stand together, not apart, and treat others as we would hope to be treated." Only three of the many quotes that profoundly touched me in this beautifully written book by Sejal Badani. After her third miscarriage, and what feels like the end of her marriage, Jaya leaves the only home she's ever known and goes to India in search of answers to questions that have plagued her throughout her whole life. While there, she discovers more about herself, her family, and human nature in general, than she could ever dream possible. Badani weaves a tale of loyalty, love, sacrifice, and betrayal that leaves you breathless with emotion. She plucks at every heartstring as she slowly reveals the devastating truths to the secrets that have bound this family together for decades. I was folded into this family's story and grew to love them as if they were my own. I've never read a book that gripped my heart, in a close and personal way, as this one. Badani is truly gifted in her ability to develop colorful, relatable characters. Although the story was very predictable, I was so invested in and connected to the lives of these characters, I really didn't care. It almost made the story more emotional for me because I could see where they were going and I desperately wanted to save them from their own experiences. This book changed me, and the way I view friendship. True friendship is unwavering and knows no boundaries. Reading it has been a gift beyond measure.

I would say its a different yet very common but an interesting one. A bit high on emotions yet connecting the dots really well

I shouldn't read other reviews before I read a book or before I write my own review after I've finished reading the book. Actually, I don't read all reviews. I just read the ones with one or two stars. I don't care what the 4 and 5 star reviews say. I just want to see why people DON'T like the story. LOL So, I'm among the 4 and 5 star people this time. I've read the 1 and 2 star reviews about how unrealistic the story is, how the author didn't know what she was talking about as far as the culture of India during the time period of the story, etc, etc. I don't care. I really liked the story and the way it was told. I don't usually like love stories. They're too sappy and the men are too perfect to be real, etc. But this story took me to India, a place I have never had a desire to visit, and I loved every minute of it. (I still don't want to ever go there.) Highly recommended.

This book isn’t very good. Unfortunately, I read the whole thing, it was a book club pick. I usually really enjoy the over 4.0 ratings on Goodreads, but this one was a miss, and I don’t get the high rating. It’s written very poorly and amateur, overly dramatic, and over explains itself as to death. Nothing really happens, it’s just the same conversations and ideas repeated over and over again. I might have enjoyed it as a shallow quick beach read, but the book demands you take it more seriously than that. I might have recommended it for a high schooler who would enjoy learning something about India under British rule, but you really don’t learn much about that, and there are romance - novel style sex scenes that ruin that possibility. It’s an improbable and boring story, then the ending is super bizarre. Sorry I wasted a week reading this.

Such books offer windows into other's cultures and the effects can be significant and lasting. Though international travel is my greatest love and educator, and though I've traveled to India twice, my own culture's filter unavoidably skews my interpretation of what I see. This book took me where I couldn't reach on my own, even while I was in the country. The plight of untouchables and women - multi-generational - India/US. Education in our schools should incorporate such books to ensure all students get engaged and learn to love learning. Dry textbooks slam the door on many minds - minds that could otherwise learn. Storytelling at this level can deliver powerful lessons. The characters were so well developed that they literally had control over me! Without giving anything away, I literally couldn't bear to read one section for a good two weeks. I read just before going to sleep and knew I wouldn't sleep if what I expected to happen, happened. This was a first! It's a beautiful book.