The Henna Artist: A Reese's Book Club Pick (The Jaipur Trilogy, 1)

I selected this book for our book club because I thought it would generate good discussion. And it did! Very interesting subject and story. No one in my group has traveled to India so we all liked learning more about the customs and area. And bonus, it was a manageable read that everyone got through. All in all, time well spent on a most enjoyable book.

The Henna Artist is about a woman struggling for independence and voice. Lakshmi is the first-person storyteller who was an accomplished henna artist and herbalist. Her story takes place during the 1950s in India after the country had gained independence, but women were still property. It is not historical fiction but rather an imagined history. Lakshmi left her husband Hari since he beat her, primarily for not having children. Leaving her arranged marriage meant that she also left her family and hometown. She had to reinvent herself and establish contacts where she had lacked the network of relatives from her formative years.Lakshmi, meaning goddess of wealth, employed a young boy named Malik to help her obtain supplies and move her business around to her clients. Malik is an endearing character who matures as the plot develops and portrays to Lakshmi, whom he calls "Aunty Boss," how to use relationships to one's advantage without taking advantage of people. I loved how he interacted with clients, women of a higher class. Privileged women appreciated Lakshmi's talents in painting their hands, feet, and other body parts with artistic personalized henna designs. She also peddled herbal contraceptives; for that business, she had men who purchased her sachets for their mistresses. Additionally, Lakshmi provides fertility and abortion treatments. Her many wealthy clients provide enough income for a house but also put her in precarious predicaments.Complicating her life, Lakshmi discovers she has a thirteen-year-old sister that she hadn't known existed. Since she had fled her family in the disgrace of divorce, she had not known her mother had another child. Her sister Radha shows up courtesy of her estranged husband, and Lakshmi becomes the teenager's guardian and experiences all the angst and responsibility that raising an adolescent brings. Her Life becomes even more entangled and complex as she endeavors to continue her business and try her hand at matchmaking. Though the story is sometimes unrealistic, this talented author delves into bloodlines, power and powerlessness, and caste. There are also poignant running themes about reputation and gossip. Then there is much related to ambition, skill, responsibility, betrayal, and moral grounds. This author is a great storyteller; she made her characters come alive and created a page-turner with this novel.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi is such a good and colorful book. The author's writing is so descriptive and the characters are well developed. This is a story about India and it's culture. I found this so descriptive and really liked that the author has a glossary with definitions of so much about India and a listing of all the characters and who they are (which is helpful). The main character is Lakshmi Shastri who has escaped an abusive arranged marriage and has been in hiding from her family and village so that he will not find her. Lakshimi doesn't even know that she has an younger sister Radha until she shows up on her door step with the abusive husband. Lakshimi has built a life as a very talented Henna artist in a very difficult culture for a single woman. This story brings you in from the very beginning and holds you until the very end. I am happy that book 2 has been written with the 3 in the series to debut next year! Be sure to read at the end a few chapters of the 2 nd book and also several chapters on many of the subjects of India! I can't wait to continue the journey from this great author! This book in part of the Reese Witherspoon book club.

This book was a joy to read. I will read this author again. I hate the required number of words to submit a review.

Interesting cultural themes and narrating. I enjoyed the character development and flow of this book.

having visited Jaipur recently and seen some of the beautiful places mentioned, I was overcome with curiosity to understand the living culture.This book gave me that opportunity. It was a page turner with many plot twists and never a predictable moment.

I am really enjoying The Henna Artist. It's a good opportunity to learn about another culture.

I got this book originally because I had had a good experience with another author from India and also because I follow interests in Indian classical music (ragas), dance and the complex of Indian cultures in general.From the very first pages of "The Henna Artist" the author Alka Joshi created a highly believable lead character, Lakshmi Shastri of the title, significant for her struggles to stand on her own feet and make her own way. She is joined by her young sister, Rahda, who has found her way to her after their parents' deaths. They strive to make a life together, no easy task. This is where the interest of the story line is strongest. And this is where author Joshi loses my belief.I won't divulge any of the plot so as not to potentially spoil the read for others. I will just say at the climax of the story Lakshmi impulsively does something I found to be a complete betrayal of the character. As I had come to understand Lakshmi she would never have succumbed to temptation and would have discretely avoided the situation. The action weakened her character for me, never regaining the same stature. For this I would have docked one star. The second star was for Radha. Her deep-seated conflicts were resolved much too swiftly, again causing my disbelief.So there you are. I regret so much feeling the need to downgrade this book for which I held high hopes. Yet I felt in truth I must do so. Still, there is much of merit here for the casual reader-colorful characters, rich cultural setting, foreign words that have found their way into the English language.

What a great read!! Loved it from start to finish!

✨Book Review✨Let's start with wow. Alka Joshi's debut novel is one that will keep you captivated and entranced from the very first page. I can definitely see what all the hype is about, and I match @reesesbookclub appreciation for this masterpiece.The Henna Artist is a brilliant story story about a henna artist living in Jaipur, India during the post-independence era. In Lakshmi's hometown, she is known for bringing shame to her family after abandoning her husband 13 years prior. In Jaipur, she is known for her intricate, unique henna designs. She caters to the elite, but her ambition knows no bounds. Her talents extend beyond henna, but this secret is known by few. However, her world is turned upside down when her estranged husband shows up with a 13 year old girl in tow, claiming to be Lakshmi's sister. Lakshmi must teach her sister many lessons to help her fit in, but she also has a lot to learn in order to truly be happy.I only have compliments for this incredible read. Joshi transports the reader into this world from the first page. I felt so connected to the story that when my sister complained about her sore feet, I rushed to the bathroom to find my magnolia oil. Of course, I don't have magnolia oil, but while reading this novel, I felt like everything was right in front of me. Her characters are just beautiful. I thought of Lakshmi as my friend. I applauded her success at every turn, I felt her indignation, anger, and betrayal down to my core. I went from hating characters, to feeling intense empathy for them. I surprised myself at how deeply I felt each emotion throughout this novel.I can't promise that you will love it as much as I did, but I can assure you that you will go on an incredible journey.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

An elegantly written storyline, sophisticatedly developed characters, and of course the rich culture from the India of 1950s. Doesn’t it sound like a perfect mood?Well, I am talking about Alka Joshi’s novel, “The Henna Artist” which recently bagged its position under the top ten in Goodreads choice awards under the categories, best debut novel, and best historical fiction. Needless to say, this novel deserves every bit of it and I can positively say that this was one of my ultimate pleasurable read of 2020.This is the story of Lakshmi, the henna artist. She was forced to get married at the age of fifteen. There she learned about natural medications and herbs for treating people from her mother-in-law. Although, at the age of seventeen, Lakshmi ran from her husband’s house and escaped from an abusive relationship. Gradually she settled in Jaipur city and started to work as a Henna artist. It took lots of sleepless nights and tons of hard work to build her reputation among all her royal clients and to save penny by penny for building her own house. Lakshmi was passionately dedicated towards being independent and improving her future that is when she was introduced to Radha, a sister Lakshmi was never aware of. It took some time for Lakshmi to completely accept Radha and to break the ice with her sister, the only family she had. Days passed by and Lakshmi’s fight for independence, success, respect, and dignity continued.Whatever I said above is like a drop in the Ocean. ‘The Henna Artist’ is a book that can be really difficult to compile or cut short because of the finest precision by which Alka has crafted it. I have not read any book so far that is planned and presented with utmost perfection. The structure of the book is designed considering readers from all over the world in mind. The book starts with a list of all the characters that will appear in the story further so that if you lose track of it, you have your backup ready. After this, there is a crisp prologue that will build the required suspense and will grab all your attention. As soon as you finish reading the story there is a list of terms used in the local language with their meaning. This can be really helpful for people who are not aware of our Indian culture and looking forward to exploring it in its originality. The best thing here was that these terms were written in italics in the story so that the readers can immediately identify them from the story and look for them in the ‘Glossary of Terms’. The bonus point here is that the readers will get to know a little bit about the history of Henna and the recipe to prepare the henna paste along with other delicacies that were frequently talked about in the book.I just loved every bit of this book and my reading experience was majestic. The character development of the main characters as well as the relevant secondary characters was done amazingly. No doubt there were a lot of characters but not for once did I lose track of them. I enjoyed knowing all the characters, some were delicate, some vulnerable, some mature, and some were just being the stubborn teenagers. I always say that one can learn a lot from fictional stories and if one wants to explore India and its culture in the unaltered form this book is a must-read.

Non ho avuto nessun problema con la versione kindle in inglese. La storia è fantastica!!! Piena di tanti dettagli di un'altra cultura che mi sentivo di stare in un lungo viaggio e ho imparato tantissimo nel frattempo. Questo libro è diventato decisamente uno dei miei preferiti. Attendo con ansia la continuazione di questa storia! Consigliatissimo per chi ama viaggiare e conoscere altre culture!!

The Henna Artist took me on a trip to the India of 1956. Excellent debut novel. I warmly recommend this novel to everyone who wants to know more about Indian traditions.