Before We Visit the Goddess: A Novel

Well first of all,thank you to Ann Bogel, who recommended it in her podcast, " What should I read next? " If you have ever experienced estrangement from a daughter or mother this will be touch your heart. It is ultimately a book filled with forgiveness and hope. It also provides American readers a window into the culture and politics of post colonial India, as well as the Indian immigrant experience. The foods and desserts described make me more curious about them as did references to the legends and goddesses mentioned. Mostly, it seems to be a book about feminism, and you will have to read it to find out why! Find an edition with an interview with the author.

FICTION Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Before We Visit the Goddess Simon & Schuster Hardcover, 978-1-4767-9200-2 (also available as an ebook, audiobook, and on Audible), 224 pgs., $25.00 April 19, 2016 “What is more painful, the misplaced past or the runaway future?” It’s 1995 and Sabitri, in questionable health, has retired to her ancestral village in India. Receiving a desperate late-night phone call from her estranged daughter, Bela, in Houston, Texas, Sabitri begins a letter to her granddaughter, Tara, who has decided to drop out of college—but Sabitri dies before the letter is mailed. Fast forward to 1998: Tara has dropped out of college and is working in a thrift store in Houston, aimless and disconnected from her Indian heritage and a community that might offer her support, estranged from her mother and father, never knowing her grandmother. Before We Visit the Goddess, the seventeenth book by American Book Award winner Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, is about dislocation: from family, country, and history; and the inevitable conflict resulting from each successive generation’s refusal, or inability, to learn from the mistakes of the previous generation. These women have more in common than they know. The plot is simple and would almost be a comedy of errors if the results weren’t so frequently tragic. The narrative, told by multiple characters and varying points of view—sometimes third person, other times first—is challenging as the flow is constantly interrupted by time and space, jumping around between the past, beginning in 1963, and ending up in the future, 2020; and between India, California, and Texas. On the other hand, this technique neatly mirrors the feelings of dislocation experienced by the diverse, well-developed characters. All of the principals are complex human beings in their successes and failures, provided with rich backstories and motivations. Divakaruni’s Houston is a joy in all of its multiples: racial, ethnic, cultural. She pokes a little fun at the “suburban funhouse” of street names in the surrounding bedroom communities: “Austin Colony, Austin Glen, Austin Crossing.” Divakaruni is adept at the just-right simile: the child Bela wakes from a fever in the hospital where “her mother’s face looms large over the bed, alarming as an out-of-orbit moon”; and when a young man who has recently suffered a heartbreak is asked out by a new man his “chest felt like it was too small to contain all the things knocking around inside it. Heart, lungs, excitement, a surge of blood like sorrow. The backwash of memories.” With its embossed dust jacket, Before We Visit the Goddess is a physically beautiful book in which Divakaruni writes passionately, although sometimes sentimentally, about loss, regret, and the importance of communication and forgiveness. Though the ending is rather abrupt, it is satisfying and hopeful. We fail each other, not necessarily from selfishness, but from obliviousness and with the best of intentions. Originally published by Lone Star Literary Life.

First off, I did enjoy this book. I am a fan of the author and look forward to reading more from her. Sometimes I wonder, however, why an author chooses to narrate in a fractured way - skipping back and forth in time - rather than just telling the story chronologically. In this case I think a more straight forward presentation of the characters and generations would have been more effective. Recognizing that the three generations of women were the central theme, I also would have liked more resolution to some of the plotlines concerning the less central characters. That said, Before We Visit The Goddess is a thought provoking book with emotional resonance - well worth reading.

I chose the rating because China Bandaged Divaruni dresses you in her character with clothes that don't quit fit, missed opportunities, bad choices, but yet of enduring spirit. Although the tale has much sadness it is well told and I think helps us be more informed as we make our remaining choices.

Well woven plot that threads the lives of three generations of mothers and daughters. Really liked the way she describes the settings in India, felt very real! The progression between the life of the grandmother in India, and how that carries over to the lives of her daughter and grand daughter in the West was well portrayed. Good read and recommended!

I have been a follower of Ms. Divakaruni's from her first book. She always develops her story through the eyes, thoughts, and actions of her primary characters; blending the American and Indian cultures seamlessly (at least for me). Each book is to be tarried over and relished. As I re-read her books, I see how some characters appear and re-appear from book-to-book. Others disappear in one book only to re-appear several seemingly unrelated books late. There are apparitions, mystics, beliefs, superstitions, and pragmatism. Her books are a treat and a challenge. They need to be savored to be appreciated. She has a rare gift and we are fortunate when she shares it with us. This tale of inter-generational love and conflict played out geographically between California and India will keep you captivated from beginning to end.

I usually take a long time to get through dramas. For this book, I'd bear as much as I could while trying to satisfy this urge to become immersed in the culture and cooking. My main focus is on the sweets shop and food monikers that were used. Just came from 'Chocolat' series, and this definately has a different song. In the end of the book, Chitra says she wanted to hinge the chapters on emotional currents rather than paved timeline, and it worked! It kept the flow interesting and not-too-hard to follow. The ending is realistic and a great point to end. (I just need like 4 more generations and clarification on certain events please) Anyways, good read. Nothing gory or risky. Pretty realistic portal of life.

An other spellbinding book by this author again. I started reading just after diner and read till three in the morning to just finish the story. A Mrs. Divakaruni is a master storyteller!

This book tells mother- daughter relationship in a very subtle way, how Sabitri’s love for Rajiv had made her leave the Leelamoyi’s big mansion and then how he met Bijan and got married to him, years later when he meets Rajiv again, this incident brings a cold in her relationship with Bijan and Sabitri slaps her daughter which brings differences in between them, A lot more difficulties come in Sabitri’s life, her son dies of dengue, her husband Bijan dies, Bela runs away to America to marry her boyfriend Sanjay, then Bella’s story of betraying Sanjay and then Tara’s life... How the incidents unfold one after the other and in the end everything falls into place !!! A must must read ! I couldn’t keep it down without completing it in one day

Wie immer liest sich das Buch sehr gut, aber nicht so gut wie ihre bisherigen. Die Spannung lässt deutlich nach und die großen Lücken im Zeitschema lasen viele Fragen offen.

Divakaruni ha sido una de mis escritoras preferidas desde que hace 12 años leí The Vine of Desire. Esta novela es adictiva, la leí en 4 días. Destacaría su innovación en estilos narrativos, cuando ya creía que su técnica era perfecta, he de decir que esta novela demuestra que sigue mejorando con la edad y la experiencia. 100% recomendable.

The book gets better as it progresses ,very well written . It’s an easy read I shall recommend to anyone interested specially on emotional expressed so beautifully