Arranged Marriage
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
List Price: $11.00
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0385483503
Publisher: Anchor Books
Divakaruni's exquisitely wrought debut collection of stories chronicles
the assimilation--and rebellion--that Indian-born girls and women in America
undergo as they balance old treasured beliefs and surprising new desires.
For the young girls and women brought to life in these stories, the possibility
of change, of starting anew, is both as terrifying and filled with promise
as the ocean that separates them from their homes in India. From a young
bride whose fairy-tale vision of California is shattered when her husband
is murdered to a proud middle-aged divorce determined to succeed in San
Francisco, Divakaruni paints eleven devastating portraits of women on
the verge of an unforgettable transformation.
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1. How do the physical and psychological landscapes of India and America differ in these stories?
2. "The Word Love" is written in second person. What does this unusual choice of voice add to the meaning and impact of the story?
3. The mother-daughter relationship is a central theme in many of these stories. Is the author making a general comment about this relationship?
4. Most of the stories in this collection focus on women who are in serious danger, be it physical, emotional, or both. Do the stories leave you reason to be hopeful for these women? How?
5. Do the women in these stories view themselves as having choices? Are they correct in their views, or are they deluding themselves?
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" A remarkably strong debut . . . The all-too-imperfect lives of Divakaruni's heroines, like precious gems, are unrecognized treasures, worthy of being praised, protected and held dear. "
--San Jose Mercury News
"Both universal and unique. "
--Kirkus Reviews
"Beautifully told stories of transformed lives . . . Both liberated and trapped by cultural changes on both sides of the ocean, these women struggle fiercely to carve out an identity of their own. "
--San Francisco Chronicle
"These are ravishingly beautiful stories, some profoundly sad, others full of revelation, all unforgettable. "
--Booklist
