Book Review : A Love Story for my Sister #EngagingRead #JaishreeMisra #IndianNovels #IndianAuthors #InterestingFiction

One of my favourite Indian authors happens to be Ms. Jaishree Misra. I have been a fan of her writing ever since I read #Afterwards and #AncientPromises, two heart-touching novels.

Her latest work, "A Love Story for my Sister" is a compelling read from start to finish. Spanning across time zones and generations, it tells the stories of Margaret Wheeler, a 19th century British expat, and Tara, a 20th century Indian teenager, who are curiously alike in their choices. And the connector of both these stories, is the pragmatic to-be novelist Pia, who discovers her sister's choices in the process of unearthing the truth.

If you love historical fiction, you will love this account of India in the pre-1857 stages, where the suppressed anger and resentment of Indians, simmering underneath the seemingly calm societal fabric, suddenly gives way one day to sheer terror and mayhem. A young British girl, Margaret, devoted to her parents and brothers, watches their horrifying massacre at the hands of rebel Indian soldiers, after which she is taken into captivity by one of them.

Image Courtesy: Amazon.com

Her story is unearthed more than a century later by Pia, a dogged journo-traveler-aspiring novelist, who has her own demons to deal with. Scarred in childhood by her elder sister's brutal kidnapping and murder, she seeks some sort of closure by probing into a similar case that happened a century back.

Pia's quest leads her to Margaret's private journal and letters, and opens up a pandora's box. She discovers that Margaret was, in fact, eventually happy in her custody, and subsequently, fell in love with and married her kidnapper. Something tells her that the same thing happened to her sister, who too was strangely reluctant to come back.

Jaishree Misra weaves both the stories skillfully, switching from first person to third person narrative, from 19th century Kanpur to 20th century Delhi. Alternate sections juxtapose the situations and mental states of Margaret, Tara and Pia. The prose is lucid and the images vivid. Tara's little utopia in the hills, and her transition from girl to woman is beautifully shown. Misra shows her skill in sketching believable and relatable characters, who are extremely vulnerable yet resilient. A novel you should give a chance to....A Love Story for my Sister.

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