the mistress of spices by chitra banerjee divakaruni

Along with a handful of other girls, Tilo undertakes a transformative journey that places her in present-day San Francisco, where she is the eponymous Mistress of a spice shop primarily serving Indian immigrants and their descendants. Born in India, unusual from the start, she eventually finds herself on an island where the Old One teaches her the mysteries of spices. Tilo is a young woman with an old woman’s body. Yet the execution of the story itself, and the characters, left much to be desired. I loved a lot of the ideas in this book, and the meditative way in which CBD punctuates the narrative with beats on each spice. Read this for her.The difficult relationship between power, responsibility, and humility is on full display in The Mistress of Spices, where Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s empathetic and passionate writing merges with magical realism. I did like Tilo, and her many names and attributes, and fiery personality.

Overall, I did like the book, in large part due to it being magical realism. Just the way I felt about Raven, I wanted something more. My feelings about the ending are indeterminable, and I can’t truly say I would have preferred a different ending, because I’m not sure what that would be. Apart from that, secondary characters don’t particularly stand out, but serve their purpose within the story. Raven was a point of confusion in this book, I wasn’t sure he added much value except as a foil in certain ways, but maybe I’m just not seeing what the author wanted me to see? I understand he’s also magical in his own way, and his presence lets her blossom into something more than she dared hope, but somehow I wanted more. Magic in the everyday but also in a whole different magical world where Tilo came from, before she traveled through time and space, to come set up a little shop in Oakland – this book combines them both beautifully. She, an ordained Mistress of Spices, has the ability to harness the subtle magic of the spices and help people by matching them with the right spice that they need at that time in their lives. Tilo goes by many names, and currently, in the body of an old lady, she helps make people’s everyday lives a little better, a little happier. I’d still say Palace of Illusions is better, but that doesn’t make this one bad – I’m just holding it to a super high standard, which probably isn’t fair to the book, honestly. So I went into this with high expectations already, and for the most part it lived up. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has previously woven magic with Palace of Illusions, which I just loved so much. An evocative, beautifully written book that I don’t even know how to begin reviewing.

The mistress of spices by chitra banerjee divakaruni