Anjali Kapadia runs her
parent's sari shop in New Jersey's Little India. Her ambition,
exquisite taste and eye for beauty has turned the family shop into a
chic boutique. When economic pressures force the family to turn
to their wealthy uncle Jeevan, Anjali never expected her uncle to
arrive on their doorstep all the way from India! The
sari shop gives Anjali, now widowed. the joy of life and sense of
accomplishment. How can she possibly turn over control of
something so special to her into the hands of an uncle whose
troublesome reputation precedes him? To make matters worse,
Jeevan arrives with a business partner, a Londoner Rishi Shah.
Irritated that these men are watching and judging her every move,
Anjali tries to prove her self while keeping her own vision of the
shop. Wildly attracted to him on the one hand, and on the other,
resentful of him
overseeing every nuance of her business, Anjali feels torn
within. Once she swore off love, but will Rishi find a way to
break through her defenses and show her a world she never imagined, a
world bigger than the dreams she ever thought possible?
Shobhan Bantwal's THE
SARI SHOP WIDOW is a delightful book through and through!
Anjali is bright, independent and yet she has a side of her that is
quiet, thoughtful and a little scared to live life to its
fullest. Torn between the traditions of her family and her own
desire for independence and contemporary values, Anjali is a woman with
depth of spirit and an appreciation for others as she discovers how to
incorporate the heritage and values of the Desi culture with her
innermost desires. Rishi is a wonderful character that will steal
the reader's heart alongside Anjali's. Quiet and thoughtful, he
is a man with an inner strength. Although known for his power in
the business world, he has a strength of character inside far beyond
his boldness in the plans for the sari shop. Rishi has a
steadfastness and a consistant non-presupposing strength of character
that makes him grow on one naturally and more deeply as the story
develops. Rishi's appreciation and knowledge of the
sari shop fits in
perfectly and flows naturally from the setting and
characterization.
THE SARI SHOP
WIDOW touched me deeply.
I carried this book with me
everywhere, reading it waiting in the car and any spare moment. I
haven't done this in ages but I just found myself wanting to return to
the characters and the story. Every night, I looked forward to being
able to return to the world of the characters. The older
characters (in their 30s and 40s) were most refreshing. Anjali
has the maturity of a woman who has experienced love and life before,
and yet she still has a kind of vulnerability with which readers of
all ages will find themselves easily identifying. Despite
our different cultural backgrounds, I related so well to
Anjali, understanding her and her dilemmas, hopes and fears. Shobhan
Bantwal did an excellent job of portraying the particular Desi culture
but also
creating characters with a sense of universality so that readers
outside of the Desi culture feel something in common with her
characters. Shobhan Bantwal does an excellent
job in creating a setting which draws the reader into the story and her
characters. The richness of the colors and textures within the
sari shop brings a vibrancy to the novel. THE
SARI SHOP WIDOW is a must read for those passionate about Desi
culture and neophytes alike.
In THE
SARI SHOP WIDOW, Anjali's family and their relationships are a
dynamic part of the story itself throughout. Each and every character
adds a rich depth to this story. The romance reaches beyond
the
hero/heroine focus to influence others. Jeevan and Rishi's
arrival turns everything on its head
as Anjali's family scrambles to accomodate the visitors, but by the
story's end, every character's life is enriched and transformed. THE SARI SHOP WIDOW is a wonderful, wonderful
work of fiction that will add a new perspective and inner joy to
a reader's heart.
Publisher: Kensington
(September 2009)
