Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning and bestselling author, poet, activist, and writing teacher. Her work has been widely published in magazines and anthologies, and her books have been translated into twenty-nine languages. Several of her works have been adapted into films and plays. Her previous novel, The Last Queen, was an award-winning bestseller, with its film rights acquired by a major production house. She lives in Houston with her husband, Murthy, and has two sons, Anand and Abhay. Chitra teaches in the internationally acclaimed Creative Writing program at the University of Houston. She tweets at @cdivakaruni and enjoys connecting with her readers on her Facebook page. ... Read more Read less
About the Book
Here is a river…
Here is a village…
Here is a grand old mansion…
Here is the country that contains them all…
India. August 1946. Everything is about to change.
Priya, Jamini, and Deepa, daughters of Dr. Nabakumar Ganguly, live in Ranipur, Bengal, safe from the growing unrest in the country. But when their father is killed on Direct Action Day, their world is turned upside down.
Priya, the youngest—intelligent and idealistic—is determined to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor, despite the challenges. She is fortunate to have the support of zamindar Somnath Chowdhury, her father’s closest friend. Jamini, devout, dutiful, and talented, helps her mother stitch kanthas to make ends meet. Craving affection, yet resentful of her sisters, she secretly yearns for something more. Deepa, the eldest, beautiful and poised to marry well, falls in love with Raza, a Youth Leader in the Muslim League, and must confront the consequences of her forbidden love.
When India is partitioned, the sisters are separated, fearful for their futures and each other’s well-being. Only through their separation do they come to understand the true meaning of independence—and the high price it demands.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s powerful novel, Independence, is a moving exploration of loyalty, love, nationhood, and sisterhood, set against the backdrop of India’s independence movement. It is at once exhilarating and heartbreaking.
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